My objective is always to make your recipes as tasty and elegant as possible, and it all begins with the foundations. Baking Fundamentals is a blog series that will educate readers the foundations of baking in order to empower them with the information they need to be great bakers!
Contents
- Live content in this series:
- It’s a new year, and we’re getting back to the basics.
- That’s why I’m introducing the “Baking Basics” series! 🎉
- So, how often will I post in this series?
- Sign up for my newsletter so you know when they’re live!
- FAQs
- What are the basics of baking?
- How do I start learning bakery?
- What are the five tips for successful baking?
- What are some of the most important concepts of the baker’s mise en place needed for successful baking and pastry work?
- What is the golden rule in baking?
- What are the 10 basic baking rules?
- How can I be a good starter baker?
- What is the first step in baking?
- How do you bake a cake in 7 steps?
- What are the three 3 principles in baking?
Live content in this series:
- Shredded Chicken Recipe
- 25+ Holiday Baking Ideas
- How to Keep Fresh Fruit
- 5 Baking Steps You Should Never Skip
- The Basics for a Stress-Free Thanksgiving
- The Baking Fundamentals Series is now available.
- How to Keep Common Baking Ingredients Stored
- Common Baking Ingredients’ Shelf Life
- How to Measure Baking Ingredients
- Converting Baking Pans Made Simple
- Baking Recipe Ingredient Volume Conversions
- Calibration of an Oven for Better Baking Outcomes
- Cleaning Your Silicone Mats
- How to Convert Fahrenheit to Celsius Temperatures
- What Does Butter at Room Temperature Mean? (and Why Its Important)
- Flour 101: How to Utilize Various Flour Types
- How to Create Parchment Paper Muffin Liners
- Why do you separate the dry and wet ingredients?
- Cake Flour: How to Make It
- How to Send Cookies via Mail
- Sprinkles 101: What Kinds of Sprinkles Are There and How Do You Use Them?
- Buttermilk Preparation
- What exactly is stress baking?
- Cookie Dough Freezing Instructions
- How to Make Basic Syrup
- How to Store Excess Champagne
- Making a Lemon Twist Garnish
- Brown Sugar Softening (6 Methods!)
It’s a new year, and we’re getting back to the basics.
During the year, I get a large number of comments and emails, some of which are from individuals seeking assistance in troubleshooting what went wrong when they attempted to cook one of my recipes (and sometimes theyre not even aboutmyrecipes, which warms my heart that youd come to me for help).
Here are some real examples from the past year:
- Chocolate ganache with clumps (the chocolate has been left mostly unwrapped for months and had lost all quality)
- Cupcakes that never grew in height (the baking powder had expired and I meanLONGexpired 12 years, to be exact)
- Cookies that were too puffy when they should have been crunchy (they werewildlyover-measuring the flour)
- The frosting was runny (theyre a non-USreader and werent sure of the conversion from cups to milliliters and had guessed on the liquid ingredients, but sadly guessed wrong)
- Banana bread turned out dry (they converted to two smaller sized pans than the recipe called for and still baked it the full time, so they wereoverdone)
- Someone wanted to make my cannoli cupcakes but didn’t have cake flour (but I showed her how and she had everything she needed, so she was overjoyed!)
- Someone else wanted to bake my banana bread but didn’t have buttermilk (spoiler alert: I was able to talk him through making his own)
Virtually majority of the problems I help people with stem from a lack of understanding of the fundamentals of baking, and I don’t mean that as a burn! Baking is a science, and there are several little flaws that you may not be aware of.
Why would you take culinary classes or spend a lot of time watching food programs and reading cookbooks? Nobody should expect you to know all there is to know about baking just by osmosis! But wouldn’t it be fantastic? That absolutely would. Unless you went to culinary school or took a baking class.
My objective is always to make your recipes as tasty and elegant as possible, and it all begins with the foundations.
That’s why I’m introducing the “Baking Basics” series! 🎉
I have a long list of subjects that I am making my way through. I want to make sure the postings are detailed, include photographs when appropriate, and honestly address any concerns you may have. The purpose here is to be helpful.
Thus, when you read these, please let me know if you need any further information. If I didn’t completely address your question, or if you have a situation that you need assistance with, please let me know! Please let me know by leaving a comment on the post or sending me an email. These Baking Fundamentals pieces will be ever-evolving depending on your response and updated with what I learn over the years.
So, how often will I post in this series?
That is the difficult issue. I already have a few ideas, but I don’t want to overload you. But I also don’t want to stagger them so that you just receive one per month since I want you to know everything as soon as possible!
Here’s what I’m going to do out the gate:
- 1Baking Fundamentals article will be published every week until the end of February 2020, on Sundays.
- I’ll continue to offer new recipes in the coming weeks.
- After that, I’ll limit the frequency to once a month.
Keep in mind that my once-a-month schedule only works if I have useful knowledge to give. So pleasepleaseplease let me know what you want to learn!
There are no foolish questions, and chances are someone else (or multiple someone elses) has asked the same question. Don’t be hesitant.
If you aren’t already on the mailing list, join up now so you can get an email notice whenever one of the Baking Fundamentals blogs becomes public. Youll also receive emails about each new recipe, so youll be covered all the way around.