Welcome to Baking 101
Success in baking depends on precise measurements and proper handling of both ingredients and the tools required for each recipe. Baking 101 can help you learn tips and techniques, get better acquainted with your baking equipment and the kitchen environment, and find answers for your baking frustrations.
Preparing for Baking
Grease baking pan or dish only if the recipe directs. Apply a thin layer of vegetable shortening with a paper towel or lightly coat with no-stick cooking spray.
Use the back of a large spoon or your fingers to press stiff batters or doughs into the baking pan or dish. Use a spatula to evenly spread moist batters.
Use your fingers to pat oatmeal or crumb crusts onto the bottom and sides of a baking pan or dish.
Baking and Testing for Doneness
Preheat oven 10-15 minutes before inserting the baking pan. Check oven temperature with an oven thermometer.
For more even baking, position oven rack in the center and bake only one baking pan at a time. If you must bake two pans, space racks so the oven is divided into thirds and switch pans top to bottom and back to front halfway through baking.
When testing for doneness, your best guides are time and appearance - be sure to follow the recipe instructions.
Common Cooking Issues:
Dark or Burned
Here are some helpful solutions for the common causes:
• Dark cookie sheet
• Oven rack too low
• Too many cookies on cookie sheet
• Oven temperature too high
• Cookie sheet too big for oven
• Cookies baked at high altitude
• Unbleached and bread flour contain more protein than bleached all-purpose flour
Mixing Cookie Dough
Cookie dough can be mixed by hand or with an electric mixer. Take butter or margarine from refrigerator 10-15 minutes before using or cut into 1-inch pieces so it will blend more easily and evenly with other ingredients. Butter or margarine that is too soft or melted will change the texture of the cookie and should not be used. Over-softened butter or margarine is the number one reason why cookies spread or become too flat.
Unless your recipe indicates otherwise, follow these steps when baking cookies:
Combine (often described as "cream") softened butter (or other fat) and sugar (or other sweetener) with electric mixer (or by hand) until smooth and creamy.
Add eggs and liquid flavorings and continue mixing. This mixture may begin to look separated, but this will not affect the final cookie texture or flavor.
Realize that most recipes combine the flour and other dry ingredients before adding them to the butter mixture. Raisins, chocolate chips, other "add ins" and, sometimes oats, are added last.
Once dry ingredients have been added, don't beat vigorously or overmix. Overmixing can result in tough cookies.
Baking Tips for Cookies
When preparing for baking, grease cookie sheet or baking pan only if recipe directs. To grease, use a paper towel to apply a thin layer of shortening or lightly spray with no-stick cooking spray.
Drop Cookies
For cookies with a uniform size and shape, use a measuring teaspoon to scoop the dough.
Push dough off the spoon onto cookie sheets - evenly spaced - using a second spoon or metal spatula.
For larger cookies, measure by rounded tablespoonfuls or use a small ice cream scoop. Scooping with larger utensils will require increased baking time.
Rolled Cookies
For easier handling, divide dough into two or three portions before chilling.
Work with one portion of dough at a time, keeping remainder covered and chilled.
With lightly floured rolling pin, roll out dough on lightly floured surface to an even thickness; start from center and roll toward edges.
Using cookie cutters (or a sharp knife), cut out shapes as close together as possible. Simple cutters with thin, sharp edges give the best results.
Use pancake turner or wide spatula to transfer cookies to cookie sheets. Chill scraps before re-rolling.
Refrigerator/Slice-and-Bake Cookies
Chill dough thoroughly before slicing.
Using a sharp knife, cut slices to thickness specified in recipe. Use a back and forth sawing motion to help cookies retain their shape.
Every time you've cut 1-1/2 inches of the cookie dough "log," turn the log 1/4 turn to help retain its round, cylindrical shape.
Shaped Cookies
Shape dough by hand into balls or crescents.
Or, use a cookie press or pastry bag fitted with a fluted or star tip to pipe dough onto cookie sheet.
Note: The dough should be at room temperature unless recipe directs otherwise.
Baking and Testing for Doneness
For more even baking, position oven rack at the center of the oven and bake one sheet of cookies at a time. If you prefer to bake two sheets, space racks so oven is divided into thirds and switch cookie sheets top to bottom and back to front halfway through baking.
Preheat oven 10 to 15 minutes before baking the first sheet or pan of cookies. Check oven temperature with an oven thermometer.
When testing for doneness, your best guides for cookies are time and appearance. Always use a timer. Most recipes include a range in baking time; always check after the minimum time stated in the recipe.
Drop, rolled and refrigerator cookies can range from barely browned to medium golden brown in color, depending upon the cookie. For softer, chewier cookies, bake for the shorter amount of time indicated in the recipe.
When placing dough on cookie sheet, allow sufficient space between cookies, usually 1-1/2 to 2 inches unless recipe directs otherwise.
Cooling Cookies
The cookie recipe will indicate whether cookies should be removed immediately from cookie sheet to cooling rack with a metal spatula, or whether the cookies should remain on cookie sheet for a minute or two to firm up so they can be removed more easily.
Special professional trick: Use Parchment paper to bake cookies and remove all the cookies to a table to cool in one move. (Watch Chef Mattern on Channel 4 to see how)
Remove cookies using a metal spatula (also called a pancake turner). Using a plastic pancake turner may result in torn or broken cookies.
Cool in single layer on wire cooling rack. Cool completely before decorating or storing. You may want to post a trustworthy guard at the cookie rack to avoid the common practice of freshly baked cookie thievery.
Success in baking depends on precise measurements and proper handling of both ingredients and the tools required for each recipe. Baking 101 can help you learn tips and techniques, get better acquainted with your baking equipment and the kitchen environment, and find answers for your baking frustrations.
Preparing for Baking
Grease baking pan or dish only if the recipe directs. Apply a thin layer of vegetable shortening with a paper towel or lightly coat with no-stick cooking spray.
Use the back of a large spoon or your fingers to press stiff batters or doughs into the baking pan or dish. Use a spatula to evenly spread moist batters.
Use your fingers to pat oatmeal or crumb crusts onto the bottom and sides of a baking pan or dish.
Baking and Testing for Doneness
Preheat oven 10-15 minutes before inserting the baking pan. Check oven temperature with an oven thermometer.
For more even baking, position oven rack in the center and bake only one baking pan at a time. If you must bake two pans, space racks so the oven is divided into thirds and switch pans top to bottom and back to front halfway through baking.
When testing for doneness, your best guides are time and appearance - be sure to follow the recipe instructions.
Common Cooking Issues:
Dark or Burned
Here are some helpful solutions for the common causes:
• Dark cookie sheet
• Oven rack too low
• Too many cookies on cookie sheet
• Oven temperature too high
• Cookie sheet too big for oven
• Cookies baked at high altitude
• Unbleached and bread flour contain more protein than bleached all-purpose flour
Mixing Cookie Dough
Cookie dough can be mixed by hand or with an electric mixer. Take butter or margarine from refrigerator 10-15 minutes before using or cut into 1-inch pieces so it will blend more easily and evenly with other ingredients. Butter or margarine that is too soft or melted will change the texture of the cookie and should not be used. Over-softened butter or margarine is the number one reason why cookies spread or become too flat.
Unless your recipe indicates otherwise, follow these steps when baking cookies:
Combine (often described as "cream") softened butter (or other fat) and sugar (or other sweetener) with electric mixer (or by hand) until smooth and creamy.
Add eggs and liquid flavorings and continue mixing. This mixture may begin to look separated, but this will not affect the final cookie texture or flavor.
Realize that most recipes combine the flour and other dry ingredients before adding them to the butter mixture. Raisins, chocolate chips, other "add ins" and, sometimes oats, are added last.
Once dry ingredients have been added, don't beat vigorously or overmix. Overmixing can result in tough cookies.
Baking Tips for Cookies
When preparing for baking, grease cookie sheet or baking pan only if recipe directs. To grease, use a paper towel to apply a thin layer of shortening or lightly spray with no-stick cooking spray.
Drop Cookies
For cookies with a uniform size and shape, use a measuring teaspoon to scoop the dough.
Push dough off the spoon onto cookie sheets - evenly spaced - using a second spoon or metal spatula.
For larger cookies, measure by rounded tablespoonfuls or use a small ice cream scoop. Scooping with larger utensils will require increased baking time.
Rolled Cookies
For easier handling, divide dough into two or three portions before chilling.
Work with one portion of dough at a time, keeping remainder covered and chilled.
With lightly floured rolling pin, roll out dough on lightly floured surface to an even thickness; start from center and roll toward edges.
Using cookie cutters (or a sharp knife), cut out shapes as close together as possible. Simple cutters with thin, sharp edges give the best results.
Use pancake turner or wide spatula to transfer cookies to cookie sheets. Chill scraps before re-rolling.
Refrigerator/Slice-and-Bake Cookies
Chill dough thoroughly before slicing.
Using a sharp knife, cut slices to thickness specified in recipe. Use a back and forth sawing motion to help cookies retain their shape.
Every time you've cut 1-1/2 inches of the cookie dough "log," turn the log 1/4 turn to help retain its round, cylindrical shape.
Shaped Cookies
Shape dough by hand into balls or crescents.
Or, use a cookie press or pastry bag fitted with a fluted or star tip to pipe dough onto cookie sheet.
Note: The dough should be at room temperature unless recipe directs otherwise.
Baking and Testing for Doneness
For more even baking, position oven rack at the center of the oven and bake one sheet of cookies at a time. If you prefer to bake two sheets, space racks so oven is divided into thirds and switch cookie sheets top to bottom and back to front halfway through baking.
Preheat oven 10 to 15 minutes before baking the first sheet or pan of cookies. Check oven temperature with an oven thermometer.
When testing for doneness, your best guides for cookies are time and appearance. Always use a timer. Most recipes include a range in baking time; always check after the minimum time stated in the recipe.
Drop, rolled and refrigerator cookies can range from barely browned to medium golden brown in color, depending upon the cookie. For softer, chewier cookies, bake for the shorter amount of time indicated in the recipe.
When placing dough on cookie sheet, allow sufficient space between cookies, usually 1-1/2 to 2 inches unless recipe directs otherwise.
Cooling Cookies
The cookie recipe will indicate whether cookies should be removed immediately from cookie sheet to cooling rack with a metal spatula, or whether the cookies should remain on cookie sheet for a minute or two to firm up so they can be removed more easily.
Special professional trick: Use Parchment paper to bake cookies and remove all the cookies to a table to cool in one move. (Watch Chef Mattern on Channel 4 to see how)
Remove cookies using a metal spatula (also called a pancake turner). Using a plastic pancake turner may result in torn or broken cookies.
Cool in single layer on wire cooling rack. Cool completely before decorating or storing. You may want to post a trustworthy guard at the cookie rack to avoid the common practice of freshly baked cookie thievery.
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