Tips and tricks in preparation and processing in baking. Do you know the trick to check how old or fresh an egg is? What should you sprinkle on a baking pan to help dissolve the baking? Do you want to know how long you can keep yeast, whether your baking powder is still good and what exactly apricot is, how you do this and what the purpose is. How can you prevent the edge of your shortcrust pastry from sinking or bubbles from forming in the pie crust? Useful tips and tricks for the (home) baker!
Baking and garnishing – Work with fresh products
Preferably and if the season permits, use fresh ingredients. This is especially important for the right taste experience with a fruit pie. If you can’t get fresh fruit, you can use canned, jar, or freezer fruit, but this will slightly detract from the flavor. If necessary, switch to a different fruit than the one you had in mind; a type of fruit that combines well with the taste of the baking and is still available fresh. Try to combine contrasting colors of the fruit for a tasty contrast.
How old or fresh is the egg
You can check the freshness of an egg. Do you want to find out how fresh an egg is or whether an egg is not too old and you can still safely process it in batter or dough?
Control of an egg
- Place the egg in a glass of water.
- If the egg is left on the bottom, it is fresh.
- The further it floats up, the older the egg is.
- If the egg floats, it is several weeks old and should not be used again.
Sprinkle baking tins – easier unloading cake
Release the baking from the baking tin better. You get the best pies out of the pan if you not only grease the pan, but also sprinkle with breadcrumbs or flour. By turning the tin a few times, the breadcrumbs or flour are evenly distributed over the entire cake tin or baking tin and it adheres to the fat / butter.
How do you check if the baking powder is still good
If you want to know if the baking soda is still good, you can put a pinch of baking soda in cold water.
- If you see bubbles rising all the time, the baking soda is good.
- If it fizzes strongly, this is always a sign that the baking powder is too old.
Storage of baker’s yeast
You can store dry yeast in a pantry for a long time. Fresh yeast spoils much faster. You can store yeast in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks.
Roll out the dough
When rolling out dough, it will sometimes stick, especially if the temperature is not low enough. To prevent too much loose flour from getting underneath the dough when rolling out the dough and making the dough gritty, you can roll the dough out between two layers of plastic foil (which you will of course remove before baking). The foil must be easy to remove. If not, put the dough in the refrigerator for a few minutes to let it stiffen.
Perfect pie crust from the rolling pin
For a perfect pie crust, roll out the shortcrust pastry in a circle. To make sure that the dough comes into the mold evenly and evenly, roll the dough loosely around the rolling pin, hold the rolling pin over the mold and roll the dough out again.
Sand dough edge with aluminum foil against sagging
To prevent the edge of the dough from sinking, you can secure it with strips of aluminum foil before baking. After a few minutes of baking, the edge of the shortcrust pastry is firm enough and the foil can be removed.
Backing filling for the shortcrust pastry base
If you place a sheet of parchment paper and a layer of dried legumes over the dough-lined bottom of the tin, the bottom will not get bubbles and will not slide off the edge of the baking pan. You can of course use the legumes several times as a support filling. Some confectioners and cooks use small pebbles for this (clean and cooked, of course), which you can reuse especially for this purpose.
Healthier pastry ingredients / dough
If you want to replace wheat flour with whole wheat flour in recipes, use a little more liquid. When you replace sugar with honey, you can use a little less honey. Healthy pastry tastes extra delicious when prepared with fresh fruits.
Oven or not for heating
Most dough for pies can also be placed in a non-preheated oven. The baking time is then about 10 to 15 minutes longer. However, there is a greater chance of drying out.
Finishing / garnishing pastries and cakes
To prevent pie crumbs from getting into the chocolate icing, cakes are pre-apricotated. To do this, heat apricot jam in a pan or in the microwave on half power, sieve this if necessary and divide it over the cake. The glaze layer then comes over this.
Melting couverture au-bain-marie
For a glossy chocolate glaze couverture, melt it in a double boiler. When heating au-bain-marie, place the pan / container in a larger pan with boiling water or in the microwave on half power. Stir regularly in between. Then let it almost completely solidify again and then heat it again. Don’t let it get too hot.
Microwave as an assistant in baking
The microwave is an ideal assistant for cooking and baking. You can use it for many more things than you think. For example, milk for yeast dough is lukewarm in no time, soaked gelatin dissolves in a few seconds and chocolate also becomes liquid very quickly. All this does depend on the power of the microwave to be used.
Finishing a whipped cream cake with whipped cream or cream
To coat cakes nicely evenly, brush the whipped cream or cream over the top and edge with a long smooth knife / spatula.
Grated almond edge – side of the pie
A pie rim of almonds for a refined taste. Press and spread toasted almond shavings against the edge of a whipped cream or cream cake. Use a long wide knife for this or do it lightly by hand while gently turning your cake.