Baking 101: Basics and Essentials

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog! My name is Eliza Barker and I am currently a senior at Longwood University I am a Communication Studies major with a concentration in Public Relations and a minor in Health Education. In this blog post, I will be introducing what "So You Think You Can Bake" is all about and sharing some baking tips and tricks as well!!

Before I go into all the details, I wanted to share how and why baking became a hobby of mine. I am one of six children and I am the second oldest, so there has always been a lot of cooking and baking in my household. Ever since I was little, I have always loved to bake. Growing up, I was a very anxious kid and baking allowed me to be creative and express my creativity. As I have gotten older, it has even become a stress reliever and very therapeutic for me as well.

When I am at home, I love to bake new recipes for my family and have my parents and siblings try it. They provide me with their feedback, whether it is good or something I can improve on. I can tell when they like something I have made because it will be gone in seconds....literally!!

Since I have been at school and have a busier schedule now, I have not done a ton of baking but I am hoping to change that with this blog! I created this blog because I want other people to experience the joy and creativity that baking has brought me, while also learning how to bake properly.

Anyways, enough about me let's talk about what this blog is all about!!

This blog is going to cover everything you need to know about how to get started in the kitchen. I will be talking about a wide variety of topics that associate with baking such as what supplies you will need as well as provide different recipes for the topics that are covered. As we head into different seasons such as fall and winter, I will be talking about the holiday season and how to prepare for that. I will also be talking about the benefits and how you can expand baking from your kitchen!!

But let's not get ahead of ourselves and go over a few things!

First, we have to understand what baking is and why it is important:

"Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones." "The art of baking remains a fundamental skill and is important for nutrition, as baked goods, especially bread, are a common and important food, both from an economic and cultural point of view."

Now that we know the definition of what baking is, it is important to know what a baked good is:

"Baking is used to prepare cakes, pastries, pies, tarts, quiches, cookies, scones, crackers, pretzels, and more."

Since we know this information, we can talk about the necessary supplies and ingredients everyone should have in their kitchen!

For the supplies, you will need measuring cups and spoons, wooden spoons, rubber spatula, whisk, kitchen scissors, rolling pin, baking sheet or pan, hand or stand mixer, and parchment paper.

For the ingredients, you will need flour (all purpose, whole-wheat, and bread flour), leaveners (baking soda, baking powder, and yeast), sugar (granulated, confectioner's or powdered, brown sugar), salt, dairy (butter, eggs, milk), vegetable oil and shortening, vanilla extract, spices, and any add in's (chocolate, rolled oats, nuts, etc.)

These are just some of the basic ingredients that you will most likely find in many recipes. You can also keep these ingredients in your household at all times!

Now that we have covered the supplies and ingredients needed, here are some basic tips to get you started once you have all of your ingredients:

• Always measure your ingredients and make sure that you have the correct measurements.

• Use room temperature ingredients as it can affect the consistency of your baked good.

• Check your oven temperature and make sure to preheat your oven before you start baking.

• Try not to make any substitutions and stick with using the ingredients in the recipe.

• Do not over mix the batter.

• Add the ingredients in small amounts, this will make it easier to mix.

• Always line your baking sheet with parchment paper or cooking spray. This is very important because you do not want your baked good stuck to the pan once it is out of the oven.

Once you have followed all these steps, you are ready to start baking!!

Stay tuned for next week's post where I talk about how to make some classic recipes that everyone knows and loves!!