• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Joy the Baker
Joy the Baker
  • Cookies
  • Bread
  • Cakes
  • Pies
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Cookies
    • Birthday Cake Recipes
    • Biscuits
    • Muffins
    • Cupcakes
    • Drinks
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Fruit
    • Nuts
    • Buttermilk
    • Chocolate
    • Vanilla
    • Holiday
    • Healthy
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegan
  • Blog
    • Baking 101
    • Tips
    • Beyond the Kitchen
    • Let It Be Sunday!
    • New Orleans
  • Shop

Baking 101: How To Read A Recipe

September 11, 2013 by Joy the Baker 239 Comments

I don’t know how to break this to you, but… we’re hurtling towards the holiday season.  If that’s too much for you to take (and I totally understand), then maybe I could just tell you that we’re hurtling towards the turn-your-oven-on-and-bake-things season.

Because we’re going to bake it up for the next few months, I’ve come to offer you a toolbox.  You know, some tips and tricks about flour and butter that maybe you don’t already know.  Every week for the next few months, we’re going to talk about why we do the things we do in the kitchen.  Do you really need to sift that flour?  Maybe not.   What do you mean by ‘cream butter and sugar’?  We’ll discuss.

Today, we’re going to start at the very beginning…. with the recipe.  It’s the map and we need to know how to read it!

Baking 101: How To Read A Recipe

It starts with a grumble in the stomach.  It starts with a craving.  It starts with a simple desire to stir together chocolate and walnuts.  Wherever it starts, we always find ourselves flipping through cookbooks looking for it. Our search always ends in a recipe:  the baking guide.

There’s a trick to successfully and correctly read a recipe.  The recipe is rooting for us.  The recipe wants our brownies to be perfect… but it’s written in a specific language.  Let’s go step-by-step.

1.  Read the Dang Recipe.

Believe it or not, reading a recipe from beginning to end is a big deal.  First, review the ingredients list and read through the instructions.  The instructions may have some hidden ingredients (like water), or split the ingredient list in an expected way (like using one egg for a batter and one egg for an egg-wash).  You want to know the lay of the land.  Read the dang recipe.  Trust me.

Baking 101: How To Read A Recipe

2.  Respect the Order.

Did you know that a recipe’s ingredient list is usually set up by order of use?  Yea.  Success!

Here’s the ingredient list to my favorite brownie recipe from Dorie Greenspan.

Classic Brownies

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 5 pieces

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional, but really good)

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon salt (according to taste)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup chopped walnuts

In this arrangement, the recipe wants us to know that we’ll first be incorporating  butter and two types of chocolate.  Next up will be sugar, eggs, and vanilla, followed by our dry ingredients, and classy extras (walnuts).  The recipe list is built to help us, help ourselves.

3.  The Comma.

The comma is everything when it comes to baking measurements.  Every cut, chop, or dice instruction after a comma in an ingredient list is to be done after the ingredient is measured.

For example, 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped.  

In longhand, this means… go to the store and buy one of those four ounce bars of chocolate, probably that fancy bar of Ghirardelli that’s next to the chocolate chips in the baking aisle.  Buy it.  Take it home.  Unwrap it.  Try not to take a bite because you’re using it for brownies.  Put it on the counter.  Chop it.  Don’t sneak any bites.  We know it’s hard.  Place it in the bowl with the butter and follow the rest of the dang instructions.

These recipe list does not mean chop a bunch of chocolate and measure out 4 ounces and snack on the rest.

But wait…. aren’t ounces the same before and after?  Where this gets tricky is here:  1 cup sifted flour vs. 1 cup flour, sifted.

Just… respect the comma.

The absence of a comma is also revealing.

For example, 1 cup chopped walnuts.

In longhand, this means… go to the store.  Splurge on walnuts.  Take them home.  Chop them with the same knife you chopped the chocolate with (because why would you dirty another knife?).  Measure the chopped walnuts in a 1-cup measuring cup and add them to the brownie batter like a boss.

One cup of chopped walnuts is very different that one cup of walnuts, chopped.  Ya heard?

4.  Pack, Soften and Preheat.

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.  Boom!

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.  No one wins.  We’ll talk at length about creaming butter and sugar soon.

Preheat the oven.  Biscuits hate a 200 degree F oven.  Biscuits love a 400 degree F oven.  You love biscuits.  Preheat the oven.

5.  Is It Done Yet!?

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

Bake brownies for 30 to 33 minutes, or until the top is dull and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  

You’ve come this far, now it’s up to you to take your treat out of the oven at the right time.  The time and description should give you confidence by providing you with as estimated time and appearance.  Trust the process and trust yourself… and standby with the pot holders.

Recipe example above from my favorite baking book EVER.  Baking: from my home to yours, Dorie Greenspan.  I also love this article The Pleasure of Reading Recipes from The New Yorker.

More Baking 101 next week!

Also, if you have any specific baking questions, leave a comment below and I’ll address it in a future Baking 101!

Previous PostNext Post

Filed Under: Baking 101, Beyond the Kitchen

Previous Post: « Brown Butter Baked Doughnuts
Next Post: Mashed Potato, Cheddar and Chive Waffles »

Reader Interactions

All Comments
I Made This
Questions
  1. Supriya Kutty

    May 17, 2020 at 11:43 pm

    Very cool and delicious recipe I really liked the taste of it The taste was also very unique and new I will definitely share it and recommend others to try this one thank you for sharing this cool and amazing recipe Keep sharing

    Reply
  2. Michelle Harvey

    February 23, 2019 at 8:21 am

    This was awesome, Joy! (And, funny!) My takeaway is to #RespectTheComma. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Nelson mandela

      July 5, 2021 at 2:35 pm

      Yess hahaa

      Reply
  3. Jacx

    September 21, 2018 at 3:42 am

    4 ounces is 4 ounces, yes, but it’s not that simple. Think of Tetris 5 lines high is 5 lines high, but 5 lines with holes is vastly different than 5 completed lines. In 4 ounces, chopped- it’s 4 DENSE ounces then chopped up. In 4 chopped ounces- it’s 4 ounces with holes.. In short, both are aeriated but one has MORE ingredient

    Reply
  4. Linda Hunter

    December 21, 2017 at 7:06 am

    This was the most informative and fun website I have ever visited. It me gave so much needed information in a fun way. I just kept on reading and learning things about recipes that I never knew before. I will tell all friends so they can visit and learn as I did.

    Reply
  5. delane

    November 17, 2017 at 4:41 pm

    I like my brownies without nuts LOL

    Reply
  6. Alan

    June 16, 2017 at 10:49 pm

    How to write a recipe …
    It drives me crazy when amounts for some things are in volume measure, and for some they’re in unspecified “ounces”. It would be much better to state “weight ounces” as the counterpart to “fluid ounces”, and never leave it unspecified.

    Reply
« Older Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

RELATED POSTS IN Baking 101

cereal brittle for cookie dough
5 Reasons Why You Need These Parchment Paper Sheets in Your Kitchen

I’m a simple home baker.  I don’t need every clever kitchen gadget to make a batch of cookies. Honestly, I’ve reached for a butterknife over an offset spatula to frost cakes more times than I can count.  Baking isn’t all about gear but, there is one kitchen splurge that I keep stocked in my pantry,…

Read More

My Top 10 Peanut Butter Recipes

I haven’t felt like making meals at all this week.  I don’t even seem to have the energy to cobble together my usual lazy stand-bys: scrambled eggs and a carb, toasted.  Strangely, I’m also not allowing myself to order any expensive (and everything is expensive right now) takeout so… well, I’ll be eating bananas smeared…

Read More

Frosting first layer of carrot cake.
5 Tips For Making The Best Cream Cheese Frosting

It’s time we talk about cream cheese frosting.  This most wonderful addition to layer cakes and cupcakes is simple to whip together IF you use the right ingredients at the right temperatures in the right order.  Am I making it more complicated than it should be? Ha, no! Here are five tips to making the…

Read More

Primary Sidebar

Fresh baked emails, delivered to your inbox

Jump to Recipe

Receive recipes from Joy the Baker and updates on events at The Bakehouse.

HI! I’M JOY!

Jump to Recipe

Welcome! This has been my little corner of the internet since 2008!

I’m a baker, photographer, cookbook author and teacher.  I live laugh love in New Orleans. 

MORE ABOUT JOY AND THE TEAM

BOOKS + Magazines

Jump to Recipe

JOY THE BAKER 2022 SUMMER MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2021 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2020 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

HOMEMADE DECADENCE

OVER EASY: SWEET AND SAVORY RECIPES FOR LEISURELY DAYS COOKBOOK

JOY THE BAKER COOKBOOK

Jump to Recipe
joy the baker on facebook joy the baker on twitter pinterest-social instagram-socialbloglovin-social

JOY @ WILLIAMS SONOMA

Jump to Recipe

SHOP THE CAKE LINE OF CAKE MIXES!

DRAKE ON CAKE

Jump to Recipe

Passionate from miles away since 2015.

Check it out on Instagram

Drake on cake instagram.

 

BREADS YOU’LL LOVE

jambalaya buttermilk biscuits in a row

Smoked Sausage Jambalaya Buttermilk Biscuits

inside of warm cinnamon roll on plate

How To Make The Best Single Serve Cinnamon Roll

Orange roll on a plate with a fork.

Christmas Morning Orange Rolls

LET’S MAKE COOKIES!

a stack of white chocolate macadamia nut cookies with a bite taken out of the top one with milk

Classic White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

wider shot of lemon bars stacked on a plate with a bite taken out of one lemon bar

My Favorite Classic Lemon Bars Recipe

completed recipe close up shot of a blondie so the toasted almonds, chocolate chips, and sea salt can be seen

My Best Classic Blondie Recipe

Footer

Instagram

joythebaker

📚Baker and author of books and magazines
🎂Creator @drakeoncake
💁🏻‍♀️Classes with me @thebakehousenola
🍰 Products with @williamssonoma

joythebaker
🍓🌼 Pan Dulce is the best way to bake spring! 🍓🌼 Pan Dulce is the best way to bake spring! Full recipe linked in the @joythebaker bio! Xo
Second coffee: the perfect way to re-start the day Second coffee: the perfect way to re-start the day. 
✨Beignet Café au Lait✨⁣
⁣1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk⁣⁣
Splash of vanilla extract⁣⁣
½ cup heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks⁣⁣
2 cups fresh brewed strong coffee⁣⁣
½ cup toasted cinnamon cereal, lightly crushed⁣⁣
Powdered sugar for topping⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Place sweetened condensed milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Add half of the whipped cream and fold to combine.  Add the remaining half and fold until you have a fluffy sweet cream. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Divide brewed coffee between two mugs. Spoon dream on top.  Sprinkle cinnamon cereal between the cups.  Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy immediately.
Life Skill No. 458: How to Make 1️⃣2️⃣ Cup Life Skill No. 458: How to Make 1️⃣2️⃣ Cupcakes with just 1️⃣ Stick of Butter⁣
⁣
Full recipe linked in my bio! xo
Someone call @foodnetwork because Dad and I need a Someone call @foodnetwork because Dad and I need a baking show stat. Here’s our very best chocolate chip cookies and all the little tips that make them perfection. ✨🍪 Find the full recipe linked in the profile!
We’re baking the classics on Joy the Baker this We’re baking the classics on Joy the Baker this month and up next, my very favorite Lemon Bar recipe with fresh lemon juice and the tiniest hint of coriander. ⁣🍋🌼✨
⁣
Find the full recipe linked in the profile and bust out the white chocolate and macadamia nuts for next week’s bake! ⁣
⁣
#lemonbars #easybaking #bakedfromscratch #joythebaker
Day in the Life: out in the woods writing a little Day in the Life: out in the woods writing a little cookbook about camp food. 💖🏕️🙋🏻‍♀️
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Joy the Baker
All rights reserved. Violators will be whupped and sent to bed with no dessert · Privacy Policy

Scroll Up