All of us have heard about the word ‘Baking’ at some point in our lives! Baking is the process of making food by using dry heat like an oven which results in delicious and fluffy baked items that all of us love to eat! Basically the pan or dish that you are baking in transfers heat from the oven base to the contents in the pan. Our typical baked items include breads, pies, cakes, pastries and a lot of different items. Over our discussion about baking, we will discover more about being a baker and all that comes with it!

Baking is a meticulous activity where you need to know the recipes and processes well to end up with a delicious dish. Naturally, being a baker is all about precision and timing. Baking as a profession is being pursued by many people! We see kids trying their hands at baking from a young age and becoming better bakers over time. Even though there were a lot of bakers before, they did not consider baking as a full time profession. Nowadays, the baking industry is booming with many new enthusiastic bakers wanting to own a place that specializes in what they have to offer. Also, national and international level cooking competitions and shows are shining light on all the work that goes into baking and other cooking processes. Baking is a skill that you will get better at with time, practice and experimentation. We are going to be listing out different attributes of baking, among other things.

How To Become A Good Baker

• The recipe is your bible when you are trying to bake a new item. Make sure to have the recipe beside you so that you can tick off the steps once done. Give your recipe a good read before starting your baking. Like we said before, it’s all about the precision in baking.
• We can’t stress enough about how measuring your ingredients is important in baking. So have all your measurement cups and spoons at hand and ready to use. The wrong proportions will end up messing your whole dish.
• Knead that dough right! Kneading might seem like a simple and harmless process, but a lot rests on that dough that you just made. The consistency of the dough varies from recipe to recipe and the ingredients involved. A pasta dough is different from a pastry dough and a good baker knows it too well to ignore.
• Substitute smartly. If there is an ingredient on the recipe that you don’t have in your pantry, think of similar substitutes and try them out separately in batches rather than just swinging it on the day of the event! Don’t leave anything to the last minute in baking well except taking out your pie out of the oven maybe!
• Baking is mixing consciously, how many times and how long you mix a batter directly affects the consistency of it after being baked. Some batter requires folding and some ask for mixing for a certain amount of time. The trick is to not overmix anything, so be mindful with your mix.
• Watch your oven and whatever is baking inside closely. If needed, check your baked food by pushing a toothpick or fork through to make sure it’s cooked thoroughly, especially when you are working with a new oven as different ovens come with different settings and options. So get familiar with your oven before you start using it to bake items.

Also Read: EASY TO LEARN BAKING COURSES FOR BEGINNERS

Tips for Baking

These are some basic pick-me-up tips to get your started with. More importantly have fun and enjoy while baking. It’s a pretty fun and delicious activity that involves a lot of tasting of the batter and cookie dough! So what’s not to love? Even some of the most experienced bakers sometimes mess up their dishes, but that’s how you’ll learn where you went wrong. Just keep trying and experimenting with your ingredients till you get what you want.

We hope you’ve learnt a little about baking from all that’s been talked about till now. It’s time for us to look at the different types of baked goods. Yes! Baking like many other activities also comes in different types. Based on what you are interested in, you can specialize in one or many of these.

Breads of All Kinds

What’s not to love about breads! Well other than the calories they add, they taste yum and you can have them with anything. Be it sandwiches, hotdogs, toasts or just a buttered slice. They are perfect to have as any meal of the day. Breads are mainly made of flour, salt, yeast and water, but other ingredients like herbs, dried vegetables and different types of flours can be added to bake a variety of breads. There is nothing like a freshly baked loaf of bread!

Cakes, Muffins and Cupcakes

Cakes are the most loved and enjoyed desserts that also happen to be a baked delicacy! Muffins and cupcakes are the mini cup, bite sized versions with and without frosting. We need cakes for all kinds of celebrations and the process of baking a cake is fun too! The ingredients list varies based on the kind of cake you want to bake. They come in many different varieties and flavour pairings! The next time you have a party at your place, try baking a cake with your friends and family.

Also Read: 4 EASY BAKING TIPS FOR BEGINNERS

Candies

Candies are all about the sugar! Your caramel, toffee, nougat, fudge, soft candies, marshmallows and many such sugary items fall under the candy category. The different types and textures of a candy are decided based on the kind of sugar crystals that are used to make them. These are made mainly out of sugar and are of different kinds. There are also different kinds of sugar used to make candies to give out different flavours. Candies are mainly split into two, crystalline and non-crystalline. Based on the formation of crystals these are made into different varieties.

Frosting, Icing and Butter-cream

Frosting, icing, piping, butter cream, whipped cream are among the last few steps in a cake making process. These are mainly used to decorate the cake and should only be done after the cake has thoroughly cooled down. Putting these on a hot cake will melt the frosting and result in a gooey mess. You could even add these in jar cakes or fill them inside cakes to get a nice creamy center. You can add food colouring and make them in different colours to be used for your cake decoration. Don’t hold yourself back, go crazy with your icing work!

There are many more baked goods that you will find and try out other than the ones listed above. We have given the most tried and loved baked goods, so start with these: they are the building blocks of baking. Once you start getting better with the recipes, move on to baking complicated desserts and improve your skills! Joining a baking course will be a great place to start, if you love baking and would like to pursue a career in it. While we are at it, let’s look at some ways to become a full time baker!

How to Become a Professional Baker

• Sign up for a professional baking course, they are available in different forms like diplomas, short courses and such. Hamstech offers professional baking courses, which will help you with all your baking queries. Having an education in the related field will not only add to your skill set but will also give you some hands-on experience and confidence.
• When you are learning a new recipe, do it right. Don’t skip any steps, swap any ingredients or mess up the quantities. The basic recipes need to be perfect if you want to build on them.
• Work experience and practice matters. So assist professional bakers or work at a confectionary to learn and improve. Practice different recipes and get creative with them. Do all your experimental & creative stuff when you are practicing. That’s how you will end up with new recipes of your own!
• Work on your presentation skills. Presentation is really important when it comes to bakery items. Most of them like cakes, pies, tarts, cookies, muffins and cupcakes are used for special occasions and are sometimes even requested in different themes. So improve the final look of your baked goods over time and be ready with some interesting options.

We have seen and learnt some tips on becoming a professional baker. There are some bakers out there who have captured the hearts of many with their yummy desserts. These popular bakers haven’t just perfected the classic recipes but have also come up with many new ones! Let’s read up on some of them and get you all motivated to pursue that baking course you’ve been putting off.

Also Read: BAKING AS A FULL TIME CAREER AND IT’S SCOPE

Shivesh Bhatia

Shivesh is a self-taught baker, author and food blogger who has given us many baking recipes to love. He loves baking and has a blog full of recipes called Bake With Shivesh. He also has a youtube channel, where he shows us how to bake some of those yummy goodies for ourselves. Shivesh has perfected his recipes over time & with constant practice and experimentation. He also has two cook-books published, which are perfect for anyone who would like to do some baking. His social handles are full of easy, quick and fun recipes for everybody to try and enjoy.

Pooja Dhingra

Pooja dhingra is one of the most popular pastry chefs in India. She is very well known for her macaroons and yummy cakes. Pooja owns Le15 Patisserie, which specialises in all kinds of baked goods, from delicious chocolate cakes to her signature macaroons. Her cakes are loved and enjoyed by well-known celebrities in India. She also has two cookbooks published under her name and continues to inspire many aspiring bakers all across the country.

Vinesh Johny

Vinesh Johny is the co-founder and executive pastry chef at Lavonne Academy of Baking Science and Pastry Arts. The menu at his café is full of irresistible mud cakes, beautiful desserts and delicious pies. He wanted to bring technical pastry making and high level baking to India and that’s exactly what he is doing with his work as a professional baker. His work is also about precision and will leave you wanting more! Vinesh’s social media handles are all about showing off his baking skills and delicious recipes.

All these bakers have a signature style and niche of their own. In a creative field like baking, it’s important to establish your niche and come up with innovative products. If you want to pursue a career in baking, it’s always good to start early. So get working with your baking career by enrolling with Hamstech’s professional baking course. Bake some beautiful desserts and learn a lot of new baking techniques with this baking course.