Improving as a baker takes time, effort, and patience! I have been a pastry chef for more than two decades and I am still learning each time I create something in my kitchen. Here are my top ten tips for honing your skills whether you are a beginner or have years of experience. Practice these and you are on your way to better baking!
1) Order Dessert
Yes, seriously! Make a habit to save room for dessert when you eat out. The best way to expand your mind about texture, colors, and flavors is to see what others are doing. Think about what you like about the dessert you are eating — sauce on the plate, unusual flavor or texture, pretty garnish and take a moment to think about how it is different from what you normally make for dessert. This doesn’t have to take a lot of time but being mindful of these things will help you in your own baking.
2) Pin It!
Pinterest doesn’t come naturally to me but it is a fantastic medium to explore and save ideas you like. Setting up boards to save pins is very simple and a search for pastry will bring up literally thousands of ideas. Make an inspiration board to save ideas you really like and give you motivation to keep improving your skill set!
3) Organize Your Mind
If you don’t have a plan of attack when you enter the kitchen then you need to start making one! Of course, there are times when you just want to make some cookies or a pan of brownies and that is great. But for improving your skills and learning new techniques you need to have a plan. Make sure you have the recipes you intend to produce and all the ingredients and equipment you need. Take a couple of minutes to think about what you are going to do and visualize what you want the end product to be.
4) Organize Your Workspace
You can not work to your best potential in a messy, disorganized space! If you have room in your kitchen, make a dedicated area for baking. Put all the tools there and the ingredients that are specific to baking. If you have a pantry space, do the same there. I live in NYC and so I have a very small kitchen. Don’t let a tiny space stop you. Divide a shelf in the cupboard and have a dedicated space for baking ingredients. Do the same in the utensil drawers. If you continuously have to move some thing to get to the tool you really want, it’s in the wrong drawer! Take out the tools you will need for your recipe and keep them on a tray in your work area. Put dirty dishes on a second tray or directly in the sink to keep your space tidy. Clean as you go!
5) Weigh Everything
It really does make a difference. It might be awkward to think about as you first start but it will soon become second nature — and it will improve your baking exponentially if you switch from volume measurements.
6) Get The Basics Down!
Remember the “ you have to learn to walk before you can run”? Well, it’s just as true in pastry as in anything else. I know that making things look pretty is the fun part but it won’t matter how many roses you put on that cake if it looks like it’s about to fall over or tastes terrible. Work on basic skills every time you bake and focus on the things you struggle with. Not great at spreading batter smoothly in the pan? Yeast rolls look lumpy rather than round and smooth? Take a few extra minutes and really focus on your technique. Concentrate on what you are doing. I guarantee your results will be headed in the right direction!
7) Don’t Get Ahead Of Yourself
If you haven’t developed the skill to make a delicious cake and learned to trim, fill, and ice it correctly, you are not ready to make a wedding cake. Don’t set yourself up for failure by trying to do too much too soon. Make sure you have good mastery of the basics.
8) Practice!
I can’t emphasize enough the need to bake – and bake regularly. Rome wasn’t built in a day and your baking skills won’t magically improve overnight. There are going to be disappointments along with the sweet successes. Try to view something that didn’t turn out favorably as a learning step. Seriously! Take just a minute or two to figure out where you might have had a misstep and think about what you can change the next time you make the recipe. And you need to make the recipe again — and again.
9) Be Patient!
Developing and advancing your skills will not happen overnight. Practice really does make perfect and there will be some mistakes along the way — along with burns, scrapes, and cuts. Enjoy the process as you become a better baker. Bake often and bake better. Don’t get discouraged!
10) Be Fearless!
Once you start improving your basic skills don’t be afraid to try new recipes. Do you love angel food cake but have never tried to make one because you’re afraid it will fall? It might, but angel food cake tastes really delicious no matter what happens to it. You’ll learn why it fell and be armed with new information for the next time. Don’t ever let fear of the unknown stop you.
I have used these ideas successfully over the last 20 plus years and I hope they will be helpful to you as well. Keep baking, keep practicing, keep improving!
