Baking Tips and Tricks

Sometime things don’t go as planned, even for Divas, and despite following the recipe to the “t”, your baked goods can encounter problems.  Usually there’s a simple reason and a simple solution. I've compiled some solutions I feel that every baker should know. 

• Both baking soda and baking powder have a 6 month shelf life. To ensure full effectiveness, it's a good idea to mark the containers with the date and replace them when they expire.
• The first time you make a recipe, make sure to measure everything exactly.
• Bring all of your ingredients to room temperature before beginning unless otherwise directed.
• Many ovens have hot spots and some bakers recommend rotating pans midway through cooking due to that, but the heat you lose in the oven isn't worth the benefit you gain.
• Use a light-colored baking pan to prevent burning baked goods as dark colored pans absorb more heat.
• Don't keep opening the oven to look inside as it lets all the heat out.
• Allow cakes to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack before proceeding.
• To ensure all of your ingredients are mixed together, scrape down the sides of the bowl as you are mixing. This will make sure everything is included.
• Always use unsalted butter when baking, unless otherwise specified, because the additional salt may affect the flavor and texture of your work in progress.
• Make sure to avoid cheaper butter. It contains a lot of water which affects the reactions necessary to achieve proper results.
•  It's always a good idea to have an oven thermometer to ensure that your oven is in proper working order.
• Do not overmix anything. Follow the timing indicated in the recipe.
• You should only leave cookies on the pan for about 3 or 4 minutes before transfering them to a wire rack, otherwise they may keep cooking and burn or become soggy from lack of airflow.
• Yeast is a finicky ingredient and must be used before the expiry date, otherwise it is useless as a leavening agent.
• Avoid cheaper flours as they have a higher ash content. The lower ash content, the more refined the flour is, therefore it is of better quality.
• You need to allow cakes and breads to cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then transfer onto a wire rack before you frost or freeze it.
• Use sugar or cocoa for dusting cookies instead of flour as the flour toughens the cookies.
• Always follow the instructed time when it comes for the dough to rise, don't rush it.

CAKES

I don't know about you but I just love to make cakes, cakes of all kinds. I know what I'm doing now but it took me a long time to be able to make a close to perfect cake. I wish that I knew then what I know now so I'm extremely happy to share my knowledge with you.

Cake has sunk in the middle:

• the cake may be slightly undercooked, you can tell this if it's still wet
• oven door opened too early or someone walked by at the wrong time
• over-creaming the butter and sugar 
• too much baking soda or baking powder
• oven temperature on too low 
• door being opened too often during baking
• over-beating after adding the egg(s)

Cake didn't rise:

• not enough leavening agent (baking soda/baking powder/air/steam/yeast)
• leavening agent is too old, it should be replaced every 6 months

Cake didn't rise evenly:

• the butter is not mixed in evenly
• flour not folded in evenly 
• oven not properly preheated
• oven or oven shelves not level

Cake has a cracked or peaked top:

• the oven is too hot
• there's too much batter in the pan
• too much raising/leavening agent
• there's either too much or too little liquid in the batter
• baking too close to the top of the oven
• cooling too quickly
• the pan is too dark

Cake's crust is too pale:

• the cake was cooked too low in the oven
• the oven is overloaded
• the oven temperature is too low

Cake's crust is too dark:

• the cake was cooked too close to the top of the oven
• the oven temperature is too high
• the pan is too large
• the cake was baked too long

Cake top is speckled:

• insufficient beating of the butter/lard with the sugar
• granulated or raw brown sugar used
• flour not sifted enough

Cake stuck to the pan:

• pan not lined with parchment nor greased with butter or spray
• cheap or poor quality pan

Cake frosting has crumbs in it:

• the cake hasn't cooled properly, let it cool completely on a wire rack and then frost

Fruit in the cake has sunk to the bottom:

• too much syrup on the fruit, wash, dry and then coat the fruit in flour for the best results

PASTRY

Every Diva knows that pastry can be quite finicky. In many a kitchen, many people have thrown their arms up in the air when it comes to perfecting a pie or tart or sweet roll at least once in their lives. Thankfully, here are some some solutions to many common pastry problems.

Pastry is difficult to roll:

• it is too dry, there is not enough liquid
• not using pastry flour (unless otherwise specified in the recipe)
• too much butter or lard
• overmixed

Pastry has shrunk on me:

• over kneading the dough when preparing
• dough stretched out while rolling, you need to drape, not tug on the dough
• not allowing dough to rest before baking

Pastry is soggy:

• it's not fully cooked
• there's too much liquid
• the oven temperature is too low
• pie cover placed over hot filling
• pie was baked on the bottom oven rack
• the is no vent cut for steam to escape
• the filling is extremely wet
• the filling was poured into a pastry shell that has cracks or holes in it

Pastry is crumbly:

• using too much fat
• overmixing the dough
• dough is too dry and needs more liquid
• self-raising flour may also cause this

Pastry is hard or tough:

• over handling or overmixing
• there's too little fat
• too much liquid has been used
• oven temperature too low
• fat isn't blended well enough into the dough

Pastry has a blistered crust:

• water not evenly mixed in
• fat not properly rubbed in
• insufficient beating
• oven temperature too low

Pastry has a speckled appearance:

• too much sugar
• wrong type of sugar used

Pastry filling boils out:

• top crust is not vented
• filling not cooled before putting it in the shell/case
• pastry is overfilled

BREADS

Who doesn't love a fresh loaf of bread right out of the oven? A pat of butter melting on a hot slice just waiting for you to sink your teeth into. The enticing aroma filling your nostrils reminding you of your grandmother's kitchen....or at least that's how it should be...right?!

Unfortunately, things don't always turn out as planned and disappointment fills you. Here are some reasons why your bread may not have turned out the way it was supposed to.

Bread didn't rise enough:

• too little yeast
• too little sugar
• too much salt
• out of date yeast
• insufficient time for proofing when the yeast is activating
• proofing at too low a temperature

Bread risen too much:

• too much yeast
• too little salt

Bread has sunk in the middle:

• too much liquid
• too little salt
• too much yeast
• too much proofing

Bread top is flat:

• flour too soft or weak
• too little salt
• dough too wet
• dough poorly shaped

Bread crust is damp:

• left in the pan for too long after baking
• wrapped up while still warm

Bread crust is too dark:

• too much sugar
• cooked too long or at too high a temperature

Bread crust has split:

• dough was overmixed
• not enough yeast
• dough wasn't shaped properly
• oven too hot

Bread crust has come away from loaf:

• dough has been over-proofed

Bread crust cracked on the side:

• too close to the side of the oven, it should be kept in the middle for even baking

Bread has a dense, heavy texture:

• not enough liquid soft flour used
• insufficient kneading
• too much salt
• liquid too hot
• grains without sufficient gluten or protein used
• rising dough in location that is too hot and yeast dies
• final rise or proofing wasn't long enough

Bread has a coarse, open texture:

• too much liquid
• too much proofing
• oven temperature too low

Bread has holes in it:

• air bubbles caused by improper punching
• dough left uncovered during proofing

Bread tastes sour:

• too much yeast
• using stale yeast

Bread goes stale fast:

• too much yeast
• wrong flour
• improper proofing time