With fall upon us and holidays coming soon, it is the time of year when most of us do a little more baking. The following are a few baking tips I have used to help make the process a little easier. Some you probably already do and some may be new to you. I would also love to hear some of your shortcuts.
1. If a
recipe calls for both oil and honey, measure the oil first and use the
same measuring cup or spoon to measure the honey. This way the honey won't
stick to the spoon or cup. If oil is not called for, rinse the spoon or cup
with warm water or spray with cooking spray before measuring.
2. If you
wish to adjust a recipe by replacing part or all of the sugar with honey, it takes half of the amount of honey as the amount of sugar called for
in a recipe to get the desired amount of sweetness. For example if a recipe calls for one cup of sugar, you can replace it with a half of a cup of honey.
3. When
measuring vanilla or other flavorings, a cap full is equivalent to
one teaspoon. I have been doing this for years without checking, but I actually checked and the McCormick brand's cap full was exactly one teaspoon. Aldi pure vanilla has a smaller cap and it is a little shy of one teaspoon.
4. When
replacing part of your flour with things such as milled flaxseed, wheat germ,
wheat bran, milled oats, etc. sprinkle your added ingredients
into the bottom of your measuring cup first and add your flour on top so you
get the right amount of dry ingredients called for in the recipe.
5. When a
recipe calls for a room temperature egg, put a whole, un-cracked egg from
the refrigerator into a cup of warm/hot tap water (not boiling) for about five
minutes before using. This will gently warm the egg without cooking it.
6. If you do
not have time for yeast to rise slowly, boil water in a measuring cup or
small bowl in the microwave. Place your bowl of uncovered yeast dough next to
your cup of hot water in the microwave and close the door. If the steam in the microwave dies down, remove the
dough and re-boil the water. Return the dough to the steam filled microwave
next to the cup of water. Do not turn the microwave on while the dough is
inside. The small, steamy area is a perfect environment to help the dough
rise quickly.
7. When a recipe calls for measuring liquids in
a separate bowl, measure them all in the same measuring cup. No
need to dirty a second bowl. For example, if a recipe calls for ¼ cup of oil, ½
cup of milk, and one egg, measure oil to the ¼ cup mark, pour on top of the oil
the milk measuring up to the ¾ cup mark and add the egg to the top of the
measuring cup. Mix together and add to the dry ingredients.
Have you tried any of these methods before? Do you have any additional shortcuts you use when baking?
Heather, wow! Thanks for sharing all these great baking tips! #7 is a great tip that I have done a few times, but not often enough! (I love my 4-cup glass Pyrex measuring cup!)
ReplyDeleteMy homemade pizza dough recipe calls for olive oil and honey. I have done tip 1 for a long time ... always measure the oil first. I love how the honey just slides right off the measuring spoon. Great tips!
ReplyDeleteWe do so many of these things! They do make cooking in the kitchen much faster :) I haven't ever done the egg thing though... I usually just hold it in my hand for a little while!
ReplyDeleteWonderful tips, thank you for sharing. I am new to your blog, and will be reading from here on out! Over from Tammy's.
ReplyDeleteI am so grateful for the measuring tip - when adding something other than just regular flour!
eko
Thanks for sharing! I do tip #7 all the time, but I'd never thought of #1, #3, or #6 -- I'll be trying those for sure :)
ReplyDelete