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Basics of Baking, Baking Essentials for Beginner Bakers

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Of late, I am getting a LOT of questions from beginner bakers on how to get started on baking, what are the first few essentials, ingredients and their substitutes, ovens and types of ovens, pre-heating, etc. This is a 2-part series on the basics of baking.Needless to say, I am definitely no expert and these notes and observations are based on my personal experiences or what I have seen work for others. Feel free to contest, share, or add in your thoughts in the comments section.

Basics of Baking – Part I – Getting Started with the Essentials of Baking

Of course, the first thing you need to get is an oven. I have already done a lot of research and posted about it types of oven and how to choose an oven.

The next thing is definitely baking trays and pans. There are lots of variety here in terms of what you can get and it can get confusing. However, the basic must-haves according to me, are below:

– Square and round cake pans, preferably Springform Pans, since it’s very easy to get the cake out of the pan after baking

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Round springform pans are easier to get and may be slightly more expensive than normal pans but its definitely worth it and you will find yourself reaching out for one of these most often. An 8″ or  9″ diameter is the most versatile.

The material for regular cake pans doesn’t really matter but stay away from glass (pyrex type ones) as your first pan. The baking time will increase and the texture may differ too. Aluminium, non stick or silicon pans are your best bet.

– Baking trays or Baking Pans
Most ovens come with one of these, so you may not need to buy one. Very handy when it comes to baking cookies or potato fries. I have a round baking tray for pizza which has holes at the bottom for more even baking. If you plan to bake a lot of pizza, this may be handy. You can also lay a baking sheet or parchment over it and use it to bake cookies. Check out Baking Trays here.

– A good mixing bowl, whisk and rubber / silicon spatula

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You can definitely use the bowls you have in hand currently but there’s something special about having one just for your baking. I have a regular steel mixing bowl from Ikea that I use only for mixing during baking and it’s just fantastic. These glass mixing bowls are fabulous too and have been on my wish list for a while now (in case any of you feel like sending me some!)

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A whisk is very handy when you don’t want to invest in an electric beater just yet. There are a lot of recipes that come out very well without beating your hands out of their sockets so don’t worry about starting with just a plain old whisk. There are lots of options now for whisks too, like silicon, metal, or rubber. Browse whisks here.

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A silicon spatula makes life so so easy and I insist you get one. It scrapes the sides of the bowl very efficiently and spotlessly. I got my first as a gift and have since bought 2 more – very very handy during baking. Wilton makes some good ones and so does Kitchenaid. Browse them here.

– Measuring cups and spoons

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Baking is more a science than art. When you are a beginner, its better not to experiment too much with quantities because the first few failures may deter you from continuing. Trust me, I have seen that happen. Stick with simple, easy, no-fail recipes and soon you can start concocting your own. Buy a good set of measuring cups and spoons, you get lots of different kinds, find the cheapest ones if you are not sure if this hobby will stick. You can graduate to kitchen scales later. Even if a recipe you really like has measurements by weight, you can easily convert them online – Google has all the answers.

These are the measuring spoons I use and absolutely love.

– Ingredients

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Again, as a beginner, its best to start your journey with easy recipes that don’t have hard-to-find ingredients or even expensive ones. Stick to the same ingredients as mentioned in the original recipe, once you get a hang of this baking thing, you can let your creativity run wild.

I started baking at the age of 10 and one of my first successes wast the Apple Crumble Recipe. Since its not an ordinary cake or cookie, there’s a wow factor in spite of the ease of baking it.

Here are some very basic and easy recipes you can start out with:
Eggless Chocolate Melting Moments
Easy Basic Chocolate Brownies
Toblerone Candy Bar Shortbread
Banana Bread

Part II – How to Pre-Heat an Oven

Please note: this post contains affiliate links.

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  1. Hi, I have a microwave oven with convection function. Should I follow the same temperature & timing as stated in your recipes?

    Reply

    • yes it should. please check the manual and try to experiment. i can’t confirm for sure on the appliances you own…

      Reply

  2. Hi … i have a toaster oven at home with a maximum of 240 degrees celsius and time range upto max of 15 mins. If i need to bake a basic vanilla or choc sponge cake in a 15cm cake pan, how long and at what temp should i preheat the oven and bake it?? I am very new to baking but would like to learn. Pls help with the quantity of ingredients too. Thank you!

    Reply

  3. Hi Nags, your Basics of Baking post is indeed very useful. Thanks for sharing.

    However, I am not able to access your “Types of Ovens” article. When i try to access the link, I get the “Page not found” message.

    Do check this issue.

    Thanks,
    Kavita

    Reply

  9. Thank you Nags, all your dishes tasty yummy! THe most liked receipe is Panner Butter Masala in Restraunt style. Thank a lot for responding to Anon mail. I will search in google to know about Kenstar model. Can i have your email id? Iam happy to tell you that in a day, almost 1/2 to 1 hr iam spending in your site.

    Reply

  10. Hello anon, thanks a ton for visiting my basics of baking post. I am afraid I won't have info on how to operate every model and make of oven out there. I use a Delonghi oven and that's that 🙂 The best way is to refer your oven's manual or do a google search for the specific model to see if other users have submitted any notes or tips. sorry about that!

    Reply

  11. Hi, Nags, you are my favorite cook. I used to try all your receipes especialy veg and nonveg. Iam having Kenstar oven, i dont know how to bake cake in that. Can you guide me!

    Reply

  12. Hey, i've bee hooked to your blog for ages now…and i've even tried a few of your recipes. Thanks a ton!

    I am a complete novice at baking and all i own is a humble microwave. It would be great if you could give me more tips with microwave baking.
    Thanks, Kavita

    Reply

  14. Ranjeetha, its totally fine that your oven doesn't have a temperature setting. my mom has been baking for 35 years in a temperature-knob-less oven! just make sure that you pre-heat the oven for about 10 mins before starting to bake anything and also, just watch out for done-ness when the mentioned time in the recipe is reached.

    Reply

  15. Hii… I have become a reader of your blog only recently. I really like the way you write and I just love reading your blog.I am a busy working mom. Ever since I had my son (9 months now)I have this urge to cook more so in the future I will be an expert and make yummy dishes for my son. My husband is very encouraging and applauds all my efforts at it and even lends a hand.
    I have been really scared of baking but after reading your post I feel confident enough to make an effort in this area. But I need your help in one department….in your next post can you please explain how I can use an oven which doesn't show any temperature markings.How will I know how hot the oven is in this case? I can't even set it to say 170 degree or pre-heat it to a certain temperature..there are no markings at all just the ignition knob 🙁 – I was so looking forward to baking a cake when I realized that my oven has these problems. Since I really want to start baking this was a let down for me…can you please help.

    Reply

  19. Nags,

    Kallakal post…Very detailed and simple explanation of the items required as well as how to go about it. You really have some patience girl!!!
    i love the little peas in the widget n your page…What are they???

    Shobha

    Reply

  26. Its a set of 4 cups for 10 SGD. Phoon Huat has many branches but the closest to you would be the one in Simei Raks. Its to the left when you exit from MRT, behind those lines of stores. Call me when you come to Simei next, I will take you there. Or I will buy and keep.

    Reply

  29. Scatterbrain – a stick is half cup.

    the granule size is fine, just make sure you know what type of yeast there is. for best results in such type of yeast,dissolve in some warm water and let it bubble up for about 10-15 mins before adding to the flour and rest of the ingredients.

    you can google "what is broiling?". basically its a type of cooking in the oven in short bursts under high temperature. very similar or sometimes synonymous with grilling.

    Reply

  33. Thanks! Being born to a mom who bakes helped ignite the passion in me. I have a couple of questions for you.

    1. Most recipes mention a "stick" of butter. How much is that in cups or Tbsps?
    2. I've always had my yeast brought down by relatives living abroad. I've run out of all I had and I've found that the ones in the indian market are HUGE granules, and don't always rise. Is there a different way to prepare the yeast when you have granules?
    3. What's the "broil" function on convection ovens for? (Ok… I admit…am a dunce)

    Hmm… ok.. thats all!

    Reply

  38. I love my steel measuring cups! they are from a local baking supply store in Singapore called Phoon Huat. This set of 5 cost me some 10 SGD 🙂

    Reply

  39. Wow this is such a useful post….I luv ur measuring steel cups/spoons…..where did u get them?

    I havent got the set of measuring cups yet…searching for them. So I use one cup and measure accordingly in the same cup itself…Hmm now I understand what is next on my shopping list : whisk and measuring cups 🙂

    Reply
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