I’ve got plans for you. My plans mostly involve you making an absolute mess of your kitchen with butter, flour, chopped pecans and chocolate chips. Are you ready for all the fall and winter baking I’m going to talk you into over the next three months? If you’re not ready now, not to worry. There’s time to prepare. Here are my top 5 baking tips to prep now, and have a deliciously successful baking season.
• Replace your baking powder and baking soda. Once open, these two common leavening agents have a shelf life of six months to a year. After they’ve been in the pantry for over a year, they just lose their luster and won’t create the rise they’re capable of. Without the rise you could end up with a more dense baked good and that’s never what you want, right? It’s an easy fix. Just add baking powder and baking soda to the grocery list and pour any excess expired baking soda down the kitchen sink with a bit of vinegar – it’s a little bonus clean! Oh, while you’re checking on pantry items, take a peek inside the flour and sugar canisters. Make sure you have as much as you need for an impromptu baking project (and make sure no icky critters have taken up residence in your canisters).
• Test for hot spots in the oven. One big key to your baking success is knowing your oven. It’s a relationship! You can put together the most lovely cake batter but if you don’t know what’s going on in your hot box, things could go sideways (and my sideways I mean cakes can overcook). Here’s how to test your oven for hot spots. Also, grab a, oven thermometer so you know if your 350 degrees F on the dial is the same inside the oven.
• Make your own pumpkin pie spice, like… now. I know the calendar reads September but it’s basically October. And while I was typing that it flipped right on over to November. I like to make my own pumpkin pie spice because I can add a few extra pinches of the warming spices I like the most – cloves and nutmeg. It’s nice to make a blend more personal. I feel like it makes all pumpkin baking a touch more special.
• Stay stocked on buttermilk because so many good things come from having buttermilk in the refrigerator. You’ll want it on hand for homemade pie crust, biscuits, waffles, and maybe even this Apricot Buttermilk Pie made with dried apricots. If you feel like you can’t commit to baking through a jug of buttermilk I have these clever buttermilk substitutions OR you can keep a canister of powdered buttermilk in the pantry.
• Treat yourself to pre-cut parchment paper. I don’t have much need for kitchen gadgets that claim to make various kitchen tasks easier BUT I will admit to splurging on precut parchment paper for my half sheet pans. It makes all the cookie, cake, and loaf baking so much easier. I recycle the sheets, using the same piece over and over again for cookie batches. 10/10 recommend.
If you want more than my top 5 baking tips, brush up on my Baking 101 series. We talk about which whisk is best, why we use large eggs, and all sorts of baking knowledge you didn’t know you need to know.
Happy Baking, friends. Let’s do this!
xo Joy
Mikayla Austin
Hi Joy,
Being a professional pastry chef to now a home baker, I found your blog jogging my memory of all the important things to prepare and have at home always.
I really like your tip on having pre-cut baking sheets, but I also do love to use the professional bakery pan here is a good recipe from gretchensveganbakery I find the use of grease being time-efficient, less messy and even better environmentally friendly. Using the grease allows for that perfect release of the baked good with ease every time you use it. It is also a cheap and effective way to grease a baking pan as well as it helping to reduce the moisture content in your cake and allow a better shelf life.
Testing for hot spots in the oven is a great tip and something many don’t think about, including myself when living in different houses. My favourite oven thermometers are the laser temperature guns as they are great for tempering chocolate with an immediate reading and you won’t get them dirty. I think they would be great to test for oven hot spots but will read up on the link you provided.
Thank you for the reminder.
gretchensveganbakery – https://www.gretchensveganbakery.com/professional-bakery-pan-grease/
laser temperature guns – https://cocochocolate.com.au/shop/chocolatiering-equipment/laser-temperature-gun/
Alexandrea Marks
I totally love the pre-cut parchment sheets. Like you, I try not to keep unnecessary items around, but after I tried these, I was hooked! They are the bomb. :)
Moishe
As far as buttermilk goes, I use an ice cube tray and freeze any that is leftover.
samantha campanini
I surely will follow!!
Rose
Hi Joy
I’m making your pumpkin pie spice mix and i wonder if you have a recipe for apple pie spice?
Rose
nancy k
I worked i a bakery when I was in high school and one of the tips i learned was that parchment paper can be reused. I have always reused the sheets I line my cookie sheet with. For some reason I am partial to the natural brown color rather than the bleached sheets. Just a personal preference. I often can find it on sale, both large rolls as well as precut sheets.
Chamuck Nakogee
Yes Thank you I will enjoy cooking and baking just recently purchased Baking with Julia. Heavy mixing bowls along with prepping bowls.
Chamuck Nakogee
Yes Thank you I will enjoy cooking and baking just recently purchased Baking with Julia and in August heavy mixing bowls along with prepping bowls.
joythebaker
You’re ready!
Carol
Okay. Today I bought new baking powder and baking soda. I already have/use precut parchment. I have a large unopened bag of flour. Ready for the next instruction, boss!!
joythebaker
Well done! You’re ready!
Seana Turner
I totally love the pre-cut parchment sheets. Like you, I try not to keep unnecessary items around, but after I tried these, I was hooked! They are the bomb. :)
Heather
Long time listener, first time caller! In the spirit of reusing pre-cut parchment, and as a small offering for all that I’ve received from this site, may I recommend reusable parchment? This stuff is amazing!
https://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Supply-Inch-Parchment-Paper/dp/B00004RKFR
A. Phyllis
Excellent tips. Tell us more about baking with specialty flours; I like buckwheat flour but I have to use it sparingly inn recipes because it is so dense. What about using coconut, rice, nut, other flours?
Susannah Woodbury
I recently discovered nasty critters in my flour and grains (glad to know I’m not the only one with this problem) and spent a whole weekend cleaning out the pantry and putting everything in jars. The good news is now my pantry is READY TO ROCK for the cold weather baking season!
Lydia C
In order to ward off the flour or meal critters, I freeze flour, corn meal, fish fry, sugar for at least 24 hrs. It kills the bug larvae that can be milled with those items. My problems were solved and I can store them in airtight containers after that.
Robin
Glad to know I’m not the only one who recycles the precut parchment! My husband always looks at me askew, but it feels wasteful to only use it once!
Ramona Puckett
Thank you so much, the other day I made pumpkin scones in celebration for Fall! Happy Baking, Joy!