There’s nothing like an afternoon spent baking to keep away the winter blues. There are thousands upon thousands of fantastic baking recipes available online for you to follow or tweak to your heart’s content. The following will explore some of the things you need to keep in mind if you’re looking to get into baking.
YOU LEARN BY DOING
You can watch all the videos you want and read all the cookbooks you can get your hands on, but the only thing that will teach you how to bake is actually doing it. If it helps, take the pressure off the first few recipes by referring to them as “experiments” and avoid trying a new recipe right before an event or occasion where the pressure to get it right is high.
Start with your favorite baked good and make it a few times over the course of a month. Take note of your preferences. Was it a little on the dry side? Too moist? Too rich? Too sweet? Adjust the recipe and try it again. Pretty soon, you’ll find the sweet spot that works for your taste preferences.
SEARCH OUT NEW RECIPES FAR AND WIDE
The world is full of expert bakers, and all of them have their own nifty tips and tricks that can take a baked good from yummy to this is literally the best brownie I ever had. Check out some of the best baking blogs where you’ll easily learn how to make delicious treats. Watch video channels or food network shows devoted to baking. Read books. Ask the people you know for their favorite recipes. If a recipe begs you to try it, give it a go. If it doesn’t interest you, move on to the next one.
DON’T GO OVERBOARD WITH THE SHOPPING
Perfecting recipe by recipe can also help you slow down the purchases that you might need to make in the future. You don’t need to buy everything at once; you can get the perfect banana bread tin and work on that until you’ve nailed it. Then you can seek out a cake tin or icing bag nozzles. If anything feels out of your price range or like an unnecessary purchase, look up alternatives to common tools online. You likely have far more at your disposal than you previously realized.
GET TO KNOW YOUR OVEN
Whenever you’re trying out new baking recipes, make sure to set the timer a little on the early side. Every oven is different and heats at different speeds. This means that you might be following a recipe for cupcakes that suggests 22 minutes for bake time, but you might only need 20 minutes with your oven. As you get to know your oven better, you’ll become better at adjusting bake times for your particular machine.
DON’T THINK DIETARY RESTRICTIONS PREVENT YOU FROM BAKING
No matter what dietary needs you and those you’re baking for have, there’s a way to have your favorite treats without the things that don’t agree with your body. There are gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, and egg-free recipes galore. As awareness of intolerances and allergies grows, people are inventing new ways to have beloved favorites without any trouble. Back in the day, people just dealt with stomach aches, conjunction, and inflammation—today, we know better. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t bake just because there are certain ingredients off-limits for you.
DON’T SKIP THE DECOR ELEMENTS
Baked goods also open the door for an intense amount of decorative fun. There’s video content all over the web that can help you learn the specific movements and tweaks to master any kind of decoration. Scrolling through pictures or looking at magazines can also help you learn how to plate what you make. People taste with their eyes first, meaning that how you display the finished product actually changes how much people enjoy it. A single strawberry cut up in a pretty way and set on or near your treat can really take it to the next level.
EXPERIMENT
Once you start to get the hang of baking, the possibilities are endless. What happens when you use pears instead of bananas in a banana bread recipe? (Spoiler alert, it’s fantastic). What happens when you switch out the regular flour for almond flour? How do different sugars change your favorite recipes?
Keeping the above information in mind can help you begin the process of learning to bake. Don’t beat yourself up if something you work on doesn’t turn out perfectly, it’s all part of the learning process.
