Baking 101: How To Read A Recipe

Welcome to the wonderful world of baking where flour, butter, and our collective sweet tooth’s (teeth? teeth’s??) come together to create an absolute mess in our kitchens. Dirty every dish, I say! In the name of cookies, of course. Whether you’re a seasoned baker, or just tying up the apron strings for the first time, knowing how to read a recipe is one of the most crucial steps in your baking success.

It’s easy to take for granted exactly how to read a recipe. There’s a lot of nuance in the structure of each recipe we encounter and I want you to know the ins and outs.  A well-written recipe is invested in your success; you just have to know how to decode it.

Let’s roll it all the way back to basics.  Let’s get on the same page, namely page 147 of Erin Jean McDowell’s Savory Baking.

1.  Read Through the Recipe

First of all, I understand this is like reading the instruction manual to the appliance you’re already pretty sure you know how to work.  Who does that? Barely anyone.  Just humor me and, before you start creaming butter and sugar, read through the entire recipe.  Honestly, I’d settle for an intentioned scroll through the text.  Believe me.

Reading a recipe from beginning to end is a big deal.   The instructions may have some hidden ingredients (like water, for example), or split the ingredients within the list in an expected way (like using one egg for batter and one for an egg wash).  You want to know the lay of the land before you start throwing things in a bowl.  Read the dang recipe thaaaaanks!

2.  Understand the Ingredient List

A recipe’s ingredient list is detailed in the order the ingredient will be used! Not only is the recipe list a very helpful shopping list, but it also gives you insight into how the recipe will come together.

In Erin’s recipe above, for example, we know that bread flour is the first ingredient, followed by sugar, yeast, and salt.  Without even looking at the instructions, we can gather that we’ll whisk sugar, yeast and salt into the flour in that order.  But hey, we’re not assuming anything.  Refer to step 1.  We’re reading the recipe.

3.  Mind the Comma

You’ll notice that many ingredients in the recipe list are followed by a comma and a direction.  Pay attention to what happens after that comma.

After the comma you’ll generally find an instruction in regards to an ingredient’s temperature (like melted or at room temperature) or an action (like chop, mince, or dice) that needs to befall the ingredient.  Every cut, chop, dice, and melting instruction after a comma in an ingredient list is to be done after the ingredient is measured.

For example: 2 garlic cloves, minced and 6-ounces hot-smoked salmon, coarsely crumbled

The absence of a comma is also revealing. For example: 3/4 tablespoon finely grated parmesan cheese and 3 tablespoons finely chopped capers

The absence of a comma mean the action (like grating or chopping) takes place before the ingredient is measured.

4.  Pack, Soften, and Preheat: The Devil in the Details

Recipe lists often request that brown sugar be “packed”.  Take the back of a spoon and firmly (but not totally Hulk-style) press the sugar into the measuring cup.  Add more sugar and pack until sugar is flush with the top of the measuring cup.  If the recipe indicates grams versus volume measurements – you’ll have a precisely measurement of a packed cup of brown sugar.

Soften butter by allowing it to rest at room temperature for about 1 hour.  Don’t cheat yourself or the butter by not allowing the butter to soften before combining it with sugar and eggs.  The temperature of ingredients is key when it comes to baking.

Preheat the oven.  Yeasted dough hates a 200 degree F oven but sure does love a 325 degree F oven.  Again, temperature is a big deal!

5.  Is It Done Yet!?

Doneness is recipe instructions are usually described by a time range and visual cues.

For example: Bake 55 to 65 minutes, until rolls are lightly browned; they should have an internal temp of 190 degrees F.

I typically set my timer for 5 minutes below the lowest indicated time.  Just in case – you can’t take back an overbake.  Use time, looks, and temperature to decide if your baked goods are done.  With practice, you’ll be able to smell exactly when a recipe is done. It’s wild!

More in the Baking 101 Series: 

My Top 5 Fall Baking Tips because we could all stand to freshen up our baking powder.

My Top 15 Kitchen Splurges That Makes My Time in the Kitchen So Much Better from linen aprons to bench scrapers and a very nice wooden rotating tray.

How To Test Your Oven With Toast so, grab some butter because we’re about to have toast for lunch.