Baking is a wonderful way to prepare sweet treats and hearty family meals.
If you can bake, you’ll always be prepared for kids’ birthday parties, dinner parties with family and friends, or whenever you want something fresh and homemade.
Like any style of cooking, baking requires some specific skills.
Don’t worry if you don’t have all of them today, because you can develop them over time.
Here are the most essential skills you need to bake at home.
Following a Recipe
This isn’t necessarily a skill, but it does require discipline.
Over time you will learn how to improvise with your baking.
You can also substitute some ingredients to put new twists on old recipes.
But, whenever you bake something for the first time, you should follow the recipe as closely as possible.
Changing ingredients and ratios could change the flavor, texture, and presentation of baked goods.
If you don’t follow a recipe, your next cake, loaf of bread, muffins, etc. might not come out as you expect.
Following recipes is an excellent way to develop your understanding of different ingredients and how they affect the preparation, baking, and result.
Measuring Ingredients to Suit the Recipe
To follow a recipe, you’ll need to measure ingredients carefully.
Generally, in baking, ingredients are going to be measured in spoons, cups, or weight.
You should be able to work with all three, which means you’ll also need some specific utensils and tools in your kitchen.
A kitchen scale isn’t essential for every recipe, but it can make things a lot easier without having to look up conversions to cups and spoons.
This Stainless-Steel Kitchen Scale by Etekcity is ideal for baking or any of your meal prep needs.
This Measuring Cup and Spoon Set is another essential for home baking.
The measuring spoons and cups will ensure that your recipes have the perfect ratios of ingredients.
Items in the set are made from stainless steel and non-reactive BPA-free food-grade polypropylene.
Mixing and Kneading
Mixing and kneading do more than just combine your ingredients.
The process of mixing develops chemical structures that will affect the texture and flavor of your baked goods.
Overmixing ingredients can result in a firmer texture that is undesirable in most cases.
Undermixing will result in cakes, cookies, muffins, and other baked goods with inconsistent flavors and textures.
Generally, you should mix gradually until all of the ingredients are combined.
Once they’re combined, you can move on to the next step in the recipe.
The only exception would be when the recipe calls for a specific reaction.
For example, if you were to bake a meringue, you’d need to beat egg whites and sugar until the mixture becomes highly aerated and fluffy.
You’ll essentially mix until the liquid turns into a marshmallow-like substance.
Always use the recipe as guidance and avoid over or undermixing.
When it comes to kneading dough for bread, make sure that this is done thoroughly.
Kneading is a skill that every home baker should develop.
More than just combining the ingredients, kneading helps to develop gluten strands to give bread its texture and flavor.
Don’t ever skip a preparation step from a recipe because you’ll end up with baked goods that don’t match your expectations.
Although mixing and kneading can be done by hand and with basic utensils, you could reach a stage where you want some assistance.
Generally, if you bake at least once a week, you could justify investing in a stand mixer.
The mixer will mix, beat, knead, and help with food prep for baking and any of your other kitchen recipes.
Patience
So far, we’ve mentioned skills that are all to do with the technical side of baking, but there are also soft skills that will help you on your baking journey.
Patience is one of them.
You need the patience to follow the steps in a recipe and gradually measure and combine the ingredients.
Patience also comes into play when mixing and kneading.
And, of course, patience is important when the ingredients go in the oven.
Just as importantly, you need to have patience as you improve and develop your skills.
Everyone can learn how to bake, and nobody starts out with professional-level skills.
Work your way up through recipes and start simple.
With each new project, the reward will be in the results.
Creativity
Baking is highly precise but there is still room for creativity.
You could substitute certain flavors and ingredients once you become familiar with a recipe.
You could let your creativity shine with cake decorating and custom cookie shapes.
Creativity is what has given us so many different recipes available today.
There are countless millions of different versions of cakes, breads, muffins, cupcakes, bars, and other baked goods made around the world.
Making creativity part of your skillset will ensure that you never get bored as a home baker.
Develop Your Skills and Enjoy Baking at Home
The skills you need to bake are easy to learn.
You can spend a lifetime mastering them while enjoying every step of the journey.
Few things in life are as rewarding as learning how to bake.
Build your skills gradually, and you’ll become comfortable with recipes and techniques that you never thought possible.
