Sweet and Savory
Baking is the dry-heat oven cooking of delicately structured foods that begin life as a batter or dough (as opposed to heavy, dense foods such as meat and vegetables that are covered in the Roast chapter).
The sugars in the batters and doughs (from cane sugar, honey, and milk lactose) caramelize when heated to create an appealing, browned crust on the outside of the food, and, in the case of batters, a soft, moist interior. The recipes here are the core of my baked-goods repertoire, ones that, once mastered, give endless options for reinvention and playfulness.
They say baking is a science. And while not all baking recipes call for absolute technical precision, there are practices worth adopting to ensure the best possible outcome. Stick with these rules and you’re on your way to becoming a baking champion.
• MISE EN PLACE: As described in the Organize chapter, it’s a French culinary term that translates as “put in place,” and it’s your best friend when baking. Weigh or measure out your ingredients and prep any equipment necessary for the recipe, such as lining a baking sheet or oiling a dish, before starting to combine your ingredients. There’s nothing worse than getting halfway through a recipe and finding you are a cup short on flour or that your ingredients are not at the right temperature. Doing your mise en place first means you’re more likely to be accurate with your measurements and less likely to leave out an ingredient, and you can keep the kitchen tidy while working—all things that are key to successful baking.
• BAKING PANS AND SHEETS: As with saucepans and skillets, the quality of baking pans and sheets can drastically affect the outcome of your baking. Chose good-quality, heavy, metal pans and sheets for baking, as they heat evenly and encourage even browning, producing a crispier pastry than glass or ceramic tins. Cheap baking sheets can heat too quickly and unevenly, leading to uneven baking and possible burning.
Measure your baking pans! Having the wrong size pan can result in your baked item turning out a lot thinner or thicker than the recipe intended and will most likely have a significant effect on the cooking time. Try to get as close to the recommended size as possible. You can swap out a square pan for a round one or vice versa, but make sure the quantities they hold are relative. For example, an 8-inch (20 cm) round pan is roughly the equivalent of a 7-inch (18 cm) square one. (Note that some, but not all pans, come with dimensions marked on the bottom.)
• TIMERS AND COOKING TIMES: Use a timer! Most smartphones come with a built-in timer; you can also pick up a digital timer for next to nothing, and it’s worth it. I have multiple timers in my kitchen, not only to service the students who cook with me, but so I can work on a couple of things at once without worrying that I will forget something in the oven or on the stovetop. They rank high on my essential kitchen items list.
But do not rely solely on the baking times given in a recipe. Since ovens vary so much, what may work in our test kitchen may take 5 or 10 minutes more or less in your oven. Set your timer for 10 to 15 minutes (for baking times over 20 minutes) before the stated baking time is up and check on how the baking is coming along. For shorter cooking times, check 5 minutes before the stated time is up. This will also help you get to know your oven better and calculate more accurate cooking times in the future.
• KNOW YOUR OVEN:Every oven has its own personalities, kinks, and oddities. Maybe an old oven heats unevenly, baking things faster on one side than the other, or heats more from the top. Almost all my baking recipes (except for pizzas and sourdough breads) call for the oven rack to be positioned in the center of the oven, as it is the most reliable position for even baking.
Try to compensate for idiosyncrasies in your oven by turning the baking sheet around during cooking, and have some aluminum foil at the ready to place on top of your baked goods if they are not fully cooked but the heat from above threatens to burn the top. If you have a very hot top element, place the oven rack one level down from center, but avoid doing this during baking, as a sudden drop in oven temperature can cause some batters to sink.
• BAKING TEMPERATURES:An oven thermometer is a worthy investment, as oven temperatures can be off by 10 to 20 degrees. It will help you understand your oven and even out any differences between your oven and that of the recipe tester, allowing you to get the most accurate oven temperature every time.
• ADDING SALT: Most baking recipes call for a bit of salt: Don’t skip it! Salt added to sweet batters and doughs helps to balance sweetness and enhance other flavors during baking.