Baking

Lots of people bake well. I have been told I also bake well. In fact, many people ask for my "secrets". They want a recipe or something. But I've found that my "secret" isn't an ingredient so much as a technique. Knowing how much to stir at what point; knowing when to take things out of the oven. I learned that stuff mostly from watching my mom and partly from practice. Most people nowadays didn't get that baking time with their mom or whoever cooked in the family. In some cases, the youngest relative that actually knows all that stuff is the grandparent and they may not still be around. This saddens me. I get so much joy from baking and sharing my baked goods with others. I want others to have the opportunity to get joy from baking. So, I think I'm going to blog about baking occasionally. I'll try to get pictures of how things are supposed to look and I'll be very detailed about techniques.

First, there are some resources I have found very helpful. I'll be referencing these so if you want to follow closely with the intent of replicating my baking, you might want to pay attention.

The Better Homes and Gardens Heritage Cookbook, (c)1975

If you only have one cookbook, it should be this one. Everything I have tried or that Mom has tried from this book has been good. Also, it gives a very interesting history of food and cooking in American life. You may find yourself reading this like a regular book.



Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook 12th Edition (c) 2002

I got this one for a wedding present. It has been just about as awesome as the Heritage Cookbook. It is chock full of handy charts and tables and the recipes are pretty good too. Some are even copied from the Heritage Cookbook.



If you want to know about the science behind food and cooking, watch Good Eats on the Food Network. Alton Brown is really entertaining and brilliant. He makes the dullest subjects fun and memorable. He's made (at least) 3 books. They are really interesting and helpful. They aren't recipe books, although they do contain some recipes. These are books you should read through and then reference back when you need a reminder on something.

I don't agree with everything he says but I also acknowledge that there's more than one way to make a good cookie. His method appeals to mass audiences. He uses food processors and stuff like that. I don't. I'm a purist. A bowl and wooden spoon are my tools. But, I have learned a lot from him and I have adopted many of his suggestions and practices and I know they have improved my cooking. I went from "these are good cookies" to "this is the best cookie I have ever eaten!". That's from watching Good Eats and reading these books.







The next time I blog about baking I'll make a list of the tools I use for baking most often. I may list my most frequently used ingredients. We'll see how long it takes to do the tools list. :-)