Baking Rules Basic Rules of Baking

You Are Not Born With Baking Skills - Baking Skills

Are Made!
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It doesn't take having a special gift or a magic touch to

work wonders in the kitchen. The secret is practice,
practice, practice!
Some people seem to be able to toss things together and
achieve wonderful results. This is a skill they achieved by many
years of cooking and baking. Remember - Skill and confidence
come with practice.

Basic Rules of Baking

(1) Read your recipe carefully before starting: Be sure
you have all the ingredients called for and that you understand
the recipe clearly. Learn more about Recipes (What is a Recipe?
How to Follow a Recipe. Why Some Recipes Dont Work. What is
Mise en Place?)
(2) Cultivate the do-it-right attitude and habit. Remember: If
it is worth doing, it is worth doing right! Baking demands
accuracy and care. Unlike other kinds of cooking, such as soups
or stews, you cannot improvise or substitute ingredients.

Photo was shared

with me by my sister,
Carol Arroyo, and her
website called The
Baking Pan.

(3) Never carry on another activity while you are mixing a

recipe. Distractions, no matter how small, lead to mistakes. Let
the telephone ring!
(4) Use good tools and utensils: Assemble all the bowls, pans, and utensils
you will need on your counter or work table before starting. Use standard
measuring cups and spoons (see below).
(5) Use Correct Pan Sizes: Use the type of pan specified in the recipe.
Recipes are carefully calculated as to yield and changing the pan size also alters
the baking temperature and time. Larger, more shallow pans need increased
heat; smaller, deeper pans need decreased heat. The size of a baking pan or dish
is measured across the top of the container from the inside edge to inside edge.
The depth also is measured on the inside of the pan or dish from the bottom to
the top of the rim.
Prepare the pan carefully according to the recipe. Place pans as near the center of

the oven as possible. Do not place pans directly over another and do not crowd
the oven (this makes for uneven baking).
(6) Use top-quality ingredients and assemble the ingredients before
starting: You can't expect a first-rate product using second-rate ingredients. Be
sure your ingredients are fresh and of the finest quality. If your recipe says the
ingredient must be room temperature, be sure it is room temperature before
proceeding.
(7) Measure the quantities correctly: This is a baking must! One common
cause of cooking failures is inaccurate measurement of ingredients. You can use
the best ingredients in the world, but if you do not measure correctly, the recipe
will not come out properly. Also always use level measurements (all
measurements in a recipe are level).
Measuring Liquids:
Use a glass measuring cup. The glass permits you to see the level of the liquid
being measured. The cup for liquids should have additional space above the onecup line, so that a full cup can be accurately measured without spilling. Check the
measurement at eye level.

Measuring dry ingredients:

Use standard individual cups. Lightly spoon dry ingredients into correct cup size,
heat up, and level off with edge of spatula by cutting across the top. Use
measuring spoons in this way too.
Flour need not be sifted before measuring unless recipe specifies it. Sifting flour
onto a sheet of wax paper instead of into a bowl cuts down on dishwashing.
Measure brown sugar by packing it firmly into a measuring cup or into a
measuring spoon.

(8) Mix Carefully: Each type of baking has difference methods of performing
the mixing. Follow the recipe carefully.

(9) Final Step Before Baking: Spread cake batter evenly in the pans.
Do not drop of knock pans to level the batter.

(10) Use correct oven temperatures: Never increase a cooking temperature

because you are in a hurry. Make sure the racks are placed properly before
heating the oven. If the recipe calls for a preheated oven, preheat it! Preheat at
least 15 minutes before baking. Don't open the oven door prematurely. A draft
may cause your baked product to fall. You can ruin a cake with a slow start in a
cool oven because the cake can rise too quickly and then fall when the oven heat
takes a spurt upward.

Fahrenheit
(F)

Celsius
(C)

Gas
Number

Oven Terms

225 F

110 C

1/4

Very Cool

250 F

130 C

1/2

Very Slow

275 F

140 C

Very Slow

300 F

150 C

Slow

325 F

165 C

Slow

350 F

177 C

Moderate

375 F

190 C

Moderate

400 F

200 C

Moderately Hot

425 F

220 C

Hot

450 F

230 C

Hot

475 F

245 C

Hot

500 F

260 C

10

Extremely Hot

550 F

290 C

10

Broiling

It is a good idea to check your oven temperature with a freestanding oven

thermometer. An oven thermometer is very handy (and inexpensive) to find out

what temperature your oven really is cooking at. An oven thermometer can be
left in the oven to verify that the oven is heating to the desired
temperatures.
If the oven is not maintaining the set temperature, the oven
thermostat will have to be adjusted by a service center
representative authorized by the manufacturer. However, if, after
testing the oven temperature at several settings (325, 350, 375, and 400F), it is
consistently high or low by the same amount (say, 25F), this can be factored
into the temperature setting. For example, if you know that your oven runs "hot"
by 25F and you need to bake something at 350F, set the oven for 325F.
Always check the oven thermometer to verify the temperature.

(11) The Final Step - Great cooks use a Cooking Thermometer as their
guide - NOT A Clock:
Always follow internal cooking temperatures to be safe! Internal
Temperature Cooking Charts - meat, poultry, seafood, breads, baked
goods, and casseroles

A cooking or meat thermometer should not be a "sometime thing." A cooking

thermometer can be used for all foods, not just meat. It measures the internal
temperature of your cooked meat, poultry, seafood, breads, baked goods, and/or
casseroles to assure that a safe temperature has been reached and that harmful
bacteria (like certain strains of Salmonella and E. Coli O 157:H7) have been
destroyed. Learn how to read and use an Internal Meat and Cooking
Thermometer.

Cooking thermometers take the guesswork out of cooking, as they

measures the Internal Temperature of your cooked meat, poultry,
seafood, baked goods, and/or casseroles, to assure that a safe
temperature has been reached, harmful bacteria have been destroyed, and
your food is cook perfectly.