5 Simple Mistakes to Avoid When Baking

Do you love to create delicious bread, cakes, or pastries in the kitchen? If so, you could unknowingly be making some big mistakes in the kitchen, one that leave your cakes unrisen, cookies doughy and brownies less than gooey. Even seasoned bakers are guilty of using the wrong tools, ingredients, or techniques, which could impact their bakes. Here are five simple mistakes to avoid when baking.

Checking the Cake in the Oven

Patience is a virtue when baking. You might be eager to learn how your cake or cookie is coming along in the oven, but opening the door could actually damage the quality of your bake. That’s because opening the oven door will release hot air, which can change the oven temperature, and could lead to either an undercooked or an overcooked baked good. So, for an even bake, keep the door closed until it’s time to pull it out the oven. Most ovens have lights you can turn on to check on the progress!

Using Unsafe Ingredients

Many people may not realize that they’re cooking and/or baking with ingredients that are either unsafe, unhealthy or not as natural or as organic as first thought. For instance, when you’re baking, whether it be cakes, biscuits or cookies, you should focus on using unbleached flour, rather than bleached. Unbleached means the flour has aged naturally and hasn’t been tampered with once milled.

Using Cold Ingredients

Most of us are guilty of pulling eggs or butter out the refrigerator a few moments prior to baking, but this is a big baking blunder. Always use room temperature ingredients when baking, unless the recipe directs you to do the opposite. Sugar is a prime example, as its jagged edges can create small air pockets into room temperature butter when making a cookie dough. As a result, the air pockets will allow the baking soda added into the mix to expand, which can create a lighter cookie dough texture. Yet this wouldn’t be possible if the butter is too cold, as the sugar could not easily create the air pockets to create a fluffy, light texture and taste.

Not Cooling the Baking Sheets Between Batches

If you are in the zone baking cookies, you might want to pull out one batch and get started on the next. Yet, you must allow some time for the baking sheets to cool down before you bake a second or third batch. If you place the dough on a warm sheet, you can almost guarantee your next batch will be browner than your first.

Using the Egg Shells to Separate Eggs

Many TV bakers and chefs commonly use the egg shells to separate the yolk from the egg whites when cooking, but they’re simply wasting their own time. The simplest way is to use the rubber end of a turkey baster to suck the yolk away from the egg whites, which is a fast, effective, and clean way to do it.

Do you have any tips for baking mistakes to avoid? Simply write a comment below.