Ever since the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, more and more people are becoming interested in the kitchen, cooking, and baking. However, this is also leading to the discovery of the fact that cooking and baking are not everyone’s cup of tea. While it is possible to successfully cook an edible dish by eye-balling the ingredients, baking is on a whole different level. So, naturally, many people are referring to the guides available on the internet.
Ido Fishman, an all-rounder expert in the culinary field, shares his top tips for people who are interested in baking but just don’t know where to start. Trust me, when I say this, that the tips from a legend such as Ido Fishman are surely a game-changer. So, buckle up, because you are about to learn some amazing tricks to help you achieve the professional home-pâtissiers level.
Decide Your Niche
So, it is fairly common to overestimate your skills and dive into baking various baked goods in a short time. When you are learning a new skill, you need to give yourself time to adapt to the various steps that are important. So, the first thing you need to do is decide which baked dish will be your starting niche. Whether you want to start with sweets and desserts or savory dishes. However, you should remember that your first attempt will not always be successful, even if you pick an extremely basic dish.
This is because you need to learn the baker’s movements, adjust to the settings of your oven, learn to adapt to messy situations, among other major things. So, the first tip that Fishman has for those new to the baking area, is to be patient.
Get Proper Tools
Now, as mentioned earlier, you can eyeball the ingredients when you are cooking something however, you cannot have a successful turnout if you try to eyeball your ingredients with baked goods. So, you must invest in some proper measuring tools to start with. This does not imply that you need fancy machines and devices for measurement. A simple addition of a measurement cup and measuring spoons will suffice.
Invest In An Oven Thermometer
Fishman states that while it is not a necessity, an oven thermometer will save you from plenty of failures that occur due to temperature problems. Some ovens get too hot, while some don’t get hot enough. So, if you have a precise measurement of the temperature, you will be able to avoid these problems.
Practice Precision
Baking is a skill that requires plenty of patience as well as precision. So, if the recipe says to add half a teaspoon of soda, you must add the exact amount. Minute differences in the measurements of key ingredients can turn your dish into a failure. Therefore, Fishman advises all home-pâtissiers s-to-be to practice patience and precision. In the instance of mixing the cake batter at high speed for 5 minutes instead of the recommended 2 minutes at medium-speed, you might end up with a flat and dry cake. Remember, precision is key.
Also read – Ido Fishman Explains Which Food Items Can Still Be Used After Expiration
Mind The Butter
The temperature, texture, and flavor of the butter that you use plays an important role in the turnout of your dish. Almost all baked goods require butter as a key ingredient so you need to make sure to get the right kind of butter for what you want to bake.
Taste-wise, you have to be mindful of salted and unsalted kinds of butter. Usually, the basic baked goods require either of the three textures of butter; softened, melted, and browned. The difference, here, lies in the temperature of the butter. While softened butter is at room temperature and soft to the touch, melted butter should be in liquid form, whereas browned butter needs to be heated on the stove. Be mindful of what kind of butter the recipe requires.
Whisk A Meringue By Hand
You may have come across various recipes that require you to make stiff peaks with egg whites. Usually, the video pâtissiers s use electric beaters that create the most wonderful stiff peaks in a matter of minutes. Don’t worry if you don’t have an electric beater. You can just as easily whisk out a meringue by hand.
Use room temperature eggs.
The bowl must be free from any water or other substances.
Chill the bowl in the freezer before pouring in the eggs. The cool temperature of the bowl helps in the faster formation of peaks.
Pre-make The Dough
Making the dough takes most of the time since you need to let it rest and grow after kneading. Generally making the dough is the most time-consuming part of baking, so you can pre-make the dough a few days before and freeze it. Allow it to defrost before using the next day. It will save you a lot of time.
Don’t Fret Over Pan Size
While the pan size plays an important role in how good your cakes come out, you can easily use different utensils from your kitchen if you don’t have the right pan. You can even use shaped and supported aluminum foil as a cake pan if you don’t have many options. Try to make do with whatever is available in your house first. Professional utensils and machines don’t guarantee a successful baking attempt.
Conclusion
If you are one of those people who tried their hand at baking and found it too difficult or fussy. Try baking something while keeping in mind these brilliant tips by one of the culinary world’s finest, Ido Fishman. You will not be surprised to find the top-level pâtissiers using these hacks to bake while at home or at a shortage of machinery. So, now that you have acquired all this useful information about baking, are you ready to try your hand at baking again? Baking is an art, so if you were not successful on your first try, don’t be discouraged. You will improve and learn as you practice more and incorporate these tips and hacks into your procedures.