7 Baking Hacks & Simple Solutions

Blossom Lady

Apr 07, 2021 02:03 AM

Cooking is an Art, Baking is a Science. It’s true that baking is more scientific than cooking, but it doesn’t have to be intimidating. There are both hard and some soft rules to live by in the baker’s kitchen that take some of the guess-work and worry away. Experience will teach you which is which, where you can experiment, and what to do when things go south. We all have baked a lot of cookies in our time. Dozens of cakes, a lot of individual treats. Being a baking fan, between all that cooking, I came to a conclusion, that most tested baking recipes can still flop on occasion. It’s usually a culmination of little issues, you may not even be aware of, that add up to flat greasy cookies or a sunken cake disaster.

Today I’m hoping to share with you some useful and basic baking tips and tricks that will help increase your odds of having perfect cupcakes, cookies, and bread every time you bake. Now we’re sharing our collected wisdom with you to help guarantee success the next time you prepare to whip up a batch.

Rotate pans while baking.

This pertains primarily to cookies, because you do not want to open the oven while a cake is rising and risk a collapse. However, rotating cookie sheets halfway through baking will ensure even baking. You can rotate cake pans after they’ve been in the oven for at least 20 minutes.

Cooling.

Take cookies out of the oven when the edges are golden and set and the center looks slightly under-baked. Then cool completely on the cookie sheet for soft chewy cookies. Cool cakes upside down on a cooling rack. This will flatten out the tops, creating easy-to-stack disks for layer cakes.

Don’t change the oven temperature and cooking time for faster baking.

Cakes especially lose moisture when cooked hard and fast, and you also run the risk of burning delicate ingredients.

Not sure your oven is accurate?

It is fairly common for ovens to lean to the hot or cool side of a specified temperature over time. Invest in an oven-safe thermometer that can attach to an oven rack, so you can adjust your oven if needed.

Separating Eggs.

The best way to separate eggs for baking is to: Start with cold eggs, Crack them on the counter, (cracking on the side of the bowl tends to create more shattered pieces) Strain out the yolk through your fingers and place in separate bowls. Remove any shell debris with a fork.

Meringues.

If using egg whites for meringues, make sure to keep your fingers out of the egg whites, as oils from your hands can flatten the meringue. In this case, use an egg separator. Make sure the yolk doesn’t break. One drop of egg yolk will make it impossible to beat the egg whites into firm peaks. Then using a whisk attachment, beat with an electric mixer with 1/2 teaspoon Cream of Tartar.

Room temperature.

Unless otherwise stated in a recipe, always start a baked recipe with room temperature eggs and room temperature butter. To bring eggs to room temperature quickly, crack them into several small bowls before starting the recipe. If you are in a huge hurry, run them under warm tap water for 5 minutes before cracking.

baking hacks

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