Secrets of successful baking. All about home baking

This article contains “grandmother’s secrets” of making tasty dough and other useful ones. cooking tips housewives And despite the fact that these secrets have been around for many years, they are still relevant. Every housewife will definitely learn something new from them.

These useful tips sent by reader Larisa Chernykh, who has been collecting them since the Soviet cookbooks and, judging by her wonderful recipes, successfully applied in practice.

Flour must be sifted through a sieve before use. It is saturated with air, and the products turn out more magnificent.
If you need to dilute flour, for example, in water or milk, gradually pour the liquid into the flour and stir, and not vice versa.
Whenever possible, use water specially cooled in the refrigerator to knead the dough.
Pour 30-40 grams into the prepared dough vegetable oil and stir, then you won't have to re-grease the pan when baking the pancakes.
Yeast dough It will not stick to your hands if you first rub a few drops of vegetable oil into the skin of your hands.
The more fat in the dough and the less liquid, the more crumbly the products are.
If you add starch to the dough (soda), the finished products become crumbly.
Biscuit dough You need to knead it very carefully and not for long, as it will settle and the result will not be fluffy. Biscuit dough cannot be stored. After kneading, bake immediately. If you bake several in turn sponge cakes, put the dough in the refrigerator.
During production shortcrust pastry It is recommended to mix flour with other products for no longer than 2-3 minutes, otherwise a “dragged” dough will form, the products from which will be tough.
The lack of sugar in shortcrust pastry has a negative effect on the finished products: they turn out hard and slightly crumbly.
If products are prepared with aromatic filling, then there is no need to flavor the dough itself.
If there is an excess of sugar in the dough, baked goods quickly “brown” and even burn. If there is a lack of sugar, the products turn out “pale”.
If you add soda to the dough, the product turns out dark in color, with unpleasant smell and taste.
In order for the soda to be completely neutralized, when kneading the dough, you must add citric acid to it, having previously dissolved it in water (or lemon juice). This dough should not be stirred for a long time, as it quickly thickens and does not fit well.
The dough must be kneaded in a completely clean container so that there are no foreign odors or tastes in it.
Before putting raisins in the dough, they must be peeled, washed and dried on a clean napkin. If this is not done, then voids will form in the dough around the wet berries, which will spoil the product.
It is recommended to grease the surface of the table on which the dough is cut with vegetable oil or sprinkle with flour. Then the dough will not stick to the table.
The dough, when it is not kneaded very well, always sticks to your hands. But it rolls out well with a bottle filled cold water.
Thinly rolled out dough can be easily transferred to a sheet if you lightly sprinkle the dough with flour and roll it onto a rolling pin and unroll it onto a baking sheet.
Before sealing dumplings or dumplings, lightly moisten the edges of the flatbreads.
The dishes in which the dough was placed are washed first with cold and then with hot water.

To prevent the dough from burning when baking in the oven, sprinkle a little salt under the pan or place a frying pan filled with water.
you should never bake on high fire. In a hot oven, the outside will become hard, but the inside will remain raw. To prevent this from happening, you need to preheat the oven, but do not heat it up, and bake the cake at a moderate temperature.
Do not shake or move the baking sheet or pan while baking pies or other products.
When baking or any dough products, do not open the oven for the first 10 minutes, as the dough will settle and will not turn out fluffy.
If any part of the pie begins to burn, cover it with oiled paper.
To bake yeast-based non-bread products, the temperature should be 250-270 degrees, butter products - 220-240 degrees, nut buns - 180-200 degrees. Products from biscuit dough bake at a temperature of 200-220 degrees, from puff pastry - 250-260, from shortbread - 220-240 degrees.
You should know that small products can withstand more high temperature and bake faster than large ones.
If there is no thermometer in the oven, then the approximate temperature can be determined by throwing a pinch of flour into it. If the flour turns yellow and darkens after 30 seconds, this means that the temperature in the oven or oven is approximately 220-240 degrees. If the flour is thrown into the oven instantly. charred, the temperature reaches approximately 270-280 degrees. When the flour turns yellow gradually, this indicates that the temperature in the oven is 180-200 degrees.
Before baking, puff pastry products must be cooled in the refrigerator, but not frozen. Place the prepared products on a baking sheet moistened with cold water, without greasing it with oil. The products should be placed cooled in a hot oven (at least 250 degrees).

Finished dough products

The readiness of a baked product can be easily determined by piercing it with a thin wooden splinter: if the product is ready, the removed splinter will be dry, and if it is not ready, dough particles will remain on the removed splinter.
The finished baked product will slightly lag behind the edges of the pan. If the product is not baked, then it fits tightly to the edges of the mold.
The baked dough is easier to remove from the mold if it is cooled slightly and then removed.
Products made from, which rise perfectly when baked, after removing them from oven, quickly settle. Draft should be avoided.
If it's burnt, let it cool, then carefully run a fine grater over it several times and sprinkle on top. powdered sugar.
After the cake is removed from the oven, it should be kept in the kitchen and not taken out into the cold so that it does not settle.
To slice crumbly cake, you need to heat the knife by dipping it in boiling water.
The stuffed one will taste better if it sits for at least half a day.

Glaze, cream

Frosting for cakes and cookies can be colored red with beet juice, and yellow with carrot or orange juice.
To get a smooth surface when placing icing on a cake, you need to dip a knife in hot water and quickly smooth out the icing. Before pouring the icing onto the cake, it is recommended to lightly sprinkle it with starch. This will keep the icing from spreading.
The glazed product does not go stale for a long time and is therefore well preserved.
If the sour cream used for the cream is liquid, then you need to pour it into gauze, and put the gauze in a colander. Place a colander on the pan. Cover all this with a lid and put it in the refrigerator. Leave for 5-7 hours. Excess water will drain during this time, the sour cream will become thick and will be easy to whip. From such sour cream you can prepare a cream for.

Nuts

It is recommended to lightly heat walnuts for cakes and pastries in the oven before use, which is why they acquire a pleasant taste.
Walnuts go rancid quickly, so they should be stored in a cool, dry place.
In order to remove the thin brown shell from the almonds, you need to put them in boiling water for a few seconds. If the almond shell separates when pressing with your fingers, remove it from the water immediately, otherwise the quality of the nuts will deteriorate.

Breading should be done immediately before deep frying, otherwise the breading will become soggy and ready product does not have the proper appearance or taste.
The fat will splatter less if you sprinkle a little salt into the pan.
Before frying pancakes, wipe the pan with salt (only if it is not coated with non-stick or Teflon coating).
In order for the pies to turn out rosy and soft, and also to be fried inside, they should be fried in a closed frying pan.
To make it more flavorful, add vegetable oil or vegetable fat you can add melted butter (for 1 kg of vegetable oil, 300 g of melted butter, and for 1 kg of margarine - 200 g).
Butter will not darken when frying if you first grease the pan with vegetable oil.
Do not overheat vegetable oil when frying foods. This will not provide any benefits, but it will reduce culinary qualities finished product, since too much heated oil, vegetable fat or margarine begins to smoke and gives the fried product an unpleasant smell of smoke and a bitter taste.

If olive or sunflower oil becomes cloudy or has an unpleasant odor, you need to put it in oil table salt based on 1 liter of oil, 1 teaspoon of salt. After 3 days, the oil must be poured into another vessel, and a cloudy sediment with salt will remain at the bottom of the first.
It’s good to keep dried mushrooms in salted milk for several hours, then the mushrooms will become like fresh.
The cottage cheese may be raw. Raw cottage cheese wrap in gauze or napkin, place on a board, pressing down with a weight. Excess liquid will leak.
The skin of apples can be easily removed by dipping them into boiling water for 2-3 seconds.
If you have to remove the zest from a lemon, orange, or tangerine by hand, then this should be done using a grater.
Lemon peels and peels can be stored for many months in a glass container closed with a metal or plastic lid in sugar.
It is easier to wash the pan in which the milk was boiled if you pour cold water into it for a while.
If the milk in the pan is burnt, sprinkle the bottom of the pan with salt and leave for 1-2 hours. Then scrub with a plastic scourer.

For me, a cozy home has always been associated with the smell of fresh baked goods. And this is not surprising: my grandmother, a cook by profession, baked pies, buns and buns for us almost every day. Over time, I began to help her, and she willingly shared her secrets on how to make the pies turn out tasty and airy, and the baked goods did not go stale for a long time. Now my eldest daughter not only loves to eat the pies I made, but also actively helps make the dough.

To make your dough tasty and airy, you only need to follow a few simple rules. I’ll tell you about them today.

Secret 1.

The taste of the dough and finished baked goods directly depends on the products used to knead it. Most often, yeast dough is used to make pies. There are many options for its preparation, but its composition necessarily includes flour, yeast, butter, sugar and liquid. You can add eggs if you wish, but I rarely do this because... they thicken the dough.

Choose butter according to your personal preferences: butter will give the baked goods a delicate flavor, while vegetable oil (sunflower or olive) will make the dough more airy. Personally, I don't like the taste of margarine, so I never use it to make pies. The oil should be as fresh as possible, without additional odors and tastes.

Sugar is needed so that the yeast can feed. Its excess, as well as its deficiency, will prevent the yeast from raising the dough to the required volume. Therefore, depending on the type of baking, the amount of sugar should strictly correspond to the recipe. The brown variety will add extra flavor to the dough, while the white variety will only add sweetness.

There should be flour premium with a gluten content of at least 24% (look for information about it on the packaging). How whiter flour, the higher its grade, the better it is suitable for baking. In baking bread or grain buns, you can use low-grade flour. The rye variety makes the dough more dense, while buckwheat, corn, etc. types of flour used in baking extra taste, which cannot be useful when making homemade bread.

I haven’t used pressed yeast for a long time - I prefer dry instant yeast like “Soft-moment”. Unlike the living ones, I never had any misfires with them. The only thing is that they cannot be stored open and you must definitely look at the date of their release.

Milk, if I use it as a liquid, must be as fresh as possible. It is better to use milk from local producers for preparing the dough with a shelf life of no more than 3 days.

Secret 2.

Before kneading, I take all the products out of the refrigerator and warm them up to room temperature. I melt the butter until soft and never melt it over the fire, because... it changes its taste. I warm the milk or water slightly to 35 degrees (it should be warm to the touch) - heating it more will not kill the yeast. By the way, it is better to use sparkling water - this will make the pies soft and airy. The flour must be sifted.

Secret 3 .

Mixing ingredients correctly is one of the most important stages its preparations.

First, mix all the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, salt, yeast, spices ( vanilla sugar, cinnamon, etc.). Separately whisk the liquids: milk, butter and eggs - and then gradually add them to the dry ones, carefully kneading the dough so that no lumps form. The dough should be kneaded thoroughly with your hands, sprinkled with flour or covered with a damp cloth, put under the lid and left alone for an hour. After an hour, it should be kneaded and left to rise again. Never leave the dough for more than 2.5 hours - this will significantly deteriorate its quality.

Secret 4.

It is better to cut the dough in a room with a constant temperature without drafts. Yeast dough is very capricious, and any changes will weather it and prevent it from rising properly. For pies, cheesecakes and buns, divide the entire mass into small balls the size of egg. If you are planning to make one big pie, gently stretch the dough with your hands on a board sprinkled with flour. I never use a rolling pin to roll out yeast dough because... additional pressure presses the workpieces and makes ready-made pies thin. Never put more filling than can fit in the cake: you will not be able to seal the pies properly and will cause them to crack. To determine the amount of filling, I follow the 2-centimeter rule: the filling should extend 2 centimeters from all edges of the cake.

Secret 5.

Do not preheat the oven to more than 180 degrees. Although the low temperature will increase the baking time, the pies will rise and bake evenly. Usually to receive golden crust There is no need to lubricate the workpiece with anything, but if you want to achieve a dark shiny surface, brush the pies with egg, milk, butter or even plain water.

During baking, it is better not to open the oven for the first 10-15 minutes so that there is no influx of cold air.

Immediately remove the finished pies from the oven, transfer to a wire rack and cover with a clean towel. Be sure to store them covered - this way they will not go stale for a long time.

But the most main secret- you have to cook with love and good thoughts. Then even such a capricious dough as yeast dough will delight you with a tasty and healthy result.

1. Always add diluted potato starch– rolls and pies will be fluffy and soft even the next day.

Main condition delicious pies- fluffy, well-risen dough: the flour for the dough must be sifted: foreign impurities are removed from it, and it is enriched with air oxygen

2. To any dough (except dumplings, puff pastry, choux, shortbread), that is, dough for pies, pancakes, bread, pancakes, always add semolina to half a liter of liquid (about a heaping tablespoon). The nuns taught: “Previously, the highest quality bread was made from semolina. It did not dry out for a long time and was lush. Now there is no grit. Now add semolina menu and it will always be there good pastries." This advice is so priceless.

3. Add half a glass of mineral water to the dough, in addition to milk. Dilute a teaspoon of baking soda in half a glass of water and lightly extinguish it citric acid or vinegar. The baking really turns out great. Even the rest the next day, lush.

4. There should be no draft in the room where the dough is cut: it contributes to the formation of a very dense crust on the pie.

5. When kneading yeast dough, all products should be warm or at room temperature; products from the refrigerator will slow down the rise of the dough

6. For yeast products, the liquid should always be heated to 30-35ºС, since yeast fungi in a liquid that has a lower or higher temperature lose their activity

7. When you knead the dough, your hands should be dry.

8. Before putting the product in the oven, let it rise for 15-20 minutes. Allow the dough to proof completely before baking. If the proofing is not complete, it does not rise well and the pies do not bake for a long time.

9. Bake pies on a baking sheet over medium heat so that the filling does not dry out.

10. It is best to add unmelted butter to the dough (yeast and unleavened butter), since melted butter worsens the structure of the dough.

11. Pies made with milk are more tasty and aromatic, the crust after baking is shiny with a beautiful color.

12. Yeast for dough should be fresh, with a pleasant alcoholic smell. Test the yeast in advance. To do this, prepare small portion dough and sprinkle with a layer of flour. If no cracks appear after 30 minutes, then the quality of the yeast is poor.

13. If there is excess sugar in the dough, the pies quickly “brown” and even burn. Fermentation of yeast dough slows down, and the pies turn out less fluffy

14. Fats, softened to the thickness of sour cream, are added at the end of kneading the dough or when kneading it, this improves the fermentation of the dough

15. To make the finished pies more tender and crumbly, put only yolks in the dough

16. Tall pies Bake over low heat so that they cook evenly.

17. Fats, softened to the thickness of sour cream, are added at the end of kneading the dough or when kneading it, this improves the fermentation of the dough

18. To make the finished pies more tender and crumbly, place bananas in the dough instead of eggs.

19. The dough for a pie baked on a baking sheet is rolled out as thin as possible so that the taste of the filling can be clearly felt.

20. To keep the bottom of the pie dry, lightly sprinkle the bottom layer of the pie with starch, and then add the filling.

21. Neither the dough nor the dough should be allowed to rest, as this causes a deterioration in the quality of the dough. 3 hours is enough, but be sure to keep it warm.

22. Yeast dough pies can be greased with milk and, if desired, sprinkled with salt, poppy seeds, and caraway seeds.

23. Closed pies brush with milk before baking or sugar water. Thanks to this finished pie an appetizing gloss appears.

24. Pies that are sprinkled with powdered sugar are also greased with butter - it gives them a pleasant aroma.

25. Pies brushed with water and sugar acquire a shiny golden brown crust during baking.

26. The more fat and less liquid in the dough, the more crumbly the products are.

27. If you add soda to the dough, the cake will turn out to be darker in color with an unpleasant odor.

28. Thin dough easy to roll out by wrapping the rolling pin in a clean linen rag

29. If the dough is too wet, place a piece of parchment paper on it and roll it straight through the paper.

30. Shortcrust pastry pies should be removed from pans when cooled.

31. Before adding raisins to the dough, they need to be rolled in flour.

32. Salt is always added to flour only when the dough has already fermented

33. If the dough has already risen and you don’t have time to put it in the oven, cover the dough with well-moistened paper, first shaking off the water.

34. Hot Pie It's better not to cut. But if this is necessary, you need to heat the knife in hot water, quickly wipe and cut.

35. If the cake does not come off the baking sheet, separate it from the baking sheet with a thread.

1:502 1:507

Every task has its secrets, and even something as delicate as cooking good test, there are countless of them! We will share some of them with you.

1:785 1:790

1. Always add diluted potato starch to the dough - buns and pies will be fluffy and soft even the next day. The main condition for delicious pies is a fluffy, well-risen dough: the flour for the dough must be sifted: foreign impurities are removed from it, and it is enriched with air oxygen

2. To any dough (except dumplings, puff pastry, choux, shortbread), that is, dough for pies, pancakes, bread, pancakes, always add semolina to half a liter of liquid (about a heaping tablespoon). The nuns taught: “Previously, the highest quality bread was made from semolina. It did not dry out for a long time and was lush. Now there is no grit. Now add some semolina and you will always have good baked goods.” This advice is so priceless.

2:2635

3:505

3. Add half a glass of mineral water to the dough, in addition to milk. Dilute a teaspoon of baking soda in half a glass of water and lightly quench it with citric acid or vinegar.
The baked goods really turn out great. Even the leftovers the next day are fluffy.

3:951 4:1457

4. There should be no draft in the room where the dough is cut: it contributes to the formation of a very dense crust on the pie.

4:1690

5:505

5. When kneading yeast dough, all products should be warm or at room temperature; products from the refrigerator will slow down the rise of the dough

5:766 6:1272

6. For yeast products, the liquid should always be heated to 30-35ºС, since yeast fungi in a liquid that has a lower or higher temperature lose their activity

6:1605

7:505

7. When you knead the dough, your hands should be dry.

7:602 8:1108

8:1492 9:1998

9. Bake pies on a baking sheet over medium heat so that the filling does not dry out.

9:140 10:646

10. It is best to add unmelted butter to the dough (yeast and unleavened butter), since melted butter worsens the structure of the dough.

10:920 11:1426

11. Pies made with milk are more tasty and aromatic, the crust after baking is shiny with a beautiful color.

11:1636

12:505

12. Yeast for dough should be fresh, with a pleasant alcoholic smell. Test the yeast in advance. To do this, prepare a small portion of the dough and sprinkle with a layer of flour. If no cracks appear after 30 minutes, then the quality of the yeast is poor.

12:927 13:1433

13. If there is excess sugar in the dough, the pies quickly “brown” and even burn. Fermentation of yeast dough slows down, and the pies turn out less fluffy

13:1708

14:505

14. Fats, softened to the thickness of sour cream, are added at the end of kneading the dough or when kneading it, this improves the fermentation of the dough

14:754 15:1260

15. To make the finished pies more tender and crumbly, put only yolks in the dough

15:1427 16:1933

16. Tall pies are baked over low heat so that they cook evenly.

16:144 17:650

17. Fats, softened to the thickness of sour cream, are added at the end of kneading the dough or when kneading it, this improves the fermentation of the dough

17:899 18:1405

18. To make the finished pies more tender and crumbly, add only yolks to the dough.

18:1573 19:505

19. The dough for a pie baked on a baking sheet is rolled out as thin as possible so that the taste of the filling can be clearly felt.

19:721 20:1227

20. To keep the bottom of the pie dry, lightly sprinkle the bottom layer of the pie with starch, and then add the filling.

20:1454 21:1960

21. Neither the dough nor the dough should be allowed to rest, as this causes a deterioration in the quality of the dough. 3 hours is enough, but be sure to keep it warm.

21:260 22:766

22. Yeast dough pies can be greased with milk and, if desired, sprinkled with salt, poppy seeds, and caraway seeds.

22:964 23:1470

23. Covered pies are brushed with beaten egg, milk, and sugar water before baking. Thanks to this, an appetizing gloss appears on the finished cake. The best shine is obtained when lubricated with yolks.

23:1836

24:505

24. Pies that are sprinkled with powdered sugar are also greased with butter - it gives them a pleasant aroma.

24:696 25:1202

25. Pies, greased egg white, acquire a shiny golden brown crust during baking.

25:1375 26:1881

26. The more fat and less liquid in the dough, the more crumbly the products are.

26:165 27:671

27. If you add soda to the dough, the cake will turn out to be darker in color with an unpleasant odor.

27:846

These simple tips will be useful to every housewife who loves to pamper her loved ones with good baked goods.

The dough will bake better if you leave an empty space on the baking sheet around the pie.
Thinly rolled dough is difficult to transfer onto the sheet. Sprinkle the dough with flour, roll it onto a rolling pin, transfer it and unfold it over the baking sheet - the dough will not tear. Iron sheets on which to bake butter dough, do not grease, it is better to lightly moisten with water.
If your oven is not ready yet, but the dough has already risen, cover it with paper well soaked in water.
Don't put the cake in hot oven, otherwise it will be hard on the outside and raw on the inside. You need to preheat the oven, but bake the cake at a moderate temperature. Ready cake without removing from the mold, place it on a wet, cold towel - then it will easily come out of the mold. After this, immediately transfer it to a sieve to cool. Don't put it in the cold - it may settle.
So that when baking fruit cake the dough has not escaped, stick a few pasta into the pie - the juice will rise up through these “pipes” and the oven will remain clean.
To form a golden crust on the product before baking, the prepared dough must be greased with milk or fat, egg, sweet or salted water. After baking, it is recommended to immediately grease it with butter and cover with a towel, leaving it to cool on a wooden cutting board.
Before baking, you can also sprinkle the surface of the pie with crushed breadcrumbs, semolina, and large floury-buttery sweet crumbs, known as “streisel.” For strazvl you need to take 1 tablespoon of flour, 1 tablespoon of sand, 1 egg yolk and 20 g butter and cooled products mix well until crumbs form.
For sweet pies or cakes, you can prepare truffle topping: heat 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar to a temperature of 40 ° C, add 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder and 20 g of butter. Slightly cooled products are mixed well and, when the mass becomes thick and plastic, rub it through a sieve with medium cells or a colander.
The sponge roll should be wrapped immediately after you have removed the cake from the oven, placing it on a napkin sprinkled with sugar. Quickly coat the flatbread with jam, chocolate, poppy seeds, nuts or any other filling and quickly wrap it with a napkin.
The cake will sag if it is not baked enough. You need to bake it in a warm place, but not hot oven at moderate temperature.
Close the oven door carefully, without slamming it, otherwise the cake will settle.
The dough will become gelatinous if the oven is not hot enough or if the dough has not risen enough.
Bake puff pastry products in the oven at moderate temperature on a baking sheet moistened with water and not greased. Prick the surface of the cake with a fork, but do not brush it with egg, otherwise the dough will harden during baking and will not rise.
When baking baked goods - buns, cookies, muffins, rolls, cake layers - place on the bottom of a mold or baking sheet parchment paper, greasing it with butter (margarine). Then it will be easy to collapse hot roll, remove the cakes and cakes from the mold, and the dishes will remain clean.
When baking apple pie Roll out the dough into an even layer about 0.5 cm thick, place it on a baking sheet, evenly sprinkling it with 1 tablespoon of starch through a strainer. Then place the grated coarse grater apples (without skin) with slightly squeezed juice, sprinkled granulated sugar. The surface of the pie can be brushed with beaten egg.
Small tin cans, if the top lid is cut out neatly and smoothly, can be used as baking molds confectionery(cupcakes).
To ensure that the bottom of the pie rises and is dry, lightly sprinkle the bottom layer of the pie with starch, and then add the filling.
To prevent the crust of a biscuit, Easter cake, or muffin from drying out during baking, place a vessel with water in the oven.
To ensure that the cake, sponge cake, or cupcake bakes evenly, preheat the oven to moderate temperature. Place the pan on the lower rack. Even if you need to turn the pan, do not rush to open the oven, as a sudden change in temperature may cause the dough to settle.
To prevent the dough from burning when baking in the oven, you need to pour a little salt under the molds.
The readiness of a cupcake, cake, or cookie is checked with a splinter inserted into the product. If the splinter is dry, then it’s time to remove the product from the oven.
Lightly press on the biscuit or pie with your finger. If the hole disappears immediately, the product is ready.
To easily remove the finished product from the mold, you must first grease it, lightly sprinkle it with flour or breadcrumbs, keep it in the cold for several minutes and only then put the dough into it. You can line the bottom of the pan with foil or parchment paper and grease it. If the product still has difficulty coming off the walls, place the mold on a cloth that you have previously moistened with cold water.