Confession: I stole a set of measuring cups as a kid.
I wanted to be just like Mommy, flipping pancakes and baking chocolate chip cookies, so when she left the old tan set sitting on the counter, I slipped in, stood on my tippy-toes, and snuck off before anyone saw me. And despite banging them around my Fisher Price Kitchen for all of preschool, it took me another 13 years to finally figure out how to use them properly.
But I completely forgot to share those secrets with you!
So today, we’re going back to the basics. Many of you may know these tips and tricks already, but skim through them anyway—every one of them will convert you from a beginner into a baking pro!
The Recipe
- Read through the recipe completely before beginning. I know, I know… You’re probably rolling your eyes at me. But raise your hand if you’ve ever dove straight into creaming butter or mixing muffin batter after only reading the ingredients list. (Both of my hands are high up in the air!) It only takes an extra minute or two, but reading through every step will save you time, flour, and lots of burned cookies.
- Watch out for commas! It’s a subtle point, but how the ingredients are written dictates how you prepare and measure them. For example, “1 cup sifted all-purpose flour” means sift the flour before measuring, whereas with “1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted,” you would measure first and sift after. Perform any tasks on the ingredients in the order that they’re written: anything that comes after the comma is done second.
- Understand the language. Sliced, diced, chopped, cut, broken, beaten… Each word means something slightly different, so if you aren’t familiar with any of the terms in a recipe, look them up!
The Measurements
- Flours. All-purpose, whole wheat, gluten-free, PB2, cocoa powder, and even oats are all the same. Lightly spoon them into the measuring cup (I like to shake my hand back and forth a little, like you’d do with a hair drier) until the measuring cup is overflowing, then drag the flat backside of a knife across the top to level it off. Do NOT scoop the flours, cocoa powder, or oats directly out of the container with the measuring cup or pack them in. This results in 1.5 times more than is required in a recipe, which dries out your baked goods and turns them crumbly. Not good!
- Leaveners. With baking powder and baking soda, lightly fluff the leavener with a measuring spoon before scooping it out and leveling with a knife. Some containers have a flat edge built in—that works too!
- Sugars. For white sugar, use the same spoon-and-level technique described for flours. With brown sugar, lightly pack it into the measuring cup using a fork or spoon until the cup is completely filled and level (unless the recipe states otherwise). When you invert the measuring cup, the brown sugar should be packed tightly enough to hold its shape.
- Salt and spices. Treat them like the leaveners: fluff, scoop, level.
- Butter and margarine. Most stick-style butters and margarines are wrapped in a label with tablespoons marked on the side. Count out how much you need, and cut through the stick with a sharp knife. You should avoid using a butter knife because the blade is duller and you won’t carve off as accurate of an amount. With tub-style butter, margarine, and shortening, press the necessary quantity into a measuring spoon or cup, and level with a knife.
- Liquids. Milk, oil, juice, honey, syrup, and extracts are a little tricky. Place the measuring cup on the counter, pour in the liquid, and get down at eye level. The liquid at the edges tends to stick to the sides of the cup, while the liquid in the center sinks down a touch. (In science-speak, it’s called a meniscus!) You want to make sure the center of the liquid is even with the rim of the cup for the most accurate measurement. You can also use a clear measuring cup and the markings on its side instead. For teaspoons and tablespoons, fill them to the brim but not overflowing or bulging out the top. And be careful when pouring the liquids into the mixing bowl!
I may add to this post as new things come up in the future. But for now, it’s time to bake something sweet!
all great advice! I especially love all this advice because I’m fairly certain that I have messed up recipes by doing exactly the opposite of most of these tips at some point in my learning to bake… Haha! For a long time I thought baking was simply reading the recipe- but it’s also about knowing how to read the recipe!!
Thank you Andrea! That means a lot coming from you, a semi-professional baker! 🙂 Took me forever to finally get in the habit of reading every step of the directions before starting. Too many times I totally forgot to schedule in time for cookie dough to chill!
What a great guide! I love it!
Thanks Danielle! 🙂
Amy – this is fantastic! I love how everything is so clearly written!
The first time I was making Christmas cookies for my entire family, I didn’t read the recipe the entire way through. If I had, I would have seen that I was supposed to mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl, then add the flour and other dry stuff slowly. Yeah, well … I ended up dumping the whole mixing bowl when I realized what I had done. Sad part … I did the SAME thing the following year on the same recipe. You’d think I’d learn … (and now I have!! :D)
Thanks Gretchen! You’re not alone — I’ve done that too! I’ve also ruined Christmas gingerbread men by forgetting to double-check the ingredients list. My friend and I completely forgot to add the baking soda before chilling the dough, which resulted in very flat crunchy cookies!
“…scoop the flour directly out of the container with the measuring cup or pack it in. This results in 50% more flour than is required in a recipe, which dries out your baked goods and turns them crumbly.”
Wow–decades of cooking and baking behind me, and I never knew this! I am going to use this method from now on. Thanks so much!
You’re welcome Cat! I used to measure flour with the scoop-and-level method too. It was just so much easier (and one fewer utensil to wash)!
GREAT tips! Glad I found your blog. 🙂
Thanks Kelly! I thought it’d be helpful to compile all of the tips I’ve learned over the years so people don’t make as many baking mistakes as me. 😉 So happy you’re reading my blog!!
Hey, I think your blog might be having browser compatibility issues.
When I look at your website in Safari, it looks fine
but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some
overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up!
Other then that, excellent blog!
Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
This is why I don’t bake much. I get so nervous trying new recipes. So much work and so many places for something to go wrong. But, this sure will make things a heck of a lot easier. Pinning for use during my next attempt.
I’m sure you’re an excellent baker!! Having nerves just shows you really care about it. 🙂 I hope these tips give you that last little bit of confidence!
Do you have any more blog posts like this – the actual how to? So many times I want to try baking something, but don’t, because I realize I don’t understand about half the instructions. It’s information like what you put in this post that I need! Thanks!
I’m really glad you found these tips useful Ashley! I sometimes include “how to’s” within a specific blog post recipe (these scones, for example!) to demonstrate the tips for that specific recipe, but is there any topic in particular that you were hoping to learn more about?
Hi Amy, when you use melted butter (e.g. In your chocolate cookies) do you measure the butter in solid form and then melt it or do you measure it melted?
I explain this under the “Recipe” heading (read #2!). But to reiterate, you measure the butter in its solid form and then melt. 🙂
thanks for this, I am one of those who delves straight in, not reading the recipes sometimes even substitution,g, but the note about sifting flour before measuring is not something I ever considered and always sift after measuring. I am really happy to have discovered your site. Although I suspect my hips will not be very grateful.
ha!
It’s my pleasure! 🙂 I highly recommend reading the recipes all the way through, at least for baking recipes. It’ll save a lot of time and ingredients! And hopefully your hips don’t notice anything at all since these are all healthier baked treats! 😉
I learned from momma about 60 years ago when she was measuring and mixing (and had failed to read first ) so was missing ingredients!
Your momma sounds like quite an amazing lady Linda! 🙂
An old method of measuring butter/lard/coconut oil etc. is to fill a clear measuring vessel with cold water. If the recipe calls for 1/2 cup butter fill the clear measuring cup with 1 & 1/2 cup cold water, then add slices/chunks of solid (butter etc.) until the water reaches the 2 cup mark. Old trick from Home-Ec 1965.
What a great trick Susan! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Thank you for posting this. I didn’t grow up baking as a kid. Now as a mom bake sales and potluck parties happen frequently. No one frowns upon store bought stuff but somehow I feel less of a mom Becuase I don’t bake. I’m trying and to be honest I have had some wins and losses. Thid information seems like something bakers just know. Now I feel almost like a baker because now I know!!! 🙂
I’m so glad you found this information helpful Sue! And you are no less of a mom because you don’t bake very often — don’t let yourself think that for one minute! My mom very rarely baked while I was growing up (the occasional chocolate chip cookies or boxed-mix brownies were about all she’d make!), and she is the BEST mother I ever could’ve asked for. I’m sure your kids think the exact same thing about you! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear which recipes you try!
America’s Test Kitchen dips and drags when measuring our flour. They test the recipe using multiple methods and say scooping the flour into the cup with a separate spoon isn’t a good method.
I actually have a few cookbooks from America’s Test Kitchen where they describe the spoon-and-level method as the best for measuring flour, so I’m interested where you found that contradictory fact that you mentioned Rachel! Do you have a link you could send along? 🙂
It was on the New York Episode where they made bagels and cheesecake from season 16. They’re on season 17 now so they’ve changed their mind on it I guess.
Thanks for following up and letting me know Rachel!