Published on May 20th 2023

Baking is an art that needs to be practised overtime. You will need to master these techniques to become a better baker.

'MISE EN PLACE' 

Mise en place is a French kitchen phrase that means “putting in place." This simply means gathering all your ingredients and equipment before beginning to bake.

There is nothing more frustrating than to realize halfway through the recipe that you are missing a key ingredient. The number of times I almost forgot to baking powder in the cake batter is countless!

Benefits

·       Your baking process will go smoothly.

·       Ensures that no ingredient and equipment is forgotten, hence saving time.

PREHEAT YOUR OVEN

Preheating the oven is as important as is stretching before a run or warming up the car.

First and foremost preheating gives an initial push of heat for the optimal rise, texture, and browning. Secondly, it ensures your baked goods are fully cooked, rise properly and have the desired texture and flavour.

Lastly, it saves time. When you don't preheat your oven, you generally have to bake longer than the recommended time. Translation: you should have just preheated your oven!

ROOM TEMPERATURE IS KEY

Room temperature ingredients give your bakes and cakes that lightness and thickness and airiness rather than being dense and heavy. Moreover, ingredients will combine better giving you a smooth mixture while cold ingredients will be more difficult to mix, resulting in a lumpy batter.

It is important to note that not all recipes require room temperature ingredients.

MEASURE INGREDIENTS ACCURATELY                    

I highly recommend using a digital kitchen scale when baking. Although measuring cups and spoons are useful. It will be far more accurate to measure your ingredients by weight rather than volume. All you need is a bowl and a scale!

DO NOT OVERMIX 

Once you add your flour to a recipe, mixing encourages gluten development, which creates a chewy and tough texture. When a recipe says, ‘do not overmix’ stir only until the batter is uniform.

CLEAN AS YOU GO

Start with a clean kitchen, an empty sink, and an empty dishwasher if you have one. 

This is something I learned while working at the bakery. Honestly, it saved me a lot of time and energy because cleaning can get overwhelming when the sink is full of dirty dishes. Clean as you go is the way. Master this and your whole baking operation will run smoothly.

Invest in the right equipment

Trust me when I say this, investing in the right equipment will take you to the next level. Not only will it save you time but also make your operation easier and efficient.

I sold my laptop to raise cash for the first baking supplies and ingredients I needed to start my business. It's all about making sacrifices at times. My little convection oven is still with me today. 

Let it cool - completely!

A cake should be fully cooled before you attempt to frost it and bread should cool fully before it is sliced! I tried slicing bread once straight while it was warm and it was disastraous! it crumbled. Luckily you do not have to go through the same thing.

Use a cooling rack to ensure that your baked goods cool completely and effiently to avoid any build up of moisture underneath.

Patchment Paper All The Way!

This helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your bakes will release easily from the pan. Cookies baked on parchment paper slide right off the baking sheets. Cake pans lined with parchment allow the cakes to flip easily out of pans without clinging to the bottom.

Dont Give Up. Keep Going. 

I remember preparing my very first batch of cupcakes. Although they weren't very good, I persisted in trying to get better. Five years later, I'm doing what I love in a different country. 

People frequently give up after baking their first cake since it does not turn out as they had hoped. Patience is a virtue. Just take it as a learning curve and remember you don’t have to get it right on your first try. Or even second try. There are no shortcuts to becoming a great baker and all master bakers were amateurs at one point. Effort and consistency is what makes you better.

I have this rule 1% better every day. You should aim to be better each day and strive to improve even in the slightest thing. 

Embrace all the flaws that you go through while baking or cooking. Be rest assured that next time you’re going to grow as a baker. Mistakes do not inhibit your growth, they’re a milestone that you’re almost there and you need to carry on. The more you bake the better you’ll become. Remember, 1% better. Keep going!