The Clueless Baker: Learning to Bake from Scratch

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 Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Getting Started
Baking: The Eleven-Step Program
Bare Necessities, Electric Gizmos and Extra Added
Widgets
The Essential Clueless Baking Cupboard
Emergency Substitutions
The Basics About Some Basics
Chapter 2: Quick Breads and Yeast Breads
Quick Breads
Yeast Breads
Clueless Troubleshooting: Quick Breads and Yeast Breads
Chapter 3: Muffins and Biscuits
Muffins
Biscuits
Clueless Troubleshootiong: Muffins and Biscuits
Chapter 4: Cookies, Cookies and More Cookies
Cookies
Squares and Bars
Clueless Troubleshooting: Cookies and Squares
Chapter 5: Cakes and Frostings
Cakes
Frostings, Fillings and Frivolities
Clueless Troubleshooting: Cakes and Frostings
Chapter 6: Pies and Other Pastries
Basic Pastry Recipes
Pies and Other Pastries
Clueless Troubleshooting: Pies and Pastries
A Baking Glossary
Published by Fire y Books Ltd. 2013

Copyright © 2013 Fire y Books Ltd.

Text copyright © 2013 Evelyn Raab

ISBN: 978-1-77085-390-4

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publisher.

Illustrations: Clive Dobson and George A. Walker

Cover design: Hartley Millson

e publisher gratefully acknowledges the nancial support for our publishing program by the
Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund as administered by the Department of
Canadian Heritage.

Published in Canada by
Fire y Books Ltd.
50 Staples Avenue, Unit 1
Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 0A7
To my husband George, an enthusiastic (but brutally honest) guinea
pig, who wouldn’t let me bake anything with cloves in it; and to my
two intrepid sons, Dustin and Jared, who bravely struggled to try
and keep up with the sheer volume of cookies that were produced
during the writing of this book.
 e oven looms before you. A darkened abyss. e gates of hell. You know
— you just know — that whatever you put in there is doomed. Doomed
and ruined. It will burn. Or collapse. Probably both.
Plus, your house will burn down. Which is just as well, because after
the mess you made of the kitchen it would take ten lifetimes to clean it up,
anyway. ere is our on the oor. Batter on the walls. Broken eggs in the
sink (it was an accident). You’re missing a spatula (you pray it didn’t get
baked into the cake). e phone is ringing, but you can’t nd it.
Okay. Take a deep breath and relax. Help has arrived.
What you need are some decent recipes, a good attitude and a plan.
Baking can be — should be — fun. Also easy. It should be neither
traumatic nor terrifying. And at the end of it, you should have something
delicious to eat. Which is, after all, the point of the whole thing.
Let’s begin with the plan.
 Baking — e Eleven-Step Program

First, decide what you want to make. is is the easy part. Do you feel like
brownies, or are you having a focaccia kind of day? Do you want to
throw something together really fast, or do you feel like taking your
time and wallowing in the experience? Make up your mind, would you,
please?
Choose a recipe. is book is full of them.
Read through the recipe. Do you have all the ingredients you’ll need? Are
you sure? Do you have the right size baking pan? Will you need an
electric mixer? Blender? Baking parchment? Does the dough have to
chill before baking? Rise? Meditate? How long does it have to bake?
Will whatever-it-is be ready to eat right away, or will you have to let it
cool? It’s all there in the recipe — just take the time to read it.
Preheat the oven. Now. Before you do anything else. Go.
Assemble the ingredients. Take every single ingredient out and arrange it
in a tasteful and attractive manner on your kitchen counter. If you are
an obsessive type, you might even measure the ingredients into
individual bowls and set them out in the order you`ll use them. But
let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.
Prepare your baking pan. Grease it, our it, line it with parchment paper if
the recipe calls for it. Have some bowls ready; get out your mixer ( nd
the beater thingies!); grab the measuring cups and a spoon. You don’t
want to be groping around your junk drawer for a spatula when you’re
up to your elbows in batter.
Okay, now you can start. Begin at the beginning and follow the
instructions exactly. is is no time to be creative. At least, not the rst
time. If you decide to bake the same thing again, you can be more
adventurous — substitute ingredients, take liberties and go rogue. But
follow the directions at least once — you may even learn something.
Keep your eye on the oven. Set a timer and make sure you can hear it ring
from wherever you’ll be. If necessary, buy yourself a dollar-store timer
that you can take with you out to the yard or down to the basement.
 You think you’ll remember to take the mu ns out of the oven, but
honestly, you won’t. Not until you smell smoke. At which point it will
be, alas, too late.
Do the toothpick test; tap the top of the loaf; stick a knife in the pie. Do
whatever the recipe tells you, to make sure your whatchamacallit is
baked to perfection.
Ta-da! Done. Remove your delicious baked item(s) from the oven,
carefully remove from the baking pan(s) and let cool on a rack for as
long as you can stand.
Enjoy. You earned it.
 Bare Necessities, Electric Gizmos and
Extra Added Widgets

Baking equipment tends to be pretty simple. You’ve got your pans, your bowls,
your spatulas. Most of the things you need are inexpensive and easy to nd. If
you’re on a really tight budget, you can shop at secondhand stores and garage
sales. If you recently inherited a fortune, you can blow it all at a fancy
kitchenware store. Either way, your mu ns will turn out just ne.

Bare Necessities

two 8 or 9-inch (20 or 23 cm) round cake pans

one 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33 cm) rectangular baking pan
one 8 or 9-inch (20 or 23 cm) square baking pan
two 9 x 5-inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf pans
two 10 x 15 inch (25 x 38 cm) cookie sheets with 1-inch (2 cm) sides
one mu n pan with 12 cups (or two with 6 cups each)
one 8-cup (2 liter) bundt or tube pan (approximately 9 inches/23 cm
diameter)
one 9 or 10-inch (23 or 25 cm) springform pan with removable sides
one or two wire grid cooling racks
one set of O cial Measuring Spoons (imperial or metric or both)
one set of individual steel or plastic measuring cups (in graduated sizes: ¼
cup, ⅓ cup, ½ cup and 1 cup, or metric equivalents)
heatproof glass measuring cups (1 cup/250 ml and 4 cups/1 liter)
mixing bowls — stainless steel or glass — at least 2 really big ones (4
quarts/4 liters) and as many smaller ones as you have room for
a bunch of small glass or plastic bowls for organizing ingredients
whisk
rubber bowl scrapers (spatulas)
wooden spoons
 our sifter
pastry blender (that chopper thingy for making pastry dough)
pastry brush
wooden rolling pin
cookie cutters
baking parchment paper

Electric Gizmos

electric mixer — either handheld or countertop model

blender — traditional or stick type
food processor

Extra Added Widgets (for the seriously

motivated baker)

pastry bag and decorating tips

one 10-inch (25 cm) tart pan with removable sides
one 10-inch (25 cm) two-part tube pan (angel cake pan) with removable
sides
electronic digital scale (to weigh ingredients)
 e Essential Clueless Baking Cupboard

It’s three in the morning. It suddenly occurs to you that you can’t possibly get
through the night without chocolate chip cookies. Homemade ones. Warm. Right
now. Aren’t you glad you keep ingredients in the house?

Absolute necessities

all-purpose white our (regular or unbleached)

all-purpose whole wheat our
granulated white sugar
brown sugar (golden or dark brown)
icing (confectioners’) sugar
baking powder
baking soda
quick-rise instant dry yeast granules
butter
vegetable oil
solid vegetable shortening (preferably trans-fat free)
eggs
milk
semisweet chocolate chips
semisweet baking chocolate
unsweetened baking chocolate
unsweetened cocoa powder
quick-cooking rolled oats (not instant)
pure vanilla extract
peanut butter
cinnamon
raisins
walnuts
nonstick baking spray
Noncompulsory ingredients

cake and pastry our

cornmeal
cornstarch
graham cracker crumbs
chocolate wafer crumbs
natural bran
honey
corn syrup
molasses
whipping cream
sour cream
buttermilk
yogurt
cream cheese
cream of tartar
ginger
nutmeg
pecans
almonds
hazelnuts
dried cranberries
dates
coconut
lemons

Specialty ingredients

white chocolate chips or chunks

poppy seeds
sesame seeds
instant co ee powder
phyllo pastry
gluten-free our mixture
brown or white rice our
 Emergency substitutions

Can it be true? You’re out of chocolate? Baking powder? Brown sugar? Don’t panic — help is on the way.
Not every ingredient is replaceable, but the following substitutions will allow you to continue baking
despite the missing whatever-it-is. In some cases, the nished product will be almost identical. Some
subsititutions can produce a slightly di erent avor or texture in the nished product. Maybe a better one
— you never know.

1 oz. (28 g) unsweetened chocolate

3 tbsp. (45 ml) unsweetened cocoa powder + 1 tbsp. (15 ml) vegetable oil
or melted butter

1 oz. (28 g) semisweet chocolate

3 tbsp. (45 ml) unsweetened cocoa powder + 1 tbsp. (15 ml) vegetable oil
or melted butter + 1 tbsp. (15 ml) sugar
1 oz. (28 g) unsweetened chocolate + 1 tbsp. (15 ml) sugar
2 tbsp. (30 ml) semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup (250 ml) semisweet chocolate chips

6 oz. (170 g) semisweet chocolate chunks or bar

1 whole egg
2 egg whites + 1 tsp. (5 ml) vegetable oil
2 egg yolks + 1 tbsp. (15 ml) water
¼ cup (60 ml) egg mixture (real egg or substitute)

1 cup (250 ml) vegetable oil

1 cup (250 ml) butter or margarine
1 cup (250 ml) solid vegetable shortening
1 cup (250 ml) lard

1 tsp. (5 ml) baking powder

½ tsp. (2 ml) cream of tartar + ¼ tsp. (1 ml) baking soda
1 cup (250 ml) buttermilk
1 cup (250 ml) plain yogurt
1 tbsp. (15 ml) lemon juice or vinegar + milk to equal 1 cup (250 ml)

1 cup (250 ml) sour cream

3 tbsp. (45 ml) butter + buttermilk or yogurt to equal 1 cup (250 ml)
1 cup (250 ml) Greek-style yogurt

1 cup (250 ml) brown sugar

1 cup (250 ml) granulated sugar + 2 tbsp. (30 ml) molasses
1 cup (250 ml) granulated sugar (with no molasses, avor will be di erent)

1 cup (250 ml) corn syrup

1 cup (250 ml) granulated sugar + ¼ cup (60 ml) water
1 cup (250 ml) honey
1 cup (250 ml) maple syrup

1 cup (250 ml) molasses

1 cup (250 ml) honey or corn syrup ( avor will be di erent)

1 cup (250 ml) cake and pastry our

1 cup (250 ml) minus 2 tbsp. (30 ml) all-purpose our

1 tsp. (5 ml) allspice

Equal parts cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves to total 1 tsp. (5 ml)
 e Basics About Some Basics

What kind of sugar, exactly? How big an egg? How much salt? Here are a few
additional details you may need to know before you begin baking.

Eggs

Whenever eggs appear in a recipe, we mean standard large eggs. White or

brown or blue — shell color doesn’t a ect the taste, so just choose
whatever best matches your décor. Freshness counts — a fresh egg will
separate more easily, and beat up u er.
If small or medium eggs are on sale, you can use them instead of large
eggs: one large egg measures about ¼ cup (60 ml). Crack your small or
medium eggs into a measuring cup so you can tell how many eggs you’ll
need to use in your recipe. For a recipe that calls for 2 eggs, you’ll need to
use a total of ½ cup (125 ml) liquid egg.

Butter

We love butter. Because it tastes wonderful. Because it bakes beautifully.

And because it’s a natural product. Unsalted butter is preferred for baking
since it allows you to control the amount of salt in the nished product. If,
for any reason, you wish to avoid butter, you can substitute margarine for
butter in most recipes. e results will be similar, but the avor may be
slightly di erent.

Margarine
Look for margarine that is trans-fat free and buy the best quality that you
can a ord. If you prefer to avoid dairy ingredients, be sure to read the label
carefully: milk ingredients in food products may be hidden in the
ingredient list — look for lactase, casein, whey and milk solids, which are
all secret code words for milk. If you see the word pareve on the label, you
can be sure the product contains no milk or other animal ingredients.

Sugar

When a recipe calls for granulated sugar, that means ordinary white sugar.
Comes in bags or cartons. e usual stu . If a recipe requires brown sugar,
you can use either light or dark brown sugar. Dark brown contains more
molasses and has a stronger avor; light brown (or golden brown) is milder
but still avorful — use whichever one you like. You may occasionally
come across a recipe that calls for caster sugar. is is a nely granulated
sugar often used in British recipes. You can substitute “instant dissolving”
or “fruit sugar” for caster sugar, or just use regular granulated sugar — it’ll
work out ne either way.

Salt

Oddly enough, a pinch of salt can bring out the sweetness in a sweet
recipe. Other than that, it has no scienti c purpose when you’re baking
cookies or cakes, so add it if you want or leave it out. In savory (nonsweet)
recipes — bread or focaccia, for example — salt really does enhance the
avor, and I recommend that you use it when called for in the ingredient
list, although you can adjust the amount of salt to suit your taste.

Whipping cream or heavy cream

We’re talking cream with a butterfat content of about 35 percent. e

luscious stu that whips into u y clouds of deliciousness. If you’re not
planning to whip the cream, however, you can usually substitute a lower
fat cream (10, 15 or 18 percent), if you prefer.
 Flour

Is nothing ever simple? You’ll definitely need flour. But what kind
of flour? Or didn’t you know you had a choice?
For general baking purposes, we mean wheat our. It’s made from
(surprise!) wheat and is available in many di erent types. Each type is best
suited for a speci c purpose.

Here is a list of the most commonly used types of wheat our:

All-purpose white our is the most widely available kind of our. It

comes in small bags or in bulk and is sold under many di erent brand
names. If the bag says nothing else (such as unbleached or whole wheat),
you can assume you’ve got all-purpose white our. is product has been
milled; the bran has been sifted out; and the our has been bleached by
chemical means to make it dazzlingly white. Vitamins and whatnot are
added to replace some of the nutrients that were lost in the re ning
process. As the name suggests, all-purpose white our is suitable for most
baking purposes unless the recipe speci es another type of our.

All-purpose unbleached white our is white our that hasn’t been

subjected to a bleaching process and therefore remains creamy white in
color. All-purpose unbleached white our can be used in any recipe that
calls for all-purpose our. Some people prefer to use it because it has
undergone less processing than bleached our.

Cake and pastry our is made from soft wheat — a variety of wheat that
has a lower gluten (see below) and protein content. It’s often
recommended for baking cakes and pastry, where you’re more interested
in lightness and u ness than in sturdiness. With only one exception,
regular all-purpose our is perfectly adequate for every recipe in this book.
e one exception is Angel Food Cake, which is just delicate enough to
require cake and pastry our.
Whole wheat our is milled kernels of hulled whole wheat. Period.
Nothing has been taken out. e outside layer of bran and the wheat germ
are both left in the our. Whole wheat our is darker in color than white
our, and has a hearty wheat avor and a coarser texture. It contains all
the nutrients found in wheat and provides a hefty dose of ber. Use whole
wheat our by itself or mixed with white our when baking breads or
cookies — you may want to experiment with di erent combinations until
you nd a mixture that you like. Whole wheat our should be stored in the
refrigerator or freezer to prevent it from developing an o taste — the oil
in the wheat germ can turn funny after a while at warm room
temperature.

Gluten-free all-purpose our is a wheat-free product that can be

substituted for regular wheat-based all-purpose our in many recipes.
Gluten-free our is usually some blend of garbanzo our, potato starch,
tapioca starch, sorghum our, rice our and/or cornstarch, among other
things. Di erent commercial brands of gluten-free our are made of
di erent combinations of ingredients. As a very general rule, if a recipe
contains ½ cup (125 ml) or less of regular our, you can substitute the
same quantity of gluten-free our. e results will probably be slightly
di erent from the original version of the recipe, but if you must avoid
gluten, it’s de nitely worth experimenting.
 Chocolate. Need we say more?

Well, yes, actually. We need to say lots more. Because there’s lots to say.
Chocolate is made from the fruit of a tropical bush. You pick the
beans, whack o their shells, roast them and then squeeze out the juice —
from which, eventually, chocolate is made. e juice, technically called
cocoa liquor, contains both the cocoa solids (the chocolate- avored part)
and cocoa butter (the creamy smooth melt-in-your-mouth part). ese two
substances are combined in di erent proportions, with varying amounts
of sugar, to make your basic hunk of chocolate.

Unsweetened chocolate is a mixture of cocoa solids and cocoa butter.

No sugar. It has an intense chocolate avor and is often used in baking
when you’re looking for a big chocolate hit without added sweetness.
It comes in 1-ounce (28 g) squares (usually in a package of six or eight,
which you can nd in the baking aisle of the supermarket), or in
chunks or squares in a bulk food store. It is absolutely not delicious
until you do something with it — a fact that anyone who has
accidentally taken a bite of unsweetened chocolate can con rm.

Semisweet (or bittersweet) chocolate is a mixture of cocoa solids,

cocoa butter and sugar (along with various other ingredients added for
avor and texture). Semisweet chocolate contains more sugar than
bittersweet chocolate does, but they’re both deliciously edible and are
interchangeable in recipes. Semisweet chocolate is commonly sold in
packages of eight 1-ounce (28 g) squares, or in the form of large and
small bars meant for eating. It’s often better to buy a big bar of good-
quality eating chocolate than a package of baking chocolate squares,
but you’ll need an accurate kitchen scale to weigh the right amount for
your recipe.