Getting Started

my standard for all my baking and cooking is Diamond Crystal kosher salt. I prefer it for the small, uniform size of the salt crystals, which dissolve really well. If you prefer a different salt, such as Morton’s, I would suggest using the weight measurements rather than the volumetric measurements (or at least reducing the volume by about 1/3). For example, is a recipe calls for 1 1/2 teaspoons diamond crystal, reduce to 1 teaspoon Morton’s. Not all salts are created equally in the their crystal size and general saltiness and cannot necessarily be swapped out for an easy 1:1 teaspoon measurement. If I’m not using kosher salt, my go to for “finishing",’ i.e. sprinkling on a chocolate chip cookie, is Maldon salt. This is a flaky sea salt that not only looks beautiful but adds a delicious burst of saltiness.

I pretty much always use unsalted butter in all of my recipes. While I love some good quality European salted butter on good bread as much as the next person, I much prefer to be in total control of the amount of salt I add to recipes. There is no standard for the amount of salt added into salted butter, so it can vary from brand to brand, which is an added variable I don’t really want to mess with! That being said, I do sometimes make recipes with European style and/or salted butter. Whenever that is the case, it will be mentioned in the ingredient list.

The world of kitchen utensils and equipment can be overwhelming. And when it comes to baking, it can feel like you need to many things (which usually aren’t cheap) to truly jump in. But that simply is not true! With just a handful of items, which can be used for a variety of tasks, you can delve so deeply into the world of baking. Most of my adult life has been spent in tiny apartments with tiny apartment kitchens. Which means my space to create and my space to store were equally tiny, yet I’ve managed to make so many incredible baked goods. My starter kit non-negotiables are a set of nesting metal mixing bowls, a couple silicone spatulas, a balloon whisk, a rolling pin, a mini offset spatula, a bench knife, a bowl scraper, a cookie scoop, an 8” or 9” round cake pan, a large sheet pan (or 2), a scale, and whatever cheap electric hand mixer you can get your hands on. I know that sounds like a lot all listed together, but I promise that all of these items can be used outside of baking. And I will go into a few of the items in further detail below!

YES! Well technically no, but please use a scale. if you truly want to up your baking game, a scale is an absolute must. While I do include both volume and weight measurements in my recipes, I will always strongly suggest you use the weight measurements. To be honest, a big part of me wishes I was bold enough to omit the volume measurements and only write in weights. Baking is science and requires exactness to get you the absolute best results. Volume measurements can easily vary from person to person, which can potentially lead to issues. If you must measure by volume, the standard procedure for dry ingredients is to use a spoon or scoop to pour the flour into your measuring cup until it is full, then use the flat side of a butter knife or other flat utensil and scrape the excess so you have a level scoop. Please, I beg of you, never scoop your measuring cup directly into the bag of flour! It will pack it in and always end in too much.

A mini offset spatula is pastry chef’s best friend and easily my most used kitchen utensil. Perfectly designed for spreading anything and everything. A bench knife is stiff and made of metal. It is great for cubing butter, lifting chopped ingredients, scraping work surfaces, shaping doughs, shaping and cutting biscuits and so much more. A bowl scraper is plastic or silicone and a bit bendable. It has similar uses to a bench knife but with the added malleability for scraping the inside of bowls when making sticky doughs or getting every last bit of batter from your mixing bowl

This one seems like it might a one trick pony, and although it is my standard size for scooping cookies, I find myself reaching for it more and more often. I use it for scooping muffin or cupcake batter into tins, portioning fillings and buttercream when filling and finishing layer cakes, and portioning perfectly even meatballs.

While you absolutely do not need a large, clunky, expensive stand mixer to bake, I do think that having some type of electric mixer is crucial. Up until 2 years ago, all I had was a cheap handheld mixer from Bed Bath & Beyond. And guess what? It worked great and I was able to make just about anything. Creaming butter, whipping meringue, beating buttercream, and so much and just made so much easier and more efficient with an electric mixer.

While some bakers and pastry chefs will disagree with me on this, I do not think you need to sift in the vast majority of instances. That being said, there are some exceptions. Powdered sugar should always be sifted. It is such a fine powder and so prone to clumping that it really does make a difference, especially if you are making an icing and glaze. In any situation that may require sifting, I will mention it in the recipe. Always measure your ingredients first, and then sift.

This note is only for people who are using the volume measurements and not the weight. Because brown sugar is moist and sticks together well, the general rule when using a measuring cup is to pack or press the sugar into the cup until you get becomes level. This is the best way to ensure consistent measurements across volume and weight.

First and foremost, it’s important to make sure you properly prepare your pan before baking. This usually means lightly greasing the bottom and sides and placing a round of parchment paper on the bottom. This is essentially an insurance policy that you will be using when the time comes to remove the cake. Once the cake has cooled, use a mini offset spatula (one of it’s many uses) or a butter knife and gently press it between the cake and the side of the pan, making sure to reach the bottom. Begin to slowly drag the knife around the perimeter of the cake. As you are moving the knife forward, also make sure to apply pressure against the side of the pan, as this will stop you from accidentally cutting into the side of the cake. Once the sides are loosened, invert a plate or cooling rack on the cake pan, hold both together and flip. The plate or cooling rack should now be right side up with the pan inverted. Gently lift the pan and the cake should release (thanks to the parchment and grease). Use an additional plate or rack to repeat the flipping process and turn the cake right side up.

If a recipe calls for room temp butter and you can’t wait, I soften the butter by microwaving for 5 second increments. After each 5 seconds, I rotate the stick to the next side. It usually takes 15-20 seconds in total. If you feel the butter getting too soft or melty, stop! As for eggs, place them in a bowl and cover with very warm (bordering on hot) water from the tap. Let them sit for 5-10 minutes and then use as needed.

I always use baking chocolate (meaning chocolate that comes in bars, discs, wafers, pistoles, or feves) rather than chocolate chips. Baking chocolate sold in the above formats tend to be higher quality. I don’t bake loads of chocolatey stuff, so when I do use chocolate, I like it to be good quality and good flavor. Chocolate chips, on the other hand, usually contain additional stabilizers, which makes them harder to melt and helps retain that classic chip shape even after baking. That quality makes them less suitable for things such as ganache and custards. Plus, large chunks of roughly chopped chocolate in a cookie is just soooo much better.

Any baking time in any recipe is always just a suggestion. There are so many factors that impact how long something will take to bake, that it is really difficult to say something will always take this exact amount of time. All ovens run a bit differently, so it’s helpful to have an oven thermometer to make sure it’s accurate. Outside of ovens, the weather and humidity can impact a bake, the difference in your butter or flour and my butter or flour can play a role, and even the color of your pan can lead to differences. I had a chef in culinary school that would always answer any question about baking time with “it’s ready when it’s ready!” That may seem like an unhelpful response, but he was trying to get us to pay more attention how to tell when something was done, rather than relying on a number written in the recipe. If a recipe says 25 minutes, don’t just put it in the oven, set your timer for 25 minutes, and walk away until it goes off. Use your senses and pay attention to the process. I always add what to look for or feel or smell when something is done, so you can use those cues, rather than just the bake time, to determine when something is ready. Therefore, when it comes to something with a short bake time, like cookies, I set my timer for a couple minutes less than the recipe says, that way I can check on them early. For a longer bake time like a cake, I always set my timer for the halfway point and begin checking the progress then.