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7 mistakes that keep you from baking
Cooking is an imprecise science, but it loves to be treated with respect.
There is no sin in adding ingredients by eye or optimizing the process a little, allowing the dough to come up not for an hour and a half, but an hour. But there are principles that baking does not like to break. And he will definitely take revenge on you.
This procedure is not needed at all in order to cleanse flour from impurities. Although this will not be superfluous – you never know where what kind of marriage happened. But first of all, sifting is necessary in order to saturate the flour with oxygen. This will help the dough rise better and make the baked goods more tender and airy. And if you are making a dough with baking powder, you need to sift it along with the flour, so it will be more evenly distributed.
2. You don’t get food out of the refrigerator in advance
Some buns need to be prepared from chilled foods. But this is usually specified in the recipe. For example, scones are classic English pastries. If the food is warm for them, the buns will turn out hard and “clogged”. But the “cold” rule applies only to shortbread and puff pastry. For most cases, warm foods are needed. Just imagine how much yeast dough will rise if you start it in cold water. Eggs, milk – all this should be at room temperature.
3. You beat and knead for too long
Do you think the more thoroughly you beat, the better? No, really. Usually the dough needs to be stirred just enough for the liquid to take flour. Let there be lumps in the dough for pancakes, pancakes or biscuit – it’s okay. The first two should be left to rest for half an hour before baking so that the lumps disperse. The biscuit will cope with the lumps on its own when baking. If you stir the dough too long and vigorously, it will get clogged and dense.
The same goes for yeast dough. During the first kneading, it is necessary to mix until a relatively homogeneous structure so that the gluten develops. Then, after it rises for the first time, knead a little more thoroughly, 10-12 minutes of vigorous hand work will be enough.
Only the dough for dumplings, pasties and dumplings requires thorough kneading. Here it needs to be brought to a homogeneous and smooth structure on the cut.
4. Mix ingredients out of order
Do you think that the sum does not change from a change in the places of the terms? Changes, how. For muffins, muffins and biscuits, dry and liquid ingredients must be mixed separately: flour with sugar, salt and spices, and eggs with milk and butter. Only then we connect them with one light movement. There are, however, exceptions when eggs are beaten with sugar or whites are beaten separately. Proteins, by the way, need to be introduced into the dough with the last, very carefully, folding movements of a spatula or spoon, otherwise airiness will not work. And if the dough contains, for example, banana puree, it should also be added last. Otherwise it will kill the test structure. In general, consistency – everything is serious here.
You can, of course, replace harmful sugar with healthy honey. But honey is a tricky thing, it greatly affects the structure of the dough. And not at all like sugar. It is better then to exclude sugar altogether, and smear the finished bun with honey. But sugar substitutes such as agave syrup can replace sugar without any problems.
Butter for vegetable, baking powder for soda – of course, no one will forbid you to experiment. But no one can guarantee that the output will be what you need.
6. Place the dish in an unheated oven.
While you are making the dough, the oven is preheating. Everything is simple here. Typically, the operating temperature is about 180 degrees. If you put the dough in a cold oven, it will take longer to rise, and there is a good chance that instead of a fluffy pie, you will get a flat and tough one.
7. Drop in to see how it is there
Oops! .. One awkward movement and your biscuit turns into a sole. This type of test cannot stand being disturbed. In the first 20 minutes, it is better not to even walk nearby, so as not to accidentally shake this sissy: the dough will certainly fall off from the slightest vibration. Set a timer and check muffins, muffins and pies when they should be ready, at least in theory. Prepare a wooden splinter in advance – stick it into the bun in the thickest place. The splinter should come out dry.