Baking
Baking is creative, delicious, and a lovely way to share with family and neighbors. You likely already have most of what you need in the kitchen.
What you need to start
- Basic measuring cups and spoons
- A mixing bowl and whisk
- A baking sheet or pan
- Flour, sugar, butter, and eggs
At a glance
Your learning path
Three stages, taken at your own pace. Start at the top, get comfortable, then move down as you grow. There is no rush, and no wrong place to begin.
Never baked a thing? Start right here. These four walk you through your tools, how to measure, and a few easy wins, so you pull something warm and delicious out of the oven on your very first try.
How to Measure Flour the Right Way
Preppy KitchenChewy Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Preppy KitchenAmazing Banana Bread Recipe
Preppy KitchenThe Most AMAZING Vanilla Cake Recipe
Preppy KitchenGot a few bakes under your belt? These build real skill: your first yeast bread, a flaky pie crust, a proper layer cake, tender muffins, and buttercream you will be proud to spread.
Easy White Bread Recipe | So Soft!
Preppy KitchenHow to make pie crust
King Arthur Baking CompanyChocolate Cake!
Preppy KitchenBEST Blueberry Muffins Recipe
Preppy KitchenDreamy Buttercream Frosting Recipe | So Easy!
Preppy KitchenReady to stretch yourself? This is the fun, showy stuff: real sourdough, buttery croissants, a beautifully decorated cake, airy cream puffs, and shaping a loaf like a pro. Take your time and enjoy the craft.
The Only Sourdough Recipe You'll Ever Need
King Arthur Baking CompanyMake Perfect Croissants With Claire Saffitz | Try This at Home
NYT CookingHow to Decorate a Cake
Preppy KitchenThe BEST Cream Puffs Recipe
Preppy KitchenShaping a sourdough batard.
Matthew James DuffyWhy baking is wonderful after 50
Baking is one of the most rewarding things you can pick up at this stage of life. It is gentle on the body, easy to do at your own pace, and it fills the house with a smell that pulls everyone into the kitchen. Measuring, stirring, and timing keep your mind sharp and your hands busy, and there is real comfort in following a recipe step by step. Best of all, baking is made to be shared. A loaf for a neighbor, cookies for the grandkids, a cake for a friend's birthday. You end up with something warm to give away and a good reason to stay connected.
Your first month, week by week
Get set up and bake something easy. Pick up a digital kitchen scale, measuring cups and spoons, a couple of mixing bowls, and one baking sheet. Then make a simple drop cookie. The goal this week is just to get comfortable turning the oven on and following a recipe.
Learn to measure by weight. Bake a banana bread or other quick bread using the scale instead of cups. You will be amazed how much more reliable your results become. Notice how the batter looks and smells before it goes in the oven.
Try a simple cake. Practice creaming butter and sugar, cracking eggs into a separate bowl first, and checking for doneness with a toothpick. Let it cool fully before you frost or slice. This is the week baking starts to feel natural.
Bake to share. Make a batch of something you loved this month and give half of it away, to a neighbor, a friend, or family. Jot a quick note about what worked and what you would change. You now have a habit, not just a one-time bake.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Measuring flour by scooping the cup straight into the bag. This packs in far too much flour and makes everything dry and dense. Use a digital scale and weigh your flour, or spoon it into the cup and level it off with a knife.
- Overmixing the batter once the flour goes in. Too much stirring builds up gluten and makes cakes and muffins tough or rubbery. Mix just until you no longer see dry flour, then stop.
- Not preheating the oven all the way. Putting batter into a cool oven ruins the rise and the texture. Turn the oven on 15 to 20 minutes before you bake, and use an inexpensive oven thermometer, since many ovens run hot or cold.
- Opening the oven door too soon or too often. Every peek lets heat escape and can make cakes and souffles sink. Wait until you are near the end of the bake time before checking, and use the oven light to look.
- Using cold butter and eggs when the recipe wants them at room temperature. Cold ingredients will not cream or blend properly. Set butter and eggs out an hour ahead, or warm eggs quickly in a bowl of warm water.
- Guessing when it is done instead of checking. Oven times are only a guide. Test with a toothpick for cakes and breads, look for set edges and golden color for cookies, and pull things a touch early rather than late.
Make it easier on your body
관절염, 저시력 또는 제한된 이동성으로 베이킹을 편안하고 안전하게 유지하는 간단한 방법입니다. |||9월||| 손이 피곤하고 손목이 아프신가요? 힘든 작업은 스탠드 믹서나 가벼운 핸드 믹서에 맡기세요. 버터 크림을 바르고 계란을 휘젓고 반죽을 반죽하므로 손과 손목이 필요하지 않습니다. |||9월||| 무거운 팬을 들기가 어렵나요? 가벼운 붙지 않는 시트와 팬, 그리고 구부릴 수 있는 실리콘 베이킹 용기를 선택하세요. 휴대하고 청소하기가 더 쉽습니다. |||9월||| 서 있으면 지치나요? 키가 큰 의자나 튼튼한 의자를 세우고 카운터에 앉아 계량, 혼합, 장식을 해보세요. 시작하기 전에 필요한 모든 것을 팔이 닿는 곳에 두십시오. |||9월||| 뻣뻣한 병과 막힌 뚜껑이 있습니까? 밀가루 봉지와 재료 병을 보관할 수 있는 병과 뚜껑 오프너, 주방 가위를 준비하세요. 고무 그립 패드는 관절염이 악화될 때 추가적인 지렛대를 제공합니다. |||9월||| 관절에 너무 세게 반죽합니까? 근육 대신 시간을 들여 작업할 수 있는 비반죽 레시피를 사용하거나 스탠드 믹서를 사용하여 반죽해 보세요. 많은 훌륭한 빵에는 실제 노력이 거의 필요하지 않습니다. |||9월||| 숫자를 보기가 어렵나요? 고대비 대형 디스플레이가 있는 디지털 체중계와 타이머를 사용하고 작업 공간에 좋은 작업 조명을 추가하세요. 잡기 쉬운 실리콘 주걱과 숟가락은 얇은 금속 손잡이보다 손에 더 좋습니다. |||9월||| 당신이 듣게 될 말 |||9월||| 크리밍 |||9월||| 부드러워진 버터와 설탕을 섞어서 혼합물이 창백하고 푹신해질 때까지 섞습니다. 이것은 케이크와 쿠키가 부풀고 부드러워지는 데 도움이 되는 작은 기포를 휘젓습니다. |||9월||| 교정 |||9월||| 효모 반죽을 굽기 전에 휴지시키고 부풀려 가스가 채워지고 가벼워지도록 합니다. 증명이라고도 합니다. |||9월||| 접는 |||9월||| 가벼운 혼합물(예: 휘핑 달걀 흰자위)을 천천히 떠내는 동작으로 더 무거운 혼합물로 부드럽게 결합하면 공기가 유지되고 공기가 빠지지 않습니다. |||9월||| 블라인드 베이크 |||9월||| 충전재를 넣기 전에 파이 또는 타르트 크러스트를 자체적으로 굽습니다. 종종 말린 콩이나 파이 무게로 무게를 줄여 평평하고 바삭한 상태를 유지합니다. |||9월||| 점수 |||9월||| 빵이 굽기 직전에 빵 윗부분을 칼날로 베는 것입니다. 이것은 빵이 팽창하는 위치를 제어하고 멋진 분할 빵 껍질을 제공합니다. |||9월||| 부스러기 |||9월||| 구운 빵이나 케이크의 내부 질감. 잘랐을 때 얼마나 개방적이고, 단단하고, 부드럽고, 공기가 잘 통하는지를 의미합니다. |||9월||| 당신의 사람들을 찾을 수 있는 곳 |||9월||| 지역 사회 교육과 성인을 위한 베이킹 수업은 종종 저렴한 비용으로 지역 학교나 대학을 통해 진행되며 모든 기술 수준을 목표로 합니다. |||9월||| 요리 시연, 포트럭 파티, 쉽게 참여할 수 있는 베이킹 실습 그룹을 자주 주최하는 지역 노인 센터입니다. |||9월||| 무료 베이킹 시연, 요리책 클럽, 노하우 이벤트가 생각보다 자주 달력에 나타나는 공공 도서관. |||9월||| King Arthur Baking 및 Sally's Baking Addiction과 관련된 친근한 포럼 및 Facebook 그룹과 같은 온라인 베이킹 커뮤니티에서는 제빵사가 질문에 기꺼이 답변합니다. |||9월||| Preppy Kitchen, King Arthur Baking Company, Sally's Baking Addiction 등 원하는 속도로 팔로우하고 학습할 수 있는 YouTube 채널입니다. |||9월||| 베이킹 배우기 시작하기 |||9월||| 무료로 친절한 수업에 등록하시면 첫 걸음을 내딛을 수 있도록 도와드리겠습니다. 당신이 어디에서 출발하는지 알려주시면 그곳에서 만나겠습니다. |||9월||| 나는 그것을 시도한 적이 없다 |||9월||| 나는 조금 손을 댔다. |||9월||| 나는 그것으로 돌아가고있다 |||9월||| 이메일로 무료 수업
- Tired hands and sore wrists? Let a stand mixer or a lightweight hand mixer do the hard work. It creams butter, whips eggs, and kneads dough so your hands and wrists do not have to.
- Heavy pans hard to lift? Choose lightweight nonstick sheets and pans, and silicone bakeware that flexes so you do not have to wrestle bakes out of the tin. They are easier to carry and to clean.
- Standing wears you out? Pull up a tall stool or sturdy chair and do your measuring, mixing, and decorating sitting down at the counter. Keep everything you need within arm's reach before you start.
- Stiff jars and stuck lids? Keep a jar and lid opener and a pair of kitchen scissors handy for flour bags and ingredient jars. A rubber grip pad gives you extra leverage when arthritis flares up.
- Kneading too hard on the joints? Use no-knead recipes that do the work with time instead of muscle, or let the stand mixer knead for you. Many wonderful breads need almost no hands-on effort.
- Hard to see the numbers? Use a digital scale and timer with a large, high-contrast display, and add good task lighting over your work area. Easy-grip silicone spatulas and spoons are kinder to the hands than thin metal handles.
Words you'll hear
- Creaming
- Beating softened butter and sugar together until the mix is pale and fluffy. This whips in tiny air bubbles that help cakes and cookies rise and stay tender.
- Proofing
- Letting yeast dough rest and rise before baking so it fills with gas and gets light. Also called proving.
- Folding
- Gently combining a light mixture (like whipped egg whites) into a heavier one with a slow, scooping motion, so you keep the air and do not deflate it.
- Blind bake
- Baking a pie or tart crust on its own, before the filling goes in, often weighted down with dried beans or pie weights so it stays flat and crisp.
- Score
- Slashing the top of a loaf with a blade just before it bakes. This controls where the bread expands and gives it that handsome split crust.
- Crumb
- The inside texture of a baked loaf or cake, meaning how open, tight, soft, or airy it is when you slice into it.
Where to find your people
- Community education and adult-ed baking classes, often run through local schools or colleges at a low cost and aimed at all skill levels.
- Your local senior center, which frequently hosts cooking demos, potlucks, and hands-on baking groups that are easy to join.
- The public library, where free baking demonstrations, cookbook clubs, and how-to events pop up on the calendar more often than you would think.
- Online baking communities, like the friendly forums and Facebook groups around King Arthur Baking and Sally's Baking Addiction, where bakers happily answer questions.
- YouTube channels you can follow and learn from at your own pace, such as Preppy Kitchen, King Arthur Baking Company, and Sally's Baking Addiction.
Start learning Baking
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