Bake A Licious

2023 Toppers❤️

A kind Reminder:

Dear Self,

Every day is a second chance to try again, to change, and to be a better you.

Thumbs-up👍 if u agree😉

6 SKILLS A CHEF/BAKER SHOULD HAVE

1. Understanding of Mise en Place

The most successful Chefs in the industry usually know that the process of baking requires careful timing and organization, so having your baking station prepared with everything you’ll need – including all the tools and pre-measured ingredients is vital.

2. Clear Team Communication

Along with mastering working with yeasted doughs and piping straight lines, communication is a skill great Chef should possess. Whether you’re mixing dough for early morning croissants or putting the finishing touches on petit fours, you need to be able to communicate with your team members. “Teamwork is dream work, and you need to have one eye and one ear on everyone else in the space at all times.”

3. Attention to Detail

As you may already know, baking is more of a science than cooking. Precise measurements and temperatures are key to achieving that perfect golden caramel or delicate cake crumb.

4. Creativity with Flavor and Texture

Good Chefs stick with the classics. Great Chefs are curious, experimenting with new flavor combinations and techniques. Not all of these experiments will end up on the winning side, but successful Chefs can see these fumbles as learning experiences rather than failures.

5. Excellent Hand-Eye Coordination

Top Chefs make shaping a seamless boule and rolling out flaky croissants look almost effortless. However, don’t think these are easy skills to master – they require advanced coordination and a thorough understanding of textures.

6. Patience Under Pressure

We can’t stress this enough: baking is a well-planned process and every step is important. That means cutting corners can lead to subpar results.

TOP 5 BAKING TOOLS

1. MEASURING CUPS AND SPOONS
Most recipes on the internet will most certainly ask you to measure cupfuls or spoonfuls of ingredients. Rather than scuffling through your drawers and figuring out which spoon could possibly be your tablespoon or which cup is adequate enough for your recipe.

2. SILICONE SPATULAS
Silicone spatulas are God’s biggest gift to the baking and the baking tools industry. Available at literally any utensil store or a supermarket, silicone spatulas make your baking and cooking ten times easier and unimaginably convenient. Their foldable character allows you to mix the batter thoroughly and they can go to spots and corners that your normal metal spatula can’t even tough. Not only this, they are highly heat resistant and can help you endlessly while making ganaches or pralines. They’re extremely durable and a good silicone spatula will last you years without getting spoilt. The silicone material also particularly helps you in ensuring that not even a drop of your food is being wasted.

3. BAKING TINS/MOULDS
Evidently, these baking tools are the most necessary, basic, and fundamental ones. I have seen most people also using glass bowls for baking and I have no objection to that, but investing in basic baking tools such as baking pans or moulds will really cost you almost nothing but will get results like nothing else. Most recipes use a nine-inch round baking tin, so you could easily go for that. There are also silicone molds which are increasingly becoming famous for baking. There are certain advantages that these moulds have over aluminium or metal tins such as no sticking of the batter.

4. WHISKS
Whisks have, since time immemorial, been regarded as the primary and cardinal baking tools and I agree to this. All kinds of spatulas and spoons will only help you get the batter together. However, nothing will aid you like a whisk when it comes to combining the ingredients properly and getting the exact consistency that a recipe asks for. They’re by far the most inexpensive baking tools in the list but one that I will be reaching for over and over again. For starters, you can go ahead with a medium sized whisk- one that is comfortable for your hand grip and also gets the work done.

5. MIXING BOWLS
You read it right- baking has specific types of mixing bowls which will help you better than the normal plastic bowls you might be using for your batters or dough.