This week I wanted to take a drive into some common baking mistakes. As I just started to really get into baking recently I had to learn the do’s and don’t’s of baking. I thought it would be as easy as cooking and the same however baking is much different

Top 10 baking mistakes:

  1. Baking in an oven that’s not preheated –> this messes with the chemistry of baking and can lead to a disaster. you need to wait until the oven is preheated to put in the baked good
  2. Not measuring your ingredients correctly –> this was a big one for me because in cooking you don’t really have to have exact measurements you can kind of lead with your heart and add whatever amount you want however if you do that in baking you won’t end up with the correct chemistry which throws off the end result
  3. Opening the oven too often –> this was something I just learned, my mother scolded me last weekend when we were baking together because I left the door open too long and let the heat escape.
  4. Your cake is too dry or too wet –> baking too long will dry it out but not long enough and its too wet, poke holes and cover with simple syrup if its too dry and it will moisten the cake back up.
  5. Not smoothly incorporated flour –> if the texture of your batter seems off while adding the flour it either means a) incorrect amount or b) you didn’t sift the flour meaning it could be lumpy
  6. Ingredients are at the wrong temperature –> if it calls for something room temperature make sure its room temperature (funny enough I have never actually listened to this always ignoring it maybe I’ll try for next time to actually listen to that part of the step haha)
  7. Egg whites aren’t getting fluffy –> you need super fresh room temperature eggs or its not going to work very well
  8. Products are not baking evenly –> the heat in your oven is not perfectly distributed throughout the oven so make sure you move your goods around at least once during baking –> this is also something I have never done before while baking meaning something else I need to try to see what happens to my baking process
  9. Cakes are not baking with a flat top –> obviously flat top cake is important for making layered cake but I’m not so sure how I feel about their suggestion of wrapping a damp towel around the baking pan – don’t know if I want a towel in my oven –> can’t you just cut the top to make it flat after?
  10. Cookies aren’t getting flat –> this one I am quite familiar with but never knew why it happened – now I do, it is caused by the wrong temperature –. too cold means rounder too warm means they spread out too much

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