Baking Hints
Measuring:
- Butter or Margarine: The measurement of butter or margarine is usually on the wrapping. Generally, each stick of butter equals 1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons. To measure butter or margarine that's not in the form of a stick, pack into measuring spoon or cup and level off.
- Flour: To measure flour, simply spoon flour from package and level off. Never pack the flour or shake or tap the flour.
- Shortening: Liquid shortenings like salad oil and melted butter is measure as liquids. To measure solid shortenings such as lard and vegetable shortening, pack shortening firmly into measuring spoon or cup and level off.
- Sugar: For sugar, simply scoop and level off the excess on top. Brown sugar, on the other hand, must be lightly packed into the measuring device and then leveled off. Brown sugar will hold its shape when inverted.
Beating mixtures:
Always scrap the sides of the bowl to make sure ingredients are well mixed in.
Fold in:
For many cakes, egg whites are beat till they form stiff peaks and then folded into the mixture. To fold, cut down through the center of the mixture, across the bottom and up side of bowl. Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat until the mixture is blended. Try to avoid overfolding or the egg whites will break down.
Preheating:
Preheat means allow 10 minutes for the oven to warm up and reach its correct baking temperature.
Cake:
To test whether the cake is done or not, insert toothpick into the center of the cake. The cake is done when the toothpick comes out clean. Make sure the cake is cooled completely before frosting or filling or the frosting will melt. Boil decorating bag in water with a little baking soda to keep the decorating bag fresh-smelling.
Chocolate:
Never cook to melt chocolate directly. Chocolate must be melted indirectly by placing the chocolate in a bowl and then place the bowl in a pan of hot water (not boiling). To speed melting, break the chocolate into small pieces and stir frequently.
Cookies:
Try not to bake cookies over the maximum time. They may not look done when you open the oven, but cookies continue to cook on the cookie sheet and harden so don't worry about it. I have burnt many cookies because they still looked gooey and soft in the center so I left them in the oven a minute or two longer. Figuring out whether the cookies are done or not comes with experience.Grease cookie sheet only if the recipe says so because some cookies will spread even if the cookie sheet is not greased. Remove cookies as soon as possible from the cookie sheet to wire rack since the cookies will continue to cook on hot sheet. Try not to overlap cookies on wire rack because that will make the cookies soggy and out of shape.Putting a slice of bread (changing it every other day) in the cookie jar will soften hard cookies and keep soft cookies soft.
Custards and Puddings:
If cooked custard needs to be cooled before adding other ingredients, cover the custard with a sheet of plastic wrap or else the surface of the custard may harden and cause the mixture to be lumpy.
Gelatin:
Make sure gelatin is completely dissolved by constantly stirring it or else it will spoil the mixture's clarity and/or smoothness.
Pies:
Roll dough from center to edges and lift rolling pin slightly as you near edges to avoid making them the edges too thin.Never stretch pastry dough to fit into pie plate because it will shrink back to its original since when baked.
Soufflés:
Do not open oven door before the end of the specified baking time because the rush of cold air can cause the soufflé to collapse.Serve soufflés as soon as they come out of the oven since they tend to collapse within few minutes.
