Calling all Bakers: How does this look?

[Alana in Canada]

My daughter has asked me to teach her to bake.

I am not a baker! I make muffins (weekly) and 3 cakes and two pies a year.

 

My goal is simply to let her try her hand at baking many different kinds of things, so that if she sees a recipe she wants to try, someday, she knows she's done "something like that" already. (I hope that made sense!)

 

I went through a couple of cookbooks here at home in an effort to come up with a list of things to bake. I came up with the following. I feel like I'm missing something. You'll see by my questions that I'm just not a baker at all! This will be a learning experience for me, too!

 

 

quick bread/muffins

*are these the same thing, the only difference being the pans?

 

Cake/cupcakes

*see the question above.

 

Yeast bread.

 

Soda bread

 

Pie crusts:

pumpkin pie or dutch apple (one crust)

lattice top

2 pie crust pie

 

What is a tart? Just a small pie crust?

 

What is a compote?

 

Cheesecake

Nanaimo bars

 

pound cake

 

what's a sponge cake?

 

Cookies:

drop, like chocolate chip and oatmeal, peanut butter.

bar, like brownies and Nanaimo bars

roll, like icebox cookies.

 

Thanks for your help!

Any books out there that may help explain this whole mysterious subject to me?

[MGK]

 

 

quick bread/muffins

*are these the same thing, the only difference being the pans? Usually quick breads can be made into muffins - the baking time would decrease of course

 

Cake/cupcakes - depends on your recipe, but for basic cakes, they can be made as cupcakes

 

Yeast bread.

 

Soda bread

 

Pie crusts:

pumpkin pie or dutch apple (one crust)

lattice top

2 pie crust pie

You could also do a graham cracker crumb crust

 

What is a tart? Just a small pie crust? Hmmm, I think a tart is a shallower crust, usually filled with fruit

 

What is a compote? a fruit mixture in a sugar syrup

 

Cheesecake

Nanaimo bars

 

pound cake

 

what's a sponge cake? a cake with a light airy texture due to beaten egg whites

 

Cookies:

drop, like chocolate chip and oatmeal, peanut butter.

bar, like brownies and Nanaimo bars

roll, like icebox cookies.

 

Thanks for your help!

Any books out there that may help explain this whole mysterious subject to me?

I have enjoyed The All Butter Fresh Cream Sugar Packed Baking Book by Judy Rosenberg

[Farrar]

Quick breads and muffins are almost the same. Ditto cakes and cupcakes. However, because the smaller will dry out quicker, the best recipes will be specific and a cupcake or muffin recipe will contain a bit more moist ingredients (at least, in my meager experience).

 

I would recommend a really good baking book or even just the baking sections of a really good cookbook like Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything or America's Test Kitchen's Best Recipe. Those are two that I really trust. The recipes for baking are by far the most important element because you have to be precise. Unlike other cooking, where you can experiment pretty early in the learning process, to experiment with a baking recipe, you have to have a better idea of what you're doing.

[MrsMe]

LOL...I just have to add that I have never made a pie in my life!

 

We only have one kid, so we only eat maybe half and toss it. What a waste! So you're ahead of me in the baking department.:D

[SamanthaBea]

I highly recommend Alton Brown's book, I'm Just Here for More Food: Food x Mixing + Heat = Baking

 

You will learn the science behind baking, which is much more exact than other cooking. It's really a solid course on the topic.

[2cents]

We're working though the MIT Kitchen Chemistry course

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/special-programs/sp-287-kitchen-chemistry-spring-2009/

 

After that we're doing the teen cooking lessons at: http://www.kids-cooking-activities.com/kids-cooking-lessons-junior-chef-intro.html

 

The Kitchen Chemistry is very interesting and a lot of fun too. We also did the Wilton cake decorating classes together last fall. That was a lot of work but we all learned so much and it was fun too. Joann fabric and Michael's offer the classes and you can use the coupons too.

[Alana in Canada]

Happy day--the Alton Brown book is in our library as is Judy Rosenberg! I'll put on a request for the Bittman book as well.

 

The graham cracker crust is a good idea, too. (I confess, I usually just buy mine!)

 

Thanks everyone.

[Alana in Canada]

Oh my, 2cents! What incredible resources. That MIT course looks amazing (what a reading list!) and the teen cooking lessons look like fun. Thank you!

[MomOfOneFunOne]

My daughter has asked me to teach her to bake.

I am not a baker! I make muffins (weekly) and 3 cakes and two pies a year.

 

 

Wow, sure sounds like a baker to me!

[MomOfOneFunOne]

Concerning cakes, I'd like to recommend this book: Great Cakes by Carole Walter. I got it from the library.

 

Things I like about it:

Well written, easy to understand

 

A section discussing different kinds of cake and what makes them different from each other

 

A discussion of different ingredients and how to treat them for different results and to avoid problems

 

For the recipes, she first refers you to different sections to read, gives tips specific to that kind of cake, and then directs you to return to the recipe to cook. So for the angel food cake she tells yoy to read the section on sponge cakes b/c this info applies, how long to let eggs sit a room temp for an angel food cake, what kind of sugar is best, a tip for combining dry ingredients, adding beaten egg whites, tips on handling, how to avoid over cooking, and more. Then after reading the section of things you should know b/f starting, you go to one of several different kinds of angel food cake.

 

She has sections of quick and easy cakes, special occasion cakes, and sweet endings.

 

Now, I've only just checked it out so I can't say how the recipes turn out but they look great! We plan to use it this weekend.

[A.J. at J.A.]

We're working though the MIT Kitchen Chemistry course

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/special-programs/sp-287-kitchen-chemistry-spring-2009/

 

After that we're doing the teen cooking lessons at: http://www.kids-cooking-activities.com/kids-cooking-lessons-junior-chef-intro.html

 

The Kitchen Chemistry is very interesting and a lot of fun too. We also did the Wilton cake decorating classes together last fall. That was a lot of work but we all learned so much and it was fun too. Joann fabric and Michael's offer the classes and you can use the coupons too.

 

What age would that MIT class be for? Am I reading correctly that it is free? How does it work?

 

Thanks,

Angela

[2cents]

I got the lead on the MIT cooking class from other WTM folks. My girls are 12 & 13 and we have another friend also 13 who is doing the class too. There is reading but that has been interesting and not a lot. It is easily a class for tweens and teens. It is completely free except for the text which we got on half and Amazon has it too. We do the reading one week and add in some videos we find on the net (you tube has a lot of good cooking videos that can go with the lessons) and the next week all the girls get together and cook. The cooking assignments are:

 

Lesson 1: Guacamole, salsa, make your

own hot sauce, and quesadillas

 

Lesson 2: Cookie - death by chocolate

 

Lesson 3: Pancakes

 

Lesson 4: Bread

 

Lesson 5: Scones and coffee

 

Lesson 6: Meringue

 

Lesson 7: Jams and jellies

 

Lesson 8: Three bean chili and corn bread

 

Lesson 9: Cheese

 

Lesson 10: Molecular gastronomy

 

Lesson 11: Wacky cake

 

Lesson 12: Ice cream

 

Lesson 13: Peer teaching

 

Lesson 14: Pasta, meatballs,

and crème brulee

[momee]

For baking...my daughter and I are using this

http://www.amazon.com/Baking-Illustrated-Cooks-Magazine-Editors/dp/0936184752/ref=pd_sim_b_6

 

 

For everyday cooking, she's thrilled with the results in this - and it's really 30 minute recipes!!!

http://www.amazon.com/30-Minute-Recipe-Cooks-Illustrated-Magazine/dp/0936184981/ref=pd_sim_b_1