A-Z Of Baking For Beginners

A-Z Of Baking For Beginners Easy Baking Guide For Non-Bakers ChaptersThe Benefits Of Baking Are:Top 5 Essential Baking TermsTips For Getting Started At HomeSome Practical Baking Tools How To Use ThemUseful Tools For BeginnersUpgrading Your Equipment As You ImproveBaking Recipe Books And Online Resources For BeginnersStep By Step Cookie Recipe For BeginnersBaking for beginners can be a challenge because there are so many secrets that you don’t know. Secrets learnt by bakers with experience and time in front of the oven. But there is a way that you can fast track your success by reading about the secret tips of the trade in our baking guide. Are you ready to get your mixing bowls out and flour on your work surfaces? Then read on because this guide will only make your baking even more delicious.Almost everyone loves chocolate if you are feeling generous you can share. Photo Source: Unsplashhave some great bread, you will feel better, and you will have something tasty to eat.Baking is healthier than some other forms of cooking, such as frying. Baking retains flavour, and as long as you are not using too much sugar, it can be very healthy.Baking is a straightforward form of cooking; with minimal effort, you can achieve some delicious and impressive dishes with quite a minimal effort.The results are in the details such as sieving the flour, glazing the pastry, the quality of the ingredients and the oven temperature. If you know what to pay attention to, you can get consistent and foolproof results.Baking is a cheap way to cook, and you will save on buying the same items in the supermarket. Not to mention the taste when made at home will far outshine anything you can buy in a packet.Almost everyone loves chocolate if you are feeling generous and want to build up some brownie points with your friends and colleagues. Baking could be just the ticket, why not try to make chocolate truffles, chocolate fudge muffins, chocolate cookies, double chocolate and peanut butter cookies. There are endless recipes, and all of them will be w elcomed with open arms where ever you choose to share them.Baking is great for your self-esteem because you will be able to see yourself getting better each time you try to bake. Each time you bake a scone or biscuits, you will be sure that it is better than the time before. Building your confidence in the kitchen and in your baking abilities.Do you know that to sell a home, an estate agent will often bake cookies in the oven just before people are due to arrive? There is no better smell of home than warm bread or cookies.Top 5 Essential Baking TermsKnead - To knead (said ‘need’) something done when baking bread is when you have formed your dough. You then firmly massage the mixture using your hands or a mixer to make the dough more elastic. This is commonly used to make light, airy bread.Score - To score something in baking refers to the shallow slices or cuts made in the dough before baking. These help stream to be released but are also decorative. Commonly used with Bread and pies.Beat - To beat ingredients in baking is to stir them together very rapidly. Commonly this can be done with a fork, spoon, whisk, or electric mixer. Beating helps all of the ingredients come together well and can add air to the mixture.Blend - Blending in baking is about making sure that all ingredients are mixed evenly together. You should continue to stir until blended well. This is commonly used in many baking recipes as evenly blended mixture give the best results in terms of flavour.Whip - Whipping in baking is a way to add a lot of air to ingredients. You would whip egg whites, for example, to achieve the light, fluffy mixture which creates a meringue.Nothing comes close to kneading some dough to work out all of your troubles. Photo Source: UnsplashTips For Getting Started At HomeUse Room temperature IngredientsUsing room temperature ingredients helps your baking, and it is an important step. Hard butter will not mix well, and cold eggs may curdle. Having all ingredients at room temperature will ensure that they mix well and bake well.Remember To Taste As You GoTaking your time also helps you to avoid silly mistakes like using salt instead of sugar, or oil instead of honey. These mistakes are very easy to make when you are trying to multitask with making a pie and a cake, for example. Try to enjoy the process and take your time, taste ingredients that look similar to sugar and salt if they are not well labelled before adding to your mixture.Always Use Fresh IngredientsThings like baking powder and baking soda can sit in the cupboard for years and seemingly not go bad. So can flour and other ingredients, but it is always worth using fresh ingredients as older ingredients may act in a way that you don’t expect when you are baking. Also, while ingredients may seem like they don’t go bad, they can go rancid without you be aware of it. It is better to purchase ingredients in small qualities and use it all up rather than have huge quantities sitting i n the cupboard for years at a time.Use SaltYou have seen salt in your cake recipe and are thinking about leaving it out. It's weird, right? But remember what we said about following the recipe closely. Every ingredient is there for a reason, this includes salt too. For example; Salt is there to balance sweetness and make the flavours pop. If you want your lemon cake to taste more lemony, add a tsp of salt and watch the lemon come to life.you can achieve some delicious and impressive dishes with quite a minimal effort. Photo Source: UnsplashThe Essential Top 10 Equipment List For You To Start Baking At HomeKitchen Scale,Mixing Bowls,A Baking Sheet,Muffin TinBaking Tin,A Wire WhiskA Wooden SpoonA SieveGreaseproof Paper Or Parchment Paper  A TimerUseful Tools For BeginnersMeasuring Cups And SpoonsIf you decide not to pay out for a kitchen scale, you can also use a measuring cup or measuring spoons. It is a bit more of a slow process this way, but it can work for you if you are patient. Used for: Measuring IngredientsA Rolling PinYou will get a lot of use out of your rolling pin if you like pies, biscuits and perfectly iced cakes. Yes, you can use it for all of that and more if you get a good one, it will last forever.Used for: To roll pastry, icing or other doughs flat in a uniform way.Pastry And Cookie CuttersI almost added this to the essentials list because who doesn’t love biscuits and cookies in gorgeous shapes. You can’t have gingerbread men in the shape of a circle, for example. These cutters make things fun and can be used for lots of purposes in the kitchen. Such as for icing shapes, pie shapes etc.Used for: To create decorative shapes in doughs.A SpatulaThis is a narrow metal unsharp blade that is used for spreading. You can use this to spread icing onto cakes or jam on scones. It helps a lot with spreading icing on cakes and biscuits.Used for: Spreading uniformly.Search for the best cooking courses London on Superprof.Upgrading Your Equipment As You ImproveElectric MixerMixers can be expensive, but wow do they make baking easier. After you have tried your first one, you will wonder what you have been doing without it. Not to mention the results of your bakes will show that it was worth the investment.Used for: Makes your life easier by mixing everything for you.Pie DishWhile you can technically use an oven-safe bowl for your pies, both the sweet and savoury kind.   If you are planning on making lots of pies then having a dish can be a great treatUsed for: Used for pies, often they come in a uniform shape and size.Pastry BrushIf you want lovely brown baked goods, then you need to coat them in an egg or milk wash. This helps you coat your savoury and sweet treats uniformly without drowning them in liquid which will burn once added to the oven.Used for: To coat baked goods to help them to brown.Baking Recipe Books And Online Resources For BeginnersBaking Recipe BooksThe Hummingbird Bakery CookbookThis is one of my favourite bakin g books that I have at home. Brought after trying the decadent cakes from the hummingbird bakery in London. I am an absolute fan of their cakes, and the book makes it really easy to recreate some of my favourites. Like the deliciously chocolatey red velvet cupcake that they are well known for.Purchase: Everywhere books are sold, online and offline; also available on KindleHardcover: 160 pagesPrice: from £6.99 for the Kindle editionISBN-10: 1784724165 / ISBN-13: 978-1784724160Online Courses For An At Home Bake OffThere are lots of easy ways to get hands-on help from people from around the world. The benefit of learning from people who come from different cultures is that you can learn the real techniques that they use to get authentic and delicious dishes at home. Want to learn how to make Macarons like a French baker, focaccia like an Italian baker, streusel like a German baker, pumpkin pie like an American baker.Online baking courses or classes are a great way to try your hand at making international sweet treats. Using the power of the internet, you can meet bakers who can take you step by step through the techniques to make sweet treats and luscious, savoury bakes. As well as your oven and ingredients, you also need to have stable internet connection and compatible devices.Online YouTube channelsBigger Bolder Baking This is the channel is focused on helping you to bake with confidence. Gemma Stafford is a fully fledged chef, but she creates recipes that are accessible for you to develop your baking skills and also other kinds of cooking as well. Nothing is out of reach with this channel as her focus is for you to use things you already have at home to make great and yummy recipes.Followers: 1.8MViews: 171,214,027New videos: Sundays and ThursdaysTop videos:No, Knead baked DonutsEasy to make cinnamon rollsHomemade baked churrosStep By Step Cookie Recipe For BeginnersSo you have got your tools, have learnt a few tips and looked up a few bakers. Now it’s tim e to try your hand at baking, this easy recipe is perfect for beginners and yummy enough to make sure you don't stop baking.Recipe For OTT Chocolate Chip And Peanut Butter Oaty Cookies500 g oats250 g of peanut butter3 large eggs113g of butter200g of brown sugar150 g of granulated sugar2 tsp of baking soda1 tsp of salt1 tbsp of vanilla extract170 g of chocolate chips  170 g of MM’s  100 g of peanutsOptional: Add raisins,Prep time: 15 minutesCooking Time: Less than 10 minutesServes 60 cookiesCooking Instructions For OTT Chocolate Chip And Peanut Butter Oaty CookiesPreheat the oven to 350 F.Prepare two baking trays with greaseproof paper.Cream the butter and sugars together until fluffy.Stir in the vanilla and the egg until well mixed.Add the eggs 1 at a time and mix well.Add the peanut butter and vanilla mix again until combined.Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and combine until evenly mixed.The dough will be sticky and soft to the touch.Now fold in the chocolate chips, peanuts a nd MM’s.Using tablespoons or your hands; scoop out 1 (small cookies) to 2 (large cookies) tablespoons of the dough and place on the baking tray.Bake for 7 to a maximum of 12 minutes.Take them out and let them cool for 5 minutes.Baking brings all of your senses to life, as you focus on step by step of your recipe, you detach from stress, worry and the overactive thoughts in your mind. Welcome to the baking world, Enjoy your journey