Confession time: I’m not a natural baker.
It’s never been my strong suit! But who doesn’t love pulling a beautifully browned baked good out of the oven, the warm and homey scent filling your kitchen, mouth watering as you wait for it to cool enough to eat?
It’s enough to make even the baddest baker of them all (um, me) start hoarding tips that will help me along.
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And you know what? All those little tips, hacks, and ingredient substitutions gave me an edge when it came to baking. They’ve really helped!
I’ve gone from making horribly rock-solid cookies, sunken cakes and overcooked brownies…..to making sourdough bread boules with crackly browned tops and moist, yummy cakes.
I’ll probably always be on the lookout for sneaky tricks that make me be a better baker, but I’ve gotten a heck of a lot better than I was.
I’ve been keeping most of the hacks, tips, and tricks I find stored away in a big fat Evernote file.
Because I’m me and I’m obsessed with organizing my Evernote, I’ve got every tip tagged. That way, I can quickly search something like “butter substitution” when I find myself stuck.
(Which reminds me. There’s a tip down below of one of my fave baking hacks, especially for when I suddenly discover I’m short on butter!)
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Today I’m sharing some of my fave hacks, tips, ingredient substitutions — so you can get a leg up on the baking this year!
Keep this list handy in your back pocket and you’ll maybe be a halfway decent baker like me someday (HIGH FIVE!)
HERE ARE MY ALL-TIME FAVE BAKING HACKS AND TIPS TO MAKE YOU A DAMN BETTER BAKER:
»Take the chill away: Let your eggs and milk come to room temperature before using.
»Weight over volume: When possible, weigh your ingredients instead of using a measuring cup or spoon. It’s a lot more accurate!
»Turn them around: Rotate your baked goods in the oven halfway through baking.
»Make light and airy biscuits: Skip the mixer and make your biscuit dough in the food processor.
»Keep that four fresh. Store it in the freezer, in an ait-tight container, as opposed to the cupboard or the shelf.
»No peeking! Keep the oven door closed while your item is baking. This one I learned the hard way (it’s the number one cause of sunken cakes!)
»Make your own powdered sugar: pulse it in the food processor or blender until it’s super fine.
»Cold hands, warm heart, better bread. It’s way easier to knead with cool hands, but I tend to run hot in the best of situations (especially when I’m breakin’ a sweat kneading dough!) If my hands start to get too hot, I’ll run them under cool water for a bit. It helps the dough knead way easier.
»Skip the floured surface when you’re making cookies. Dust your surface with powdered sugar instead. It’ll both crisp and sweeten your cookies while they bake.
»Mix your butter better. Freeze butter, then use a box grater to grate small pieces into your biscuit dough. It’ll stay cooler once you start combining it.
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That’s it! Go forth and bake like the badass you are.
Got more tips and ideas? I wanna hear them! Leave your favorites in the comments, or drop me a line on Instagram or Facebook.
Ruthy Kirwan is a recipe tester, developer, and cooking instructor living in New York City.
In 2016, Ruthy created the website ‘Percolate Kitchen’ to be a digital kitchen resource for busy people. Sharing simple and quick recipes, how-to’s and guides, and meal prep for the everday family, she has built a loyal following of busy parents who want calmer weeknights. Her weekly newsletter is full of actionable tips, recipes, foodie links from around the web, kitchen ‘hacks’ and more.
You can find out more at percolatekitchen.com
