Fatal Mistakes When Making Cakes and Bread That You Need to Avoid

As a beginner or first-time baker, you rely on recipes for delicious results when making cakes and bread. Often, you come across instructions such as ‘let the dough rest for 12 hours’ or ‘grease the pan with butter’. Even though you may not fully understand the meaning, it’s best to follow these steps exactly. Ignoring them could form bad habits that disrupt your baking. Here are 6 unintentionally formed bad habits that should be avoided.

Not Greasing the Sides of the Pan

The purpose of greasing the pan is to prevent the cake from sticking and make it easy to remove. However, if you are baking cookies, simply grease the bottom of the pan and it’s even better to buy parchment paper liners. This differs when baking cakes like brownies or bread. The cake will rise and touch the sides of the pan. So, don’t forget to grease the sides of the pan with butter and dust with flour.

Handling Cake and Bread Dough Too Often

When making pie crust or rolled cakes, inevitably you have to handle the dough. Make sure your hands don’t come into contact with the dough too often. Because if it’s too frequent, the gluten content in the dough will activate and make the cake hard. Handling the dough will also make you constantly sprinkle flour, which will make the cake hard. So, if you have to handle the dough, try to do it gently and as minimally as possible.

Using Expired Ingredients

Using expired chemical ingredients, such as baking powder or baking soda, will not make cakes and bread rise properly. Spices like cinnamon will also lose their flavor and aroma. In short, use fresh ingredients, and replace ingredients that have expired.

Not Allowing Cakes and Bread to Cool

Especially for cakes and bread, you let them cool completely before decorating. Otherwise, the frosting and other decorations will not stick well and crumbs will appear, making the appearance less attractive. It’s best to arrange the cakes or bread on a wire rack and let them cool until they’re no longer warm. Keeping the cake in the oven is not recommended at all. The trapped heat in the oven will make the bottom and sides of the cake become soggy.

Lack of Patience

Have you ever seen a recipe that includes steps like “let the dough rest for 12 to 18 hours”? You might not have the patience to wait and bake the dough, so you only let it rest for less than 12 hours. However, dough that is rested for the maximum time will taste better because the leavening agents work properly. So, restrain yourself and follow the steps in the recipe. Making cakes yourself does have many challenges. Small and simple things like greasing the pan can have a big impact on the final result of the cake. Don’t be afraid to try because by doing so, you will learn the right way. Also, don’t forget to try making cakes with Gusto ready-to-use flour. There are many cake variants that you can try, from brownies, chiffon, sponge cake, and more. Just add eggs, butter, and water, and you can get delicious cakes. It’s easy and guaranteed not to fail. Let’s get creative with Gusto.

Source:

https://www.thespruceeats.com/bad-baking-habits-4582306