Top 18 Baking Tips
1. Remember when shopping read labels carefully. Anything ending in "ose" is a sugar.
2. Always remember, too much baking powder is just as disastrous in baking as too little. Try to be exact.
3. For lighter and faster rising dough and batters, substitute the liquid from the recipe with powdered milk and water.
4. Spray your counter top with non-stick cooking spray before rolling out dough to prevent sticking of dough.
5. Storing plastic wrap in the fridge prevents it from sticking together and makes it easier to tear.
6. When making icing, try creaming with shortening instead of butter and add a few drops of vinegar. The icing will not harden and will be easy to cut.
7. Test baking soda for freshness by adding a spoonful of soda to a cup of vinegar or lemon juice. If it "fizzes" it's still active.
8. If you forgot to grease your baking pan, place a damp cloth beneath it for a few minutes then the baked item can be easily removed.
9. To keep muffin papers in place while you fill them, rub the bottom of the muffin tin cups with shortening before you put the papers in place.
10. Use an ice cream scoop to pour muffin batter into muffin cups. This will ensure all muffins are uniform in size.
11. Make a quick and easy whipped topping by adding a sliced banana to one beaten egg white. Beat the two together until mixture is stiff.
12. For fluffier whipped cream, add a teaspoon of honey as you whip, followed by a little icing sugar.
13. Glass and ceramic baking dishes retain heat better, allowing you to reduce oven temperature by up to 25 degrees Fahrenheit.
14. To keep the crust from getting too hard when baking bread or dark fruit cake, place a small dish of water in the oven while cooking.
15. When baking a milk pudding, place the dish in a pan of water in the oven to prevent the pudding from burning or boiling over.
16. An entire batch of bread dough can be frozen to be baked at a later date. Mix the dough, wrap and freeze or let it rise once, punch it down and then wrap and freeze. When it thaws, put it in bread pans for the second rise and then bake.
17. To give dinner rolls and buns that "just baked" freshness, fill a brown paper bag with water, then pour it out immediately. Fill the bag with the rolls or buns, rolling the top of the bag to close. Place it in a low temperature oven for 5 -10 minutes. They will then have that "fresh from the oven" taste.
18. Freeze water in muffin tins or bundy pans to make ice for punch bowls.
