Feb 6, 2025
Unlike cooking, baking is chemistry—too much flour or too little baking soda can alter the entire outcome. Weighing ingredients instead of using cups ensures accuracy and consistency, leading to perfectly textured cakes, bread, and pastries every time.
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Butter, eggs, and dairy should be at room temperature for smooth mixing. Cold ingredients don’t blend well, causing uneven textures. Softened butter traps air better, while warm eggs mix more easily, leading to fluffier cakes and lighter bakes.
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Your oven’s displayed temperature may not match the actual heat inside. A slight variation can affect baking results, leading to overcooked or underbaked goods. Using an oven thermometer helps ensure precise temperatures for consistent, reliable baking.
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Yeast is a living organism that requires warmth and food to thrive. If the water is too hot, it kills the yeast; if too cold, it won’t activate. The ideal temperature for proofing is around 37°C, ensuring dough rises properly for soft, airy bread.
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A pinch of salt in cakes, cookies, and pastries balances sweetness and enhances flavours. It strengthens gluten in doughs, improves texture, and brings out rich, deep flavours, making your baked treats taste more complex and satisfying.
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Baking soda needs an acid like lemon juice or yoghurt to activate, while baking powder contains both acid and base, working on its own. Using the wrong one can affect texture and rise, making baked goods either too dense or overly airy.
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Chilling cookie and pastry dough before baking allows the flour to absorb moisture, resulting in better flavour and structure. It also prevents excessive spreading, giving cookies a chewier bite and pastries a flakier, more delicate texture.
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Professional bakers use steam to create the perfect crust on bread. Adding a tray of water to the oven or misting dough before baking helps keep the surface moist, allowing the crust to crisp up beautifully without drying out the interior.
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Mixing batter too much develops excess gluten, leading to tough cakes and dense muffins. For light, tender bakes, mix just until combined. Folding gently and avoiding vigorous stirring keeps baked goods soft and prevents unwanted chewiness.
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Darker baking tins absorb more heat, making the edges of cakes and cookies cook faster and brown more deeply. Lighter-coloured pans reflect heat, promoting even baking. Adjusting oven temperature or baking time helps avoid overbrowning.
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