Egg-citing tips for better baking
Nicola Galloway offers some helpful tips to make your lockdown bountiful baking bonanza even more beautiful.
Baking is becoming a daily part of our new normal in our lockdown bubbles. Whether you are a novice baker or a well-seasoned cook, there are some dos and don’ts that will make you a better baker. Here is a list based on the general rules taught to my culinary students.
Always read the entire recipe before you begin
Check you have the correct ingredients and quantities. It can also be helpful to pre-measure ingredients into bowls before starting a recipe.
The first step should be to turn on the oven (if using), and prepare the baking tins or trays. That’s why recipes begin with these instructions.
Get to know your oven and adjust the temperature if needed
Using an oven thermometer can be helpful, as domestic ovens, particularly older models, can vary by 10-20 degrees Celsius. When baking a cake, for example, a hotter oven can result in a faster rise and a cracked top, or a cake cooked in a cool oven can end up sinking in the middle once cooked.
In most baking, room-temperature eggs create better results
Store eggs in the pantry (most supermarkets store eggs at room temperature on their shelves) or, if kept in the fridge, remove eggs at least four hours before cooking to come to room temperature. Quick tip: bring an egg to temperature quickly by putting in a bowl of hot tap water for 10 minutes.
When making meringue or pavlova, use at least one-week-old eggs, as they will hold more air when beaten
This can be difficult to gauge when buying from a store as most store-bought eggs will be a week old.
However, to be on the safe side, avoid using recently purchased eggs, especially if they come direct from the farmer or farmers’ market.
Room-temperature butter is also important, especially when creaming butter and sugar together
Again, plan ahead and remove butter from the fridge three to four hours before baking.
If you do have to use cold butter (sometimes we can’t plan that far ahead), chop into small pieces, or grate it, before adding to the mixer. The smaller surface area will make it soften faster.
Baking powder has a shelf life
It loses its effectiveness over time. Therefore always use within six months of purchase.
You can also prepare your own baking powder at home – in a jar, combine one-part baking soda, one-part creme of tartar and one-part starch (such as cornflour, tapioca flour or arrowroot powder).
Be gentle
When baking, especially with wheat and other flours that contain gluten, it is important to understand the nature of gluten is to bind and hold together.
If these flours are overworked with too much mixing, the resulting cake or muffin will be tough and chewy.
For example, when making muffins, a basic rule of thumb is to prepare the wet ingredients and dry ingredients in separate bowls then combine until just mixed – small amounts of flour still showing is fine, then quickly scoop into muffin tins and bake.
To sift or not to sift
Sifting flour can make a real difference in light-textured baking, such as a sponge or angel cake.
It incorporates air into the flour before it is folded into the wet ingredients. It also removes lumps from dry ingredients, such as cocoa and baking soda.
For heavier cakes and cookies, a trick I like to use is to combine my dry ingredients in a bowl, then use a whisk to mix and break up lumps.