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In today's guest blog we asked Cindy to share a bit of her soul and talk about one of her passions - teaching people how to bake…

Baking 101

by Cindy Mushet

I love teaching people how to bake.  This profession has given me so much satisfaction and joy that I'm eager to spread the baking love around.  And after nearly 20 years of teaching, I've seen just about all of the problems that can happen in the home baker's kitchen.  Aside from major mistakes, like using salt instead of sugar, most of the problems are simple ones that stem from inexperience.  But once you learn some of the basics, you can bake almost anything with relative ease.

For example, most folks think preheating the oven means turning it on and waiting for the beep to indicate it's at the right temperature.  The problem is that the beep usually occurs within 5 to 10 minutes, but your oven isn't really preheated for 20 to 30 minutes.  If you put your batter or dough into the oven at the sound of the beep, there won't be enough heat to bake it properly, resulting in a dense texture and flat pastry. There are lots of details like this, simple things, that can have a great impact on the success of your baking, and your self confidence in the kitchen. 

How you measure your ingredients - a step most people don't give much thought - can dramatically affect the outcome of your pastries.  As can the temperature of your butter (don't even get me started on butter - I could go on forever!).  The type of flour you choose - even among brands of all purpose flour - can change the way your cookies look and taste. And if you understand the creaming method of blending butter and sugar - what happens during the process, why this step is so critical to good cakes, how creaming for cakes is different than creaming for cookies - your results will be beautiful proof that knowledge is "flour power." 

I've been told that home bakers aren't interested in this information.  But my experience in teaching tells me just the opposite - most home bakers are fascinated with how and why things work.  They want the behind-the-scenes details that make the difference between a light and airy cupcake and a gooey, leaden mess. 

It took years of trial and error (lots and lots of errors) and research for me to figure out these details. And I took special care to address all of them in The Art and Soul of Baking.  It's the book I wish I'd had when I started baking - some food science, some in-depth explanations, and plenty of gentle guidance, just when you need it.  Oh, and lots of great recipes.  The best part is, once you understand how baking works, you can apply it to any recipe you run across, and you'll find your results just get better and better.

Here are a few of the basic rules for great baked goods.  These 4 are the fastest and easiest ways to improve your baking immediately - and they're easy!

1.  Test your oven. 

Most home (and professional) ovens are inaccurate by 25 to 50 degrees or more. This can wreck havoc with batters and doughs - too low and they don't set and brown in a timely manner, resulting in dense, undercooked baked goods.  Too high and the crust forms too quickly, inhibiting rise and burning in the process.  It doesn't matter if your oven is inaccurate, so long as you know.  You can always compensate for the inaccuracy by adjusting the dial.  Invest less than $20 in a good oven thermometer - the kind with the glass tube - and test your oven once a month.  And be sure to allow time for your oven to fully preheat before you bake, at least 20 minutes.

2. Measure accurately. 

Baking is art, surely, but it is also chemistry.  In the profession, recipes are called "formulas," and the ratio of liquid to flour to leavener to fat is very specific for each type of pastry.  This is why professionals always weigh their ingredients - to insure accuracy and consistency day after day.  Problems begin when the amount of flour (and other dry ingredients) is inaccurate.  Measuring in cups can be tricky - for instance, is the flour sifted or spooned into the cup?  Or should you dip and sweep?  Each one of these methods results in a different weight of the flour, affecting the formula and, ultimately, the texture.  Too much flour makes things dry and tough.  Too little causes a weak structure and dense texture.  Whether you use cups or a scale, there's a proper way to do it.  Suffice to say, measuring counts and you need to do it carefully.  And if you want to make the leap from cups to a simple, inexpensive digital scale, I provide you directions on how to do so in my book, along with a table that lists the weight per cup of the most common baking ingredients.

3.  Read the recipe all the way through

I'm always surprised when I hear someone is halfway through a recipe before they realize they don't have the right ingredients.  If you want to make great desserts, set yourself up for success.  Take 5 minutes to read the recipe from start to finish.  Make a mental note of baking, chilling, and frosting or finishing tasks, and make sure you have time to bake.  Then check your pantry against the ingredient list, and make sure you have the right pan(s).  We have enough stress in our lives - baking should be relaxing and fun, not a frustration.  Taking a few minutes to organize your approach can make a huge difference in the quality of the outcome and your experience.

4.  Room temperature butter shouldn't be room temperature

The temperature and texture of butter affects how it blends with other ingredients and performs in the oven.  Many recipes simply ask for room temperature butter when what they really want is butter that is 65 F. to 68 F. (also called softened butter).  I don't know about you, but room temperature in my kitchen is often much hotter than that.  Soft and squishy butter can't hold all the air bubbles formed during mixing - air bubbles responsible for the rise and texture of cakes, cookies and other pastries.  Keep in mind that softened butter is still cool to the touch, but flexible.  If you were to sculpt it into a shape, it would hold that shape.  If you can't sculpt it, don't bake with it.

I've got tons of tips to improve your baking and make your time in the kitchen enjoyable (not to mention delicious!).  And there's always something new to learn, and a new recipe to try.  I still learn something new about baking every day - it's one of the reasons I love what I do.  Another is sharing that knowledge with others who are passionate about baking.  But my favorite part is the pleasure I get from watching friends and family sigh in contentment at the taste of a freshly-baked treat. Now that's job satisfaction!

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