5 Things You Can Do To Be A Better Baker

Here, at Sweet Society, we're constantly growing and learning as bakers as we create our desserts and Dessert Experiences. Here are the 5 things that we think you can do to become a better baker.

1) Wear an apron

You know the feeling when you have a great outfit on and you feel beautiful? The feeling of confidence and that you're able to tackle whatever life throws at you. We believe the same applies when you're in the kitchen, and it's why you should wear an apron. An apron can give you that extra bit of confidence when you're baking, and your final product will reflect it. Not to mention that some aprons are so darn cute, so you can't help but feel good in them. And, before we forget, we should mention the practical reason: that they keep batter, butter, and various bits off your clothes... but the cute/confidence factor is way more important. We love IceMilk Aprons for their simplicity and style. They offer beautiful neutral colored aprons, making you feel classy as you whip up that apple pie. Check out our personal favorite: Rollings Of Cinnamon.

2) Use a scale to measure your items

It can be hard to find a recipe that knocks your socks off, so when you do, make sure that the recipe stays consistent every time you bake it by weighing the ingredients. Getting into the habit of weighing, rather than using cups to measure, gives you consistency and helps produce the same exact product every time. It takes a little time to get used to the practice of using a scale every time, but once you start, it's all you will ever want to use. If you don't already have one, here's the one that we utilize in the kitchen: Escali Primo Scale.

3) Use ingredients at room temperature

Using ingredients at room temperature can be harder than it sounds. The difficulty is in the planning - we like to take our ingredients out an hour or two before we start baking. Once you start getting into the groove of taking ingredients out of the fridge so they come to room temp, it will become more natural, and you'll start to plan ahead. The advantage of having room temp ingredients such as eggs, milk, and butter is better emulsion of the batter, trapping more air into the dessert, producing a lighter and fluffier treat. If ingredients are cold they don't incorporate as well, and in turn, your end product may be dense or dry. Always take things like eggs, butter, milk, cream, sour cream, really anything cold, out onto the counter about an hour ahead of time, but longer if possible, before you start baking. Keep in mind that you can cut the butter into smaller pieces so it'll come to room temp faster. If your eggs are still cold and you can't wait any longer, pop them in warm water to sit for 10-15 minutes. Be careful not to use hot water - you don't want scrambled eggs. So if you forget to plan ahead, you can always just take your ingredients out before you put on your apron, preheat your oven, butter and flour your pans, read and re-read your recipe... you get the picture.

4) Be patient

Patience really is a virtue. If all your desserts turn out amazing each and every time you bake, then you most likely already have great patience. Baking really is a science, and sometimes things don't turn out as planned. Whether it be you forgot an ingredient, the oven temp was slightly off, you left your creation in the oven too long... there are a million little things that can throw off this science. But you can't be too hard on yourself. In reality, it is just cake... you just have to get back on the baking horse and try again. With patience, go a little slower, re-read the directions, set the timer, and then pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

5) Practice makes perfect

Out of all the interviews we've come across of well-known bakers, their one main word of advice is: practice. One major struggle we had in the beginning of our baking journey was frosting a cake. Maybe it's the perfectionist in us, but we wanted the smoothest cake with the sharpest edges... and we wanted it now!!! We thought that if we watched enough videos, we would magically be able to instantly produce what we've seen them do over and over... wrong! Practice really does make perfect. If you want to bake, then bake every chance you get. If you want a perfectly frosted cake, then frost lots of cake. Eventually, after a lot of practice, you'll soon see your efforts prevail.