With the Easter baking season upon us, I thought it might be helpful to share one of my favorite and most basic tips. I do this before I mix any ingredients. Follow this one rule and you’ll ace any new treat! Study the recipe.
I think most of us open up a cookbook, maybe read over the ingredients, but then just jump right into the steps. For many basic or familiar recipes this is fine. For recipes that are more complicated, this can prove to be a huge and completely avoidable mistake.
Before I try any new recipe I read through the recipe, a few times. If it is a very tricky recipe I may even take notes. Doing so not only ensures fewer or no mistakes, but also gives you increased speed. Feeling confident and understanding how to complete a baking technique will make your dessert a success. Reading all the way through will also indicate the difficulty level and if you need to modify to your skill level.
There have been many times when I think I found a great recipe only to discover it wasn’t very good. If something in the procedure seems very strange, it’s probably a mistake. At that point it’s best to find a similar recipe instead.
The more familiar you become with a recipe before you actually start cooking, the less time you’ll waste double or triple checking while cooking.
In what areas do you struggle while baking? Have you learned any great shortcuts to baking (or cooking) the perfect dish? Share in the comments below!
