Best Baking Tips

Don't miss these top baking tips to help you feel more confident in the kitchen!

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With the holiday baking season practically upon us, we're all about to spend more time in the kitchen baking pies, cookies, and other holiday favorites. It's my absolute favorite time of year to bake, but it can be a stressful time if you're feeling pressure to delight your loved ones with the best baked goods ever. Check out my top baking tips to give you some extra kitchen confidence this holiday season - and every day of the year!

1. Read the recipe all the way through before you begin baking. This is so important! Reviewing the entire recipe before hand will help you to:

• be sure you have all the ingredients and tools needed to make the recipe.
• make sure you're familiar with all of the steps and techniques involved in the recipe. You don't want to get halfway through making the recipe and realize that you're confused by the instructions! Also, sometimes recipes will tell you to move on to the next step while you waiting on the previous step (such as waiting for dough to rise or chocolate to melt), and you may miss this instruction if you're just going through the recipe step by step.
• make sure any prep work is done in advance. Sometimes a recipe will mention a key prep step mid-way through (for example, that your butter should be room temperature), and that can slow you down or mess up your baking.
• know how long it will take to bake the recipe. If you only have one hour available to bake and realize half-way through that you're supposed to chill the dough for two hours, you'll be disappointed when you realize that your baked good won't be finished in time.

2. Follow the recipe carefully. Ingredients should always be added in the order listed in the recipe. If the recipe says to add the flour gradually rather than all at one, add it slowly. These details do matter, and they can make a big difference in the outcome! Especially if it's your first time making a recipe, be sure to follow it carefully so that your baked good will turn out as intended.

3. Measure ingredients properly. Not measuring ingredients properly can cause you to add too much or too little of an ingredient to your recipe, which can really throw off the final result of your baked good. Learn how to measure ingredients properly.

4. Use the correct temperature ingredients. Knowing when to use room temperature ingredients (or when to use chilled ingredients) can have a big impact on the texture of your baked goods. Using room temperature eggs and butter will yield better chocolate chip cookies, while using cold butter is essential to a flaky pie crust. Learn more about baking with room temperature ingredients.

5. Don't try a new recipe under pressure. Hosting a dinner party or looking for a recipe to bring to a potluck? Don't plan to make a recipe you've never tried before. What if the flavor or texture don't turn out as expected? What if it takes longer to make than you'd planned? Trying a new recipe under pressure can be stressful and take the fun out of baking! If you do want to bake a new recipe for a party, I suggest doing a trial run first so that you can make any adjustments to the recipe or your schedule on the day you plan to bake and share the recipe.

Did you find these tips helpful? Do you have your own baking tips to share? Let me know in the comments!