Who doesn’t love fresh homemade baked goods? I can still remember the lovely aroma of fresh baked cinnamon rolls my father baked every Sunday morning when I was a kid, and long for them still. If you have an ambition to have that kind of lovely scent in your home, it isn’t magic nor does it require a special skill.
Mostly baking requires paying attention, following your recipe and of course doing it enough times to feel confident. Not sure you can pull off being a home baker? Since we aren’t talking about becoming a wedding catering company here, just baking at home, you should be fine if you follow these tips.
It’s All in the Measuring
I have often heard the phrase cooking is like art and baking is like science and I couldn’t agree more. This is why in baking making sure of your measurements is so important. The proportion of dry to wet ingredients and of key ingredients will completely change a baked good, so you must always pay close attention. While you can substitute some ingredients, one type of flour for another for instance, it is always important to keep those measurements that are called for in the original recipe.
Substitutions Are Allowed – With Care
As we mentioned above, you can substitute one ingredient with another in a baking recipe. The trick is to make sure that it will work as a true substitute. If you aren’t sure you can either look up the substitution in a good cookbook such as The Joy of Cooking or google it for feedback on what changes with a substitute. You can also add ingredients, such as adding dried fruit to a recipe for bran muffins, but always be sure you do it with care and be prepared for it changing the end result.
Borrow That Muscle
I am the kind of baker that loves to really dig in there and use my own muscle to get things done in the kitchen. But that doesn’t mean I don’t take advantage of some of the new technology that has shown up in the kitchen in the last decade or two. Food processors are a good example.
It can be hard to even find a recipe that doesn’t call for it at some point in the process. Don’t be afraid to use the technology that has evolved to make the job easier. Cooking of any kind is hard work, and we don’t cook on wood stoves anymore, you know.
Relax and Enjoy It
In the end the best tip I can give is to make sure you give yourself enough time when baking to actually enjoy the process. All too often today we are rushed from one task to the next, without having the luxury of taking time to enjoy what we are doing.
Baking can’t be rushed. If you try to, you will find the results just aren’t as good. So, make the time to bake, and slow down and let yourself enjoy the act of baking. We all know there will be no problem enjoying the fruits of that labor!
