How to Bake

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Categories: Food & Drink | Cooking & Recipes | How Tos

  • Baking and chemistry have a lot in common. Unlike making a soup, where you can adjust a recipe on a whim, baking requires certain ingredients in precise ratios for best results. If you're bewildered by baking, read on for a crash course that will help you learn how to bake.

  • Oven Temperature

    • 250 F: Very slow
    • 300 F: Slow
    • 325 F: Moderately slow
    • 350 F: Moderate
    • 375 F: Moderately Hot
    • 400 F: Hot
    • 450 F: Very Hot

  • How to Make Baking Powder

    If you don't have commercial baking powder at home, you can easily make your own. Combine 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda with 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar to substitute for 1 teaspoon of baking powder.

  • Introduction

    Baking may be a lost art. Many people don't know more than add eggs and oil to a mix and placing the concoction in an oven. baking from scratch, however, generally takes little more time than using a mix, with far better results. There are a few things you need to remember when you're mixing ingredients that need to combine in a certain way for your baking ingredients to transform into a finished product. This page will demystify some of the secrets of baking that used to be passed on from generation to generation as children followed their mothers and grandmothers around the kitchen.

  • Glossary of Baking Terms

    In order to understand a subject, you need to know the language. When discussing baking, the following terms have specialty definitions:

    • Bake: To cook by dry heat
    • Beat: To mix rapidly, making a mixture smooth and light while incorporating air
    • Blend: To incorporate two or more ingredients thoroughly
    • Cream: To mixture one or more ingredients together until they are soft and thoroughly blended
    • Cut in shortening: To mix shortening and flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs
    • Fold: To incorporate an aerated substance into a denser substance, retain the volume and lightness of the aerated substance
    • Knead: To manipulate dough to develop the gluten in the flour
    • Sift: To remove lumps and lighten the dry ingredients by passing them through a sieve or a sifter
    • Stir: To rotate the ingredients in a pan or bowl, in order to blend, or to ensure even cooking
    • Whip: To beat until a mixture is lightened and increased in volume

  • Baking Equipment

    In order to properly outfit your kitchen for baking, you'll need the following. You don't need to purchase it all at once, but as you bake more you'll add to your supplies. This list doesn't include equipment you probably already have for general cooking, such as whisks, and electric mixer, 9x13 pans and the like.


    • Pastry blender
    • Rolling pin
    • Sifter
    • Cake pans
    • Loaf pans
    • Cookie sheets
    • Jelly-roll pan
    • Muffin tins
    • Pie pans
    • Tart pan
    • Soufflé Dish
    • Custard cups
    • Wire rack
    • Bench scraper
    • Cookie cutters
    • Cookie press


  • How to Measure

    Solids and liquids are measured using different measuring cups. Dry measuring cups are meant to be filled to the brim, while liquid measuring cups are clear, with intermediate measurements marked on the cup.

    • Flour: If you are not sifting first, stir a knife around the canister to loosen the flour, then lightly scoop it into a dry measuring cup. Slide the knife across the top of the cup to level off the flour.
    • Brown Sugar: Spoon brown sugar into a dry measuring cup, packing it in firmly to the cup until it is level.
    • Liquids: Pour liquids into glass or clear plastic measuring cups. Get at eye level with the cup and fill it just to the measuring line that indicates the quantity you need.

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