Basics of Baking for a new or casual baker

Baking- This word can make any new cook feel anxious within seconds. It is one branch of cooking that is based on precision. A few grams of ingredients or a few degrees of heat here and there can turn your batter into either a scrumptious cake or a piece of concrete slab. And while it isn’t easy to perfect the science of baking, once you nail the basics, it’ll become second nature to you. Here are the things you should keep in mind if you’re a novice or a casual baker.

Read the recipe thoroughly

We can’t stress this point enough. Always, always read the recipe twice or even thrice before you start prepping. Be it the ingredients, measurements, temperatures and the final execution, keep a note of everything and be ready beforehand. Improvising or going with the flow while baking isn’t a great idea for beginners and it can result in a lot of wastage.

Importance of the ingredient’s temperature

Another really important point to stress on is the temperature of ingredients that goes in the cake batter. It is strongly suggested that you must use the ingredients at room temperature – unless the recipe says otherwise. Many of the ingredients that we use for baking such as eggs or butter are usually refrigerated. What many novice bakers tend to do is use these ingredients straight from the refrigerator. However, that causes complications in the way it blends with the batter and later results in a catastrophe that you cannot avert. 

Getting Eggs and Butter to room temperature- instantly and efficiently

To get eggs to room temperature instantly you can simply dunk them in room-temperature water for 10-15 minutes. Butter is known to be difficult to get to room temperature. We want a creamy butter texture similar to the one that spreads on a piece of bread without any hassles. To achieve that you can heat a glass bowl in a microwave oven for two minutes and cover the butter cube/slab with it. This way the butter will gradually turn soft without any fuss.

White and brown sugar- What’s the difference?

When it comes to adding sugar to your cake batter, many get confused with the difference between brown and white sugar. Sure, brown sugar is sweeter than white sugar and while they both bring sweetness to the cake, they deliver vividly different results in not only the flavour but also the texture of the cake or cookie. For example, white sugar gives the cookie a crunchier texture, whereas brown sugar gives it a chewy texture thanks to the molasses in it, along with a deeper, more rustic flavour.

Baking Soda and Baking Powder- What’s the difference?

This is another dilemma that puts new bakers to a spin – what really is the difference between baking soda and baking powder. First things first – both these ingredients have one component in common which is sodium bicarbonate. This component when reacts to acids (like buttermilk, yoghurt or vinegar) releases carbon dioxide that helps the dough to rise. Simplifying this scientific mumbo-jumbo, this is what makes your cakes fluffy. Now the way Baking Soda and Baking Powder react with the ingredients are entirely different.

Since Baking soda is simply sodium bicarbonate, you need to add an acid separately in order to make it rise. Baking powder, on the other hand, doesn’t really require any acid because it is already mixed with one. It just gets mixed with the liquids in the batter and starts its process. Baking soda is instantaneous to the reaction when it gets mixed with the acid, whereas Baking powder takes a gradual approach and rises in stages, giving a more even rise. So what should you use while baking? The answer is simple- Whatever the recipe tells you to. Always stick to the recipe. Every recipe will have its own combination to make your dough rise, so don’t mess with that.

Measurements- Cups and grams

The way to get the best results while baking, apart from skills is the quantity of ingredients that you add to the mix. Baking is all about precision and a few grams of ingredients here and there can cause a considerable effect on the overall outcome. While some recipes use a cup/spoon format to measure and add dry ingredients, what works more efficiently is recipes that use the weight. The reason for that is that the cups don’t really measure the volume of the ingredients well.

For example, a cup of flour even when added clearing the brim off the cup, will have some air trapped within, that could give out more or less accurate quantity. The weight, on the other hand, will be the same no matter what. To get an exact measurement, use a cheap kitchen weighing scale to get the exact measurement and keep your recipe perfect to the point. If you can’t find the recipe with weight measurement you can simply search for cup to gram conversion table online.

The way an ingredient is added also impacts the overall result. For example, it is always advisable to sift the dry ingredients before adding them to the batter as they can contain lumps and impurities that could react and mix with the dough making it bad and uneven. Sifting also results in a more homogenous mix for dry and wet ingredients. Also, if you’re adding eggs while mixing the batter, add it one by one as there are chances for the batter to split, since a batter can only dissolve a limited amount of moisture at a time, so being gradual is the perfect way to go.

Mixing and folding the right way

Mixing and folding of the mixture are as important as the way ingredients are added. Flour contains a key component that contributes to the texture of anything you bake, which is called gluten. This gets activated when you knead or mix a dough too much. It is highly recommended that when making a cake batter, gently fold and mix from the bottom to the top till the ingredients are homogeneously mixed. Too much mixing will result in the activation of gluten and the entire texture of the cake will go for a toss.

While creaming sugar and butter, however, the mixing dynamic is quite the opposite. When sugar and butter are mixed together they act as their own leavener which helps to make a cake rise. The idea here is that sugar and butter must be mixed continuously for at least five minutes to trap air properly within the batter.  Mix till the batter is creamy smooth and you can’t feel the sugar granules in between your fingers.

Temperature check

Whenever a recipe asks to pre-heat the oven, start that beforehand and open the oven only when you’re actually set to put your tin inside. This rule also applies while the cake is baking. Every time you open the oven, the temperature inside will get affected, which will lead to poor overall results. So open the oven door only when it is absolutely necessary.

Tin removal tricks

When your cake is all nice and done, its time to take it out of the tin. Assuming you’ve buttered the sides of the tin well, the best tool to take the cake out is using a blunt butter knife. Gently scrape through the edges to create a gap between the cake and the tin. Now flip the tin upside down, and instead of shaking the tin vertically, shake it sideways. This will get the cake out nicely without much fuss.

Baking might require a lot of rules to follow through, but the result, in the end, will be all worth it.

Hopefully these simple tips will help you find the joy of baking!

Take a look at these simple baked recipes to get you started.

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