I’ve long been comfortable cooking savory dishes, especially those I learned at my mother’s knee in our New Orleans kitchen. I can toss together an étouffée, whip up a red gravy or throw together a sheet-pan dinner with the confidence of a WNBA all-star slipping into a neighborhood pick-up game.
When it came to baking, however, I often felt more like a tween navigating her first school dance: unsure, awkward and full of anxiety. I’m more confident these days, but I still get the stress that can descend around the holidays when folks are suddenly called upon to bake cookies, pies or dinner rolls. The pressure is on!
Over the years, I’ve picked up helpful habits from family, the excellent bakers at The Washington Post where I was recipes editor, top-notch New Orleans bakers when I was a food writer at The Times-Picayune, as well as from trusted cookbooks and online sources.
Below you’ll find a half dozen common baking dilemmas and the solutions I’ve adopted. Do I still have a lot to learn? Of course, but these tips have helped me build my baking confidence. I hope they do the same for you.
Problem: Oops! I didn’t know I needed that.
Solution: Read the recipe carefully.
Never skip this step! Mentally walk through the recipe, asking yourself: Do I have the equipment and ingredients I need? Did I factor in the rising time, chilling time? Does the recipe offer cooking times and visual cues? After reading it, ask yourself: Do I still have questions? If the answer is yes, the recipe might be the problem. Look for something similar from a cookbook or from a site featuring tested recipes. (The internet has many untested recipes!) Bonus tip: Unless you’re experienced, don’t assume you can substitute one ingredient for another or use a cooking vessel other than the one called for.
Problem: Sometimes this recipe works; sometimes it doesn’t.
Solution: Get a reliable kitchen scale.
I grew up using the scoop-and-level method of measuring dry ingredients, so I was resistant to using a scale. It is, however, the most important baking habit I’ve adopted. Baking involves science, and a scale allows you to be precise. Don’t believe a scale is necessary? Try measuring flour two ways: Reach in and scoop it into the measuring cup; weigh that. Then, gently spoon flour into the cup and weigh that. You’ll likely see a 20 percent difference in the weight. Multiply that by multiple cups and you can see how this could affect results. If your recipe doesn’t include weights, weigh any ingredient of ¼ cup or more as you go, so you can make adjustments.
Problem: Whoa, it’s burnt at the edges and raw in the middle.
Solution: Check your oven temperature, and your pan size and material.
An inaccurate oven can cause all sorts of mischief. Use an oven thermometer to check the appliance. Also, even when your oven dings, it still may not be fully preheated. A thermometer can let you know where you stand.
When it comes to pans, make sure you are using the size, shape and material called for. Often a recipe will give you a size, but not the material. If you have a choice, many experts agree that metal, which heats up and cools down evenly and quickly, is better for baking. With glass, the edge of the food may start to crisp before the center is cooked. (Only have glass? Try tenting the edges with foil if they cook too quickly; or wrap the outside of the pan in a damp towel or baking strips.) And don’t just rely on allotted cooking time. You want to limit opening the oven but, near the allotted time, look for visual cues: Is it golden? Does the cake spring back when touched? Does a skewer inserted come out clean?
Problem: My cakes (or cookies) are flat and dense.
Solution: Pay attention to ingredient temperatures.
Recipes often call for room temperature butter and eggs. (That’s around 70ºF. In the South, there’s no telling how hot your kitchen might be, right?) The reason? They will combine smoothly with the other ingredients, allowing you to incorporate the proper amount of air and create an even texture and volume. Butter too cold? Your cake might crumble due to uneven mixing, or the batter may become tough because you had to overmix. Too soft? You may end up with flat cakes and cookies. Cold eggs can curdle a batter leading to a denser texture. Didn’t have time to remove these items from the fridge? Soften butter in a microwave: Stand the stick on its end and start with 10 seconds of heat. Feel the butter. It should be soft enough for your finger to leave a slight dent, with no melting. Still too firm? Try another 3 seconds… (If your butter is not in stick form, rotate it after each hit of heat.) For the eggs, place them in a bowl of warm-from-tap water for about 5 minutes.
Problem: Yikes! My luscious batter turned to soup!
Solution: Master basic baking mixing techniques.
You can get your butter to the exact temperature and measure each ingredient perfectly, but if you don’t mix it properly, you can undo that careful work. If the recipe says to mix just until the ingredients are incorporated, be gentle and do just that. Chances are, you’ll also come across one of these terms:
- Beat: Beating means to vigorously mix an ingredient or combination of ingredients together, usually with a fork, whisk, wooden spoon or electric mixer.
- Cream: Here, you beat the fat (usually butter) and sugar together to incorporate air and create a fluffy, pale mixture. This is usually done with a whisk or electric mixer.
- Fold: Most often, this involves adding whipped egg whites or cream to a batter with the goal of retaining air and volume. To fold, add the fluffy ingredient to the batter and then, using a rubber spatula on its edge, cut down the middle of the bowl, scoop the batter from the bottom, and bring it up and over in a gentle circular motion. Rotate the bowl as you go and continue until the mixture has no streaks. If the batter is very dense, you can start by adding about a third of the fluffy mixture, incorporating that first and stirring gently, then adding the rest.
Problem: Oh no! It stuck to the pan.
Solution: Grease and line the pan properly.
Generally, follow the instructions in the recipe. (For some, such as angel food cake, pans should not be greased at all.) In most cases, however, even if using a nonstick pan, greasing helps to ensure success. The key is even but not excessive coating.
The most flavorful choice is butter, but you may use oil or cooking spray. For butter, cut off a tablespoon and rub it around the pan, letting the warmth of your hands soften it as you go. Flouring the pan adds another layer of insurance. Add a tablespoon or so of flour and then turn the pan to get a dusting on the bottom and sides. Tap the pan to loosen any clumps and then turn it over and tap out any excess.
Even if a recipe doesn’t call for parchment, for extra insurance, especially with cakes, grease the bottom of the pan, press in cut-to-fit parchment and then grease the pan as directed above. If you want to lift a cake or bar cookies out of the pan, parchment can help there, too. Cut it longer on two sides to create a sling so you can easily lift out the baked goods.
Note: The best tried-and-true recipes often come from family and friends. When I asked my pal and fellow food writer Suzy Fleming Leonard for an easy dinner roll recipe, she immediately used her phone to snap a photo of a yellowed newspaper clipping of a recipe from the Associated Press. “I’ve had it forever, and it’s delicious,” she said. She makes it for holiday meals and gets raves. It is a great one for beginning bakers because the dough comes together quickly in a stand mixer. The pumpkin purée adds flavor and moisture for a tender crumb; the pepitas add crunch. We tweaked the recipe a bit, adding nutmeg and cinnamon for a more seasonal fall flavor. Use canned pumpkin or, if you prefer, puréed butternut squash. The recipe can be doubled, but if you do that, consider starting with 5½ cups of flour, adding more as needed. If toasting the pepitas, add them to a dry skillet over medium heat and stir them until lightly browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Cool them to the touch before adding to the dough.
