You eat a mouthful of cheesecake and always say to yourself – “Oh, I wish I could bake so well.” Well, those days aren’t far away when you could bake like a pro. It doesn’t matter if you’re completely new to baking or have tried your hands at mixing the batter but haven’t been able to win hearts with your cupcakes; there are a few tips that you should keep in mind while baking.
Before you start, remember that baking is no less than art, where each and every step, beginning from preheating the oven to the final frosting, is equally important. But note that no step is as scary as it may sound. So get your oven mittens ready, dust off your oven and get ready to bake with these tips and tricks.
Read the Recipe Twice
Reading the recipe might sound obvious, but focus on the word “twice.” While reading the recipe, you should really read between the lines. Take into account every little detail like:
- Does it say tablespoon or teaspoon?
- Grained chocolate or melted chocolate
- How much refrigeration time was it?
- And so on…
During this step, you should also ensure and check if you have all the ingredients or not. For example, if the recipe says you’d need three eggs, and after checking the egg tray, you only find one, and then you run to get some more, the batter can get compromised.
Invest in Quality Products and Measure Properly
The most important thing in baking is measuring correctly, and you’ll only be able to have the right measurement of ingredients if you have the measuring cups, spoons, digital kitchen scale, etc. For example, most bakers use a silicon spatula as the best option to mix the batter evenly, so you might even want to add that to your shopping cart.
Similarly, most of the new baking recipes are shifting towards weight instead of the “half-a-cup” ratios, as weighing scales can get you better results. If you like measuring cups, choose from a wide range of metallic to plastic cups and ensure that you’re filling the cup evenly to the brim and levelling it off with a knife.
Take the Room Temperature Into Account
While most of you might already take the oven’s temperature into account, room temperature can slip off your mind. There would be certain ingredients in the recipe that would be required to be at room temperature before they were mixed into the batter. The most common examples can be eggs and butter. You might be storing the pack of butter or a tray of eggs in the refrigerator, but the recipe might require them to be at room temperature. So, before you wear the apron and start the baking process, check the ingredients' temperature carefully and read the recipe twice, as said earlier.
Don’t Overmix
When you start to measure and put the dry ingredients with the wet ones, you might get a little overwhelmed and start to mix vigorously for an even mixture. To avoid aggressive mixing, take small portions of the dry ingredients and keep transferring them whilst mixing. You might even be tempted to overmix to get rid of some potential lumps, but keep in mind the more you mix, the more you risk getting a tough or hard baked good, and you obviously don’t want your fluffy cake to be hard, do you?
Keep the Oven Door Closed
If you’re a first-time baker, the fragrance of a baked good could be tempting for you to open the oven door and check if the batter is done or not. But your eagerness can hamper the temperature of the oven every time you open it and check. Feel free to peep through the window and look at the surface of your baked good rising, and wait for the oven bell to ring to take it out. After you take it out, even though it might look from the surface if the baking is done or not, always do a toothpick test to see if the bottom layers are baked properly. If the batter is sticking on the toothpick, you might have to put it back in the oven for a little longer.
Also Read: Cooking hacks: Tips to bake a perfect cake
Be Patient and Have Fun
You might have already made out that baking requires a lot of patience. Even after you see a completely ready hot cake out of the oven that you made from scratch, you’ll have to wait for it to cool down. Whether you want to just dig in, or put some frosting on it, wait for it to cool, or else the bottom crust will start to crack, and the whole process might not seem as fun as it could have been. Lastly, remember to not be discouraged if the first batch doesn’t come out as per your expectations. Baking requires a lot of practice, and you will get there!