Baking Is a Skill That's Useful for Life

Baking is a skill that has an almost unlimited number of applications and delightful results. Whether sweet or savory, a baked good made by hand is always welcome. Plus, research shows that, in addition to the benefits of baking in general, the act of making something for another person or people actually improves one’s mood. It’s a science that relies on chemistry, making proper measures essential.

While it may take a try or two to get the hang of it, anyone can bake and do so well. Because it’s based on measure and chemical reactions, recipes are easy to follow. Plus, once one gets the gist, substitutions are simple and easily sourced, but should be done one per recipe. Acid for acid, fat for fat, and liquid for liquid, with a few tweaks here and there, will always work. For those who cannot have flour, dairy, nuts, or any other commonly used baking staple, there are many recipes from which to choose.

Necessary Baking Dishes and Pans

As one continues their baking experience, different or unique dishes or pans may be added. This is just a starter list that’s intended to get the ball rolling and provide the most basic shapes and sizes that are commonly called for in recipes.

• At least one 13x9 baking dish
• At least one 8- or 9-inch square dish
• One or more loaf pans
• Several sheet pans of varying sizes, with and without rims
• One tube pan with removable central insert
• Three 9-inch rounds, since most layer cakes call for three
• One or more cupcake or muffin tins with six or twelve wells

The baking dishes and pans may be used for other purposes, such as roasting meat or vegetables. The importance of these purchases cannot be overestimated. Loaf pans and 9-inch rounds may be used for sweet or savory purposes, whether one wishes to make a layer cake or corn bread. However, the tube pan, which is useful for spice cake, pound cake, or angel food cake, has one purpose—cake. One may put it off, if it isn’t essential to the purpose.

Crucial Pantry Items

It’s important to keep staple ingredients ready to hand. While canisters can be purchased to preserve the freshness of these items, if one is baking several items a week, it is possible to keep things fresh by closing up the bags. Roller milled flour is designed to be shelf stable for years, so unless one is buying whole bran flour, this is not a concern. Keep these items in stock:

• All-purpose flour (or an appropriate substitute for gluten-free baking)
• Extra-strong bread flour (assuming bread is going to be baked) 
• Rolled oats
• Salt
• Sugar (or a baking blend of sugar substitute)
• Baking soda
• Baking powder
• Extracts (vanilla, almond, lemon etc.)
• Spices, both sweet and savory
• Butter
• Oil
• Milk (or an appropriate substitute)

Most people will find that beyond these basic items, there are ingredients they require to make their favorite baked goods. Fruit, nuts, chocolate, seeds, spices beyond the typical pantry compliment, and even vegetables, such as zucchini make excellent additions to one’s store of ingredients. However, this list of basic staples is great to have on hand at any time.

Finding Recipes

What defines good for a recipe is dependent upon one’s skill level. Many people will purchase a cookbook or comb the internet for their recipes, reading the comments and ratings. When beginning, everything will look difficult. However, what one should look for in a recipe is a thorough explanation of why the person who wrote the recipe is performing an action. Not only will this make the recipe make sense, it will allow a new baker to thoroughly understand the intricacies of chemistry.

For example, pie crust recipes all say not to overwork the dough prior to putting it in the fridge because it will make it tough. This is because the more the dough is worked, the more the gluten is activated and the butter won’t remain in chunks to make the crust flaky. With a bit of practice, it becomes easier to apply this particular understanding to other things with gluten in them. In order to find recipes that will grow with the baker, spend some time with the books, looking through them and making notes about what can be tried immediately. Cookbooks of quality have sections explaining different types of baking as well as techniques, and may be the best place for new bakers to begin.