Home chefs are creating a storm in the kitchen these days. The demand for customized cakes, cupcakes and pastries has grown considerably over sometime. Home chefs to the rescue! Working out of their dining rooms and kitchens, Indian home chefs are catering to a variety of culinary needs and prefer using locally available fruits and vegetables rather than imported items in the kitchen. Fresh, from the farm to the table, is a trend that is fast catching on and when it comes to baking, freshness is the key to get those perfect recipes. Here is a list of 5 easy baking tips that will make you a pro at baking
Precision is a must
Baking is all about ratios. The ultimate formula to bake a perfect cake without a recipe is to get the ratios right One common cause of cooking failures is inaccurate measurement of ingredients, if you don’t measure them correctly, the recipe will not come out properly. Weighing ingredients with a digital kitchen scale is the most accurate as measuring cups may vary.
Temperature is important
Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature before you start. For pastry chefs, room temperature matters as it helps you in getting that perfect consistency.
Maintain hygiene and freshness
Apart from emphasizing on the traditional way of cooking, use local and fresh ingredients as they will add quality to your dish. If the ingredients are fresh, it will reflect in its final output.
Use good baking tools and equipments
Each type of baking has different methods of performing the mixing and hence different equipments for the same. Assemble all the bowls, pans, and utensils you will need on your kitchen slab before starting. Use standard measuring cups and spoons.
Five essential baking must haves in the kitchen are:
- Scale
- Whisk
- Mixer
- Oven
- Freezer
Mixing
It is very important to incorporate dry ingredients together with whisk before adding to west ingredients. Never carry on another activity while you are mixing a recipe otherwise lumps may from. While making cookies, don’t over mix your dough.
Master Tip for home bakers:
Making chocolates is the most difficult task. You need to understand that while preparing these if things don’t work don’t change, customize or add something else. Just try to understand what went wrong and then act upon it. That’s how you are going to improve.
Inputs by: Chef Franck geuffroy and Chef Jeremy Detail (Ducasse Education) in a master class at Vivanta by Taj, Dwarka.
