Baking Basics

Baking is all about putting together, in ideal measure, the basic ingredients, utensils, measurement and the right method of cooking.Here's a step-by-step listing of the basics:
Basic Ingredients:
Flour, butter, eggs, baking powder, sugar, cocoa powder, and essence.
Utensils:Oven, baking tin, beater(hand or electric), bowls to measure and mix, sifter, spatula to mix, weighing scale or measuring cup.
How To Measure:
Place the bowl on the electric/manual measuring scale, ensure that the pointer is at zero and then put in the ingredients and weigh(usually weighed in grams) Or measure using measuring cup, which states the exact measure for flour, sugar, and oats etc. in grams and liquid in ml.
Eggs And Butter: Eggs beat and emulsify best at room temperature.Butter, too, emulsifies best at room temperature.
Flour:
If self-raising flour is unavailable,the plain flour available is pretty much for all purposes.However to make it self raising, one can add baking powder to it.
Beating/Stirring: The amount of beating required depends on the recipe.For instance if a particular recipe has egg whites mentioned, then the beating required is much more until they get thick and foamy.On the other hand if whole eggs, sugar and butter are to be beaten, then the beating and stirring required is less.Beating and stirring are preferably done clockwise.The terminology used to stir(ring) is also known as cut and fold, which simply suggests that you cut through the batter and mix, as in fold.
Baking:
Timing is an important factor in baking.It must go hand-in-hand with the temperature used to bake.Timing, temperature and cooling vary from recipe to recipe.For example, a butter cake should be baked for about 20-30 minutes at about 150-200°C and then cooled for roughly 30 minutes before being iced.

Points To Remember:
Confused about all-purpose flour if its not readily available?It simple-1 cup of plain flour with 3/4 tsp of baking powder.If its a light cake that you're looking for, replace the butter with cooking oil like sunflower oil.Remember baking with butter requires a temperature higher that with cooking oil.
Where utensils are concerned, both glass and metal will do fine when mixing the ingredients, but ensure that they're completely dry.A wooden spoon is the best option when you're manually mixing the ingredients since wood is a bad conductor of heat.
For the actual baking, it is best to use metal pans with non-stick finish.Spread a thin layer of oil instead of butter, sprinkle a little flour in the pan and shake out the excess.
Freshness of the ingredients is very important.In summer the suggestion is to use chilled eggs especially when it calls for seperate egg yolk and whites.The age-old method of seperating the two is to use your hand- let the egg whites slip through your fingers into a bowl while you hold the yolk gently.While beating egg whites seperately, the litmus test that it has been done perfectly when you invert the bowl and the whites don't fall off.(a few disasters on the way to perfection are normal).
Add the essence right at the end, when the batter is all ready and put it into the oven immediately.This ensures that its intensity does not lessen.
Strictly follow the baking temperature given in the recipe.Too high can mean a hard exterior and raw interior.Once you switch off the oven, don't take your cake/bread/cookies, etc out immediately.The oven cools down slowly, aiding the baking process.In fact, the expert suggestion is that if a recipe calls for 40 minutes of baking, the oven should be switched off after 37-38 minutes, allowing the baked item to cook in its own heat.
Then,there is the final and very important baking commandment.Let whatever you've baked cool down completely before handling it.

Tips To Bake Better:
1.Sift the baking powder, flour and cocoa powder together before adding other ingredients.
2.Switch on the oven well before preparing any recipe, rather than starting to bake at lower and inappropriate temperatures.
3.Always weigh all the ingredients and have them ready before starting a recipe.This helps avoid confusion at later stages.
4.Bake with a smile.It adds that extra touch and works wonders!