These 10 Simple Changes Will Make You a Better Baker
Burnt cake? Flat cookies? Overcooked cheesecake? Here are ten simple baking tips to solve your issues and up your baking game!
This year, I decided to enroll at our local community college and take some classes on baking and pastry. Yes, a registered dietitian is going back to school to learn about pastries, buttercream, and layer cakes. Baking has always been a hobby of mine–and I’ve always wanted to get better at it.
In time for the holiday baking season, I wanted to share ten simple baking tips I’ve picked up so far that may help with your next baking day.
10 Smart Baking Tips
1. Buy quality flour.
Yes, there’s a difference between less expensive flour and the more expensive name-brand kind. Cheaper flour tends to be higher in ash, which comes from the bran part of wheat. A lower ash content generally means the flour is more “pure” and higher in quality.
2.”Fluff up” your flour before measuring.
To avoid overpacking flour when measuring, be sure your flour is light and fluffy before scooping. Take a scoop or spoon and fluff it up, then measure it.
3. Measure flour the right way.
I cringe when I see people on cooking shows dunking a measuring cup into the canister of flour to scoop it out. You’ll end up with way more flour than you need–which can affect your end result!
Instead, spoon the flour lightly into the measuring cup with a scoop or spoon. Then sweep it level with a knife (never pack down the flour).
Better yet, use a kitchen scale. A lot of baking recipes provide measurements in weight too. This is the affordable kitchen scale I use for my baking.
4. Use unsalted butter.
Honestly, I never thought it made much difference, but I learned this semester that the amount of salt used in salted butter is unpredictable, varying from brand to brand. Some brands may actually contain too much salt for certain recipes. You’re better off using unsalted and letting the recipe’s intended flavors shine.
5. But don’t skip the salt!
Don’t try to nix the salt in a recipe, even if it calls for just a pinch. Salt serves an important purpose. It enhances other flavors in a recipe and gives baked goods a deeper, less “floury” flavor.
6. Chill cookie dough.
Do your cookies always spread flat? Chill the dough before baking–either right in the bowl or on the baking sheet after you scoop them out.
And be sure your baking sheets are cool or cold too, not warm from the oven. Last time I made cookies, I spooned the dough onto the sheet then put the sheet in my fridge for 5-10 minutes before baking. No spreading!
7. Check your baking sheets.
If you’re having trouble with uneven baking, it could be your pans. Old stained pans with blackened baked-on bits (like the pans I have!) will radiate heat unevenly.
8. Use a silicone mat.
If your cookies brown too quickly on the bottom, place a silicone mat or piece of parchment paper on your baking sheet first (I love my Silpat Perfect Cookie Mat). Both will act as insulators, slowing heat conduction. Another option: Bake your cookies on a double layer of sheet pans.
9. Keep baking pans in the center of the oven.
Heat radiates off of oven walls, which will cause anything near them to bake faster. When possible, place your baking pans in the center of your oven away from the walls (or rotate the pan halfway through baking).
10. Take cookies out while still doughy (and cheesecake and custard while still jiggly).
Remove baked goods from the oven just before they look perfectly done. When baked goods are taken out of the oven, they continue to cook until they reach room temperature (that’s called “carryover cooking”).
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Bonus Tip
My instructor gave us this handy rule of thumb that has proven to be true: When you can start to smell the aroma of what you’re baking, it’s close to being done.
This little trick can help prevent dreaded over-baking. So as soon as you get a whiff of your cookies or brownies, take a peek and see if they’re done!
Some of my favorite baking recipes
- Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
- The Best Thumbprint Cookies with Irresistible Vanilla Frosting
- Fudgy Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Amazing No-Knead Whole Grain Bread
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My two year old and I will be making sugar cookies!
I always bake sprinkle cookies!
I make molasses krinkles every year for Christmas.
Great tips! I’ll remember these when we make sugar cookies!
I made cookie dough last week that’s in my freezer and I will bake closer to Christmas. I’m also making cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Christmas morning.
I’m making all kinds of cookies!!!!!!
So many great tips! Love the tips about fineness, rack to use, & condition of the pans. Happy baking!
I love making my mom’s buttery and super-bad-for-you Cranberry Almond Bars.
Great ideas!
First of all, these tips are awesome. I’ve found measuring flour to be quite the task. When I weigh it on my food scale it’s always more than what the bag says 1 cup of flour is by weight, so now I always use my food scale when baking. Love these measuring spoons and cups – so clever!
These are some great tips. Thank you. One other baking tip – make sure your baking powder and baking soda are in date. I learned that the hard way with some flat muffins!
Oh, and I’ll be baking good old English mince pies this season.
Pecan Lace cookies!
We’ll be making gingerbread cookies!
I’ll be making my family’s favorite sugar cookies and my favorite – spritz cookies!
Great tips! Didn’t know about the “fluff up the flour” one. Always good to start off right. : )
some kind of cookie, probably some bark & fudge too, oh & truffles
I have a great butter cookie recipe that I use as a base for several different types of cookies. I love another commenters idea of making the cookies now and freezing them and baking them closer to Christmas. I always wondered how people managed to make so many cookies in such a short period of time:)
I’m literally baking all the cookies. Chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, ginger, Mexican wedding cookies, sugar…. you name the cookie I’m making it! Luckily they are mostly for other people so they won’t be sitting around the house tempting me!
Great info! And, awesome live FB video today talking about baking tips! 🙂
I haven’t decided everything I will be baking, but everyone always recommends white chocolate dipped snickerdoodles so I know those are a must!
I have been baking cookies and I wish I had read this post first. I wouldn’t have ended up with flat cookies.
I just made my baking list today. It includes Monster Cookies (using green and red M&Ms), Caramel Crinkle cookies with a Rolo in the middle, cut-outs (the kids love to decorate them), and white chocolate dipped Oreos with sprinkles.
Great tips! I think I will have to get one of those silpat mats! I hate burnt cookies on the bottom!! Also, those measuring cups are awesome!
Wow these are great tips! I will be baking gingerbread and pinwheel shortbread cookies!
I am also a RD who loves to bake! What great information! I will be baking lots of cookies this holiday season, including some candy cane snowballs!
I’ll be baking ginger snaps & Merry Minth Middles ( a batter similar to chocolate chip cookies with a mint baked into the middle and topped with a powdered sugar glaze.). Also, I’ll be making cinnamon glazed almonds.
I make these chocolate gingerbread cookies that are from one of Martha Stewart’s books and they are amazing!
Definitely sugar cookies with my 8 year old daughter!!
I make quite a variety, but buckeyes are always the favorite
I think it’s so awesome that you are taking classes in something that is interesting to you. These tips are super helpful, as I’m not really a baker. I’ve also heard that eggs should be at room temperature, not cold. Is that true?
Great tips. I just love baking. Those are nice and useful measuring cups and spoons.
Great tips! Thanks so much. I will definitely be baking sugar cookies and hopefully some gingerbread. I typically make fudge and toffee instead for the holidays.
I always skip out on the salt and never know what type of butter to use so this is helpful, thanks for sharing. I think this year I’ll keep it simple and just make brownies, I love sugar cookies but they take so long!
I’ll be making my Great Aunt Florence’s caramel corn. The recipe is so old it’s really called Poppycock and says ‘keeps nicely in tins’
great tips!!
I’ll be baking lots and lots of cookies! 🙂
I love making cookies with my girls. We’ll be doing some sugar cookies and of course chocolate chip cause that’s my favorite. 🙂
Fantastic tips! I get lazy when measuring flour, but no more! Fluff, scoop and level for me from now on :). We’ll be baking chocolate crackle cookies this season, a holiday favorite!
Great tips! We just made a batch of brown sugar christmas cookies. Next week, gingerbread and thumbprint cookies.
Thanks for all of the great baking tips! I’m looking forward to making iced cutout sugar cookies with my 2.5 year old twins!
definitely cookies!
Great tips! I didn’t know there could be such a difference between brands of flour.
I’m making gingerbread,windmill cookies, sugar cookies, bananabread,bread, and cheese biscuits.
Great tips! I didn’t know that brands of flour differed in quality. Do you have a brand that you recommend? Or things I should avoid when buying certain brands?
Megan–I’ve been buying King Arthur Flour recently. Our store had a great sale so I stocked up and put some away in the freezer. I like that it’s unbleached too!
Just made a pumpkin coffee cake!
Love your helpful baking tips. I’ll be busy baking Christimas cookies and quick breads!
We will be making fudge, snowballs, and on balls
White chocolate peppermint cookies!!
Thank you for the baking tips. Baking from a holistic perspective, I use a special gluten free vegetable based flour and make substitutions for egg whites and butter. Make sure you read the conversion rates for these substitutes, or your recipe won’t quite turn out right. Otherwise, if you follow the directions, your product will taste very close to the “unsubstituted” recipe, and it much healthier for me, too!
Instead of worrying about fluffing my flour I find it easier to just weigh it out. It is the only way I know of to make sure your measurements come out even every time. However, since not all recipe books have weights in them, I have found it helpful to put the weight of one cup of common ingredients like flour and sugar on my fridge as a reference.
Thanks Jesse. A kitchen scale is definitely on my list of things to buy!
I like how you said that it is important to get quality flour. I really want to start cooking. Thanks for the tips on baking.