Baking Tips By Heather Callister
Some Helpful Baking TipsOven Thermometer: Use a thermometer in your oven regardless of how new or old your oven is. Why? Oven temperatures don’t always tell the truth. The dial on your oven might say one thing and the oven thermometer may read something else. To get an accurate reading on your thermometer, pre-heat your oven for 20 minutes with the thermometer inside. I use the CDN Pro Accurate Oven Thermometer. America’s Test Kitchen recommended it and it works great for me. I bought mine on Amazon and it came in a two pack. Always test both thermometers in the oven side by side to see if you have a consistent reading. If you don’t, you may have a glitchy one so send it back.
Baking Powder: Replace your baking powder every 6 months after you open the container and before it expires. This will help keep baked goods rising high.
Baking Soda: Replace baking soda after 30 days of opening it. Again, this helps to rise your baked goods. I don’t bother buying it in bulk if I’m replacing it every 30 days. You can always use the leftover baking soda to sprinkle on your carpet before vacuuming.
Do Not Overmix: Do not overmix your cake batter. If you do, you can get gluey streaks throughout the cake even though the cake is completely baked. This can also make your cake dry because too much air got into it.
Avoid Distractions: When measuring ingredients, try to avoid as many distractions as possible. I’m a mom with 2 little boys. Trust me, I can multi-task pretty well but I’ve had to throw out some ingredients because of distractions. All I can say is do the best you can.
Weigh ingredients: I love the European way of weighing ingredients. It gives me consistent results. I use the OXO Good Grips 11lb. Food Scale with Pull Out Display. To avoid getting flour or sugar in the crevices, I cover top of it with plastic wrap. It’s so much easier to clean it up afterwards.
Have Fun: Baking is a time to be mindful of being present. Enjoy the smells, the sounds, and the tastes. It’s a great way to get centered. Enjoy!
What are some baking tips that help you?