Category: Free Inquiry (page 1 of 1)

It has been a journey that’s for sure. I had many plans and ideas on how I wanted to end my baking experience but because of the current situation with COVID-19 I wasn’t able to  obtain all the ingredients that I needed and was uneasy about going out to such crowded areas. My end goal was to bake a loaf of bread and experiment further with using yeast or a starter, I thought it would be the ultimate goal and challenge for me. But due to the unfortunate circumstances I will postpone that challenge until a later date and instead finish this inquiry with how it all started; chocolate chip cookies.

I baked a fresh batch tonight for a yummy study snack and to relieve some of the stress that these past few weeks have built up. I first started with my research trying to find the best gooey chocolate chip cookie I could find to suit my craving. I settled with Tasty’s recipe because they are always on point and got to work creaming my wet ingredients. One the wet ingredients looked like silk I added my flour, baking soda and chocolate chips. After mixing it all together I formed my cookies and set them into the oven for 12 minutes. Now let me tell you, I think I have hit the goldmine with this cookie recipe. I don’t know if it was because I was stressed and tired and hungry but the taste of a warm gooey chocolate chip cookie dipped into a glass of cold milk was what I imagine the cookies in heaven taste like. It was just what I needed. It helped me reflect and remind myself of the home runs and strike outs that I encountered during my baking experience.

It all started with the chocolate chip oatmeal cookies that I baked back in January. I chose this recipe because it was something that I was somewhat familiar with and is in the easy category of baking. I was able to practice the basics of baking which is separating your wet and dry ingredients then combining them later. This recipe was also something that allowed me to help build up my baking confidence which prepared me for the rest of the semester. I remember saying in that blog that I didn’t feel like I was doing homework and that it just felt fun. From day 1 I started to look at the assignment as a break from studying and a good way to treat myself for working so hard. This mindset is what I think helped me continue and learn throughout this inquiry.

After making cookies I made carrot muffins which ended up tasting really good and going well. But I do have an update that I didn’t blog about… Two days after I made the muffins I went to go pack one for lunch and I noticed that all the carrot bits turned green! Crazy right?! At first I thought they were moldy but after pondering that thought I realized that there was no way that after two days they could possibly be already moldy so I googled it and found out that I made a chemical reaction! So fun fact, apparently if you do not thoroughly combine your baking soda it can turn your carrots green! So I did learn something there. This recipe also allowed me to gain experience towards how to bake muffins and properly line the pan.

The next baked good I conquered was scones. I decided to make cheese scones so I could learn how to create flaky layers in scones and similar pastries. This is done by using cold, cubed butter so that when the butter melts in the oven, it separates the dough and creates layers. This was the first recipe where I practiced kneading dough which was difficult because the cheese scones contained a lot of flour so it kept falling apart. They ended up requiring a lot of time and attention to make them into a workable consistency. This recipe was definitely something I would make again! Would go great with soup!

I got to say out of all of these recipes my biggest home run was the luscious lemon bars. I am still obsessing over them! This recipe had two sections, one for working and baking the crust and the other for the lemon filling. The crust was probably the most complicating, not to make but to prepare because it had to be assembled then compacted into a pan, perfectly level then frozen, then baked. The lemon filling was just time consuming requiring lemon juice and zest from 5-6 lemons. After following the recipe and baking it I got to tell you, they were delicious and stayed fresh the longest amount of time out of all the recipes. Through this experience I really built up my baking confidence and learned a good skill for whenever I make dessert bars in the future.

Following the lemon bars was one of my first flops; the cinnamon buns. This was the first time I have ever worked with yeast and was unsure on how to fully activate the yeast and the wait time that it required before adding the ingredients. I think that is where I went wrong, was the very beginning with the yeast and after that it didn’t rise and came out dense and hard. This recipe gave me experience and the opportunity to work with a more complex component of baking and was something that I was able to learn and grow from.

Unfortunately the cheesecake I made next added to my list of flops. This recipe was another first for me that contained many do’s and don’ts which didn’t help me much. I think the only thing that went wrong here was my cook time. I should have left it in the oven for a little longer then let it cool and set for longer than I did. Besides the uncooked portion of it, it turned out really well and was another learning experience for me which gave me insight towards what to do next time I bake a cheesecake. Or I could just choose a non-bake one…

Last but not least was my coffee cake. This was a simple but good one, a solid way to end my baking inquiry. In this recipe I learned how to make a crumble and was able to add another pastry recipe to my repertoire! I am very grateful for this experience. I feel as though I learned a lot about how to bake different recipes using different techniques. I not only improved my baking ability but I found a excellent way to take a mental break from studying and fill it with something that I enjoy and that my friends and family also enjoy! I cannot wait to continue on with my new found hobby and explore new recipes.

This week I have been feeling a little under the weather and wasn’t feeling up to what I had originally planned. I still wanted to bake and was looking forward to a sweet treat so I chose something that wouldn’t take too long to make and that I have never made before; Coffee cake! At my work (Royal Bay Bakery) my boss makes the best coffee cake, and got me hooked on it a few months ago. As usual once I decided what I wanted to make, I googled some different recipes to get a good idea on how to make one. After some time I found a cinnamon coffee cake recipe that wouldn’t take too long, the pictures looked good and had excellent reviews.

The instructions for this recipe were pretty minimal, just saying to separate the wet and dry ingredients then mix them all together and pour it into the pan. It seemed easy enough it just stated in big bold letters not to over mix, so I was careful to only fold the ingredients in until just combined. Once I poured the batter into the pan I set the oven to 350 then started working on the yummy cinnamon topping. This was once again pretty basic and reminded me of the cinnamon filling I made for my cinnamon buns a few weeks back. After I had mixed the filling together to form a crumble I spread it evenly on top of my batter then was ready to set it into the oven.

The cake was set to be in the oven for at least 33 minutes (this is what the recipe said) but after a little over 25 minutes I peaked inside because I was getting impatient. The edges were golden brown and it looked ready to go so I pulled it out and let it sit on a rack to cool. This was one issue that I had with this recipe, if I didn’t check it when I did, it would have probably been overcooked and very dry. After it cooled down I poured some icing on top of it and cut out a piece to try!

Overall, it tasted pretty good! It was moist and sweet but not too sweet, which is a plus. The only thing that was unfortunate about it was how it looked nothing like the picture. I followed the recipe exactly but somehow there wasn’t nearly enough filling compared to what the one in the picture had. I think it would have been better with double the filling and maybe mixing it a little with a toothpick after sprinkling it on, that way it can be more throughout the cake, which I think would make it better. For this weeks baking experience I would give it a 7/10.

Hello again friends to another baking blog. I have been trying to make each recipe a bit harder than the last or at least more out of my comfort zone. And this week I did just that. A little while ago I went to a restaurant and had a slice of Oreo cheesecake for dessert, and ever since that night I have been going cheesecake crazy. I have been constantly craving it so I thought I would just go ahead and try to make it. Before I set my mind on it, I researched how to actually make a cheesecake to check out the level of difficulty. I came across an Oreo cheesecake recipe that was rated pretty high by users and didn’t seem too complicated. This recipe had a total of 6 ingredients and 6 steps.

After reading the minimal amount of ingredients I asked myself why I never made a cheesecake before? What was I doing with my life? It seemed too good to be true. The first thing that I did was make the Oreo crust which was just crushed Oreo’s and melted butter. This took me about 5 minutes to make and prepare in the pan. Next was to mix the cream cheese with the sugar. This is also where I had a slight mental breakdown trying to figure out how a mixer works. After spilling and mixing half of my cheesecake batter all over the kitchen I used my one help line to call my mom to walk me through how to properly use a hand mixer. After having my pride crushed just a little I resumed with my recipe and added the rest of the ingredients then set it into the oven for about 35-40 minutes.

Aside from the mixer incident, the hardest part of this recipe for me was knowing when to take the cheesecake out of the oven. One recipe that I looked at said that it should be golden brown and semi firm throughout, another said that the middle ring of it should jiggle, so honestly I don’t know. After the 35 minutes it still seemed like it needed more time so I put it back into the oven for another 5, but when I came to check on it after the 5 minutes it didn’t seem like anything changed, so I just took it out. After removing it from the oven, I set it on the counter for 3 hours to cool and set.

Then the moment of truth came when I dipped my knife into the cake to cut a piece. Right when I cut down the center of the cheesecake it seemed to sink right in and reveal a gooey center. Now, I am no cheesecake expert but I am sure that cheesecakes do not ooze, so this meant that the cheesecake is either under-baked or still needs time to set or both (which would be a big bummer). I was almost tempted to fire up the oven again but I know baking doesn’t typically work that way. Reluctantly I continued to cut a slice to analyze the taste and overall flavor. It wasn’t too sweet which was nice and the Oreo crust offered a nice bitterness to it. It wasn’t bad! I would give it a solid 6.5/10.

I am hoping overnight it will set more and the center won’t stay gooey (i’ll update you next week). I was definitely disappointed in how this week’s baking went, but after reflecting on today’s events I came to a realization. Baking is like my experience with teaching in a classroom this year, no matter how prepared you feel, sometimes things won’t work out, and that’s okay because it is a part of learning. It is impossible to expect yourself to be amazing and an expert at something when you haven’t done it before. It is a learning curve, but with a little time and effort things will start to become easier.

Another week another treat. This weeks focus was on cinnamon buns and trying out a recipe that uses yeast. I want to continue to challenge myself as I learn how to bake for this inquiry, so the time has come for me to step it up a notch. As always, I started this week with research to find the best and easiest to understand cinnamon bun recipe. After looking through all the different variations of recipes that call for raisins, nuts, cream cheese and icing sugar I settled on the first recipe that popped up with five star ratings; Homemade Cinnamon Rolls.

The first step in this recipe was to make the dough. This was the only part where I could go wrong in this recipe because of the yeast, if my milk was too warm or if my eggs and butter were too cold it wouldn’t work. I started by heating my milk up and then I sprinkled the yeast packet in and gave it a stir before adding the rest of my ingredients. After mixing all my ingredients, I kneaded my dough for 5 minutes and set it in a warm place to rise. This is the part where I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. After 30 minutes I checked under the towel that was draped over top of the bowl and was instantly disappointed. It didn’t even rise an inch, or centimeter. I was just hoping that maybe it needed some more time to rise so I left it for another 20 minutes and then returned to the dough still in the same form. Absolutely heartbreaking.

After putting so much time and effort into making this dough I thought I would still give it a shot so I rolled it out, spread my filling onto it then rolled it up and prepared it to bake. When it was all ready to go on my pan it looked really good honestly. The recipe recommended that it needed to be set aside to rise again before baking but we all know how that turned out the first time, so I just set it in the oven. After 17 minutes the cinnamon buns rose and were all yummy and golden brown. They looked really good and smelled amazing right out of the oven so I still had hope for them. After waiting for them to cool I topped them with my cream cheese frosting and called it a day.

I would say these cinnamon buns ended up being passable. Not the best thing I have made nor the worst. They had really good taste and the filling and cream cheese was amazing but the texture was so off. They weren’t fluffy nor soft which are all the best things of a good cinnamon bun. I honestly don’t know where I went wrong but it must have been something with the yeast, maybe not letting it proof in the milk before adding the rest of my ingredients or not kneading it enough but this recipe was definitely harder than I thought it would be. Sadly I would rate these cinnamon buns a 6/10 because of the texture. I think next time I might try a different recipe and do more research on how to use active dry yeast.

For this weeks inquiry blog I decided to make one of my all time favorite desserts, lemon bars. Now I have never made any kind of dessert bar in my entire life nor have I seen anyone make one, so couldn’t even tell you where you would begin. I first set out to do some research on how one actually makes a lemon bar and what the steps might be. After looking at a few options of recipes I decided on the one that would take the least amount of time and with the best title; Luscious Lemon Bars.

After choosing the recipe, I set out to buy all my ingredients and begin. The recipe was split up into two sections, the first being the crust and the second the filling. For the crust, the ingredients were fairly simple and just needed a good mix and to be flattened on the baking pan. For this I needed some extra help to really push it down on the pan and make sure it was flat. Once the crust was ready to go it needed to freeze for 10/15 minutes and then bake for 15-20 minutes. I still don’t really understand why it needed to freeze first but I followed the instructions and then threw the crust in the oven while I started on my filling.

The filling wasn’t hard to make either, the only thing that caused me grief was obtaining 2 tablespoons of lemon zest. I ended up giving this job to my friend so she spent a good 15 minutes grating 6 lemons while I put the rest of the ingredients together (thank god for her). Once the filling was ready to go I took the crust out of the oven and poured the filling on top of it, and set it back into the oven for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes were up I set the tray on a cooling rack where it had to sit for a couple hours before serving.

I am really building up my baking confidence because let me tell you, these lemon bars were very luscious. They had the perfect balance of sweet and tart that a lemon bar should have, the crust was baked perfectly and the filling was so yummy. I couldn’t have been happier with how these turned out and I would strongly say that I would give these lemon bars a 9.5/10. The only thing I would change for the future would be to make the crust a little thinner but they still tasted amazing.

This week for my baking inquiry I decided to make cheese scones! I had a hard time deciding on what kind of scone to make and had my heart set on raspberry scones but because they are not in season, I didn’t want to take the risk of them not turning out, so I chose cheese instead; a classic. While researching recipes for cheese scones I found that they were honestly all very similar and had common techniques in order to obtain a nice flaky texture and a good rise. The trick is to have cold cubed butter and combine that with your flour mixture so that there are no large lumps and to knead the dough around 6 to 7 times, enough to combine all the ingredients and flour but not too much to make them hard and disc like. Another thing I learned from research is that cheese scones require a large amount of baking powder, I guess this is to help them rise but when I was adding the baking powder it felt like I was doing something wrong! Quite a few recipes called for cayenne pepper which I also thought was strange but I went with it anyway.

During the baking process of my cheese scones I actually felt fairly confident. The first thing the recipe called for was to combine all dry ingredients which was 95% of the ingredients so that was nice. Next was to cut in the cold butter and start to combine it with the flour, making sure there wasn’t any large lumps. After this, I added the cheese and buttermilk and they were pretty much done. From there all you need to do start to form a ball and knead the dough. When I came to the point where I was trying to form a ball I hard a hard time because there was so much flour still and I started to doubt myself just a little bit in my measuring capabilities. This step took some time to work with the dough until it was malleable enough to knead without cracking. After kneading way more then the recommended 6 to 7 times I rolled out the dough and started to cut out circles to make my scones.

After baking, the scones came out really well! I was very happy with how much they rose and with the overall color on the outside. When I cut them open they were very flaky and had a nice airiness to them which I think was caused by all the baking powder. They had a perfect flavor balance of sweet and salty  and everyone who tried them really enjoyed them, which definitely built up my baking confidence. Overall I think I would rate these scones a 9/10! They tasted really good and the only negative thing I would say about them is that they were small in size. The recipe said I could make 16, but even with cutting them a little larger and making 12, they were still pretty small. So next time I might double my recipe and make them a little larger.

This week for my baking inquiry I decided to take it up a notch and bake muffins. Preparing for this week I took some time to do a little research on what kind of muffin I wanted to make. I was deciding between making a blueberry muffin, lemon poppy seed or carrot muffin’s which are are equally my favorite. After researching more I decided to go with a carrot muffin because I already owned all the ingredients that it called for making it less costly. Going into making this recipe I was worried about using carrots because I have never baked with them before and I wasn’t sure if I needed to do anything or pre-cook them before hand. The last thing anyone wants is a crunchy carrot muffin but after a thorough review of the recipe I was assured that it would all be fine and that the carrots would bake in the muffin. I was also nervous/curious about using so many different types of spices, I used a Spiced Carrot Muffin recipe which called for cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. The only thing that I can think about the uses similar ingredients is pumpkin pie so I was curious to see how the muffins would turn out and taste with these added ingredients.

During the baking process the muffins seemed to come along very well and the consistency of the batter looked great! I followed the recipe exactly and I again was enjoying myself in the process. After everything was combined I set them in the oven and let them bake for 20-25 minutes as recommended. After 20 minutes I took them out and tested them with a toothpick to check if they were ready. After I pulled them out I set them on a cooling rack and waited a few minutes to try one. The muffins visually looked great, they rose really well and obtained a nice golden brown along the edges. Unfortunately I think they looked better than they tasted. I don’t know what it was but they just had no flavor. The texture of them was really great and they were nice and moist but they didn’t really taste like anything. Next time I think I will add more more of the spices specifically cinnamon and maybe some orange juice or some lemon juice. Other than that I was very proud of how they turned out and proud of myself for baking more goodies.

Today was the day folks, I baked my very first batch of chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, and to my and my families surprise they turned out really good! I followed the recipe pretty well but I did run into a few problems. Problem number one was that all the mixing steps called for an electric mixer which unfortunately I do not own, so I just had to do my best and hope that a fork and a little elbow grease would do the trick when creaming the sugar with the butter and mixing all the ingredients into the dough. Another problem was that the recipe called for 3 CUPS OF OATMEAL call me insane but that just seems like way too much. After I combined my wet and dry ingredients the cookie dough was the perfect consistency until I started adding the cups of oats. The dough started to get very thick and dry so I only used 2 cups of oats which still seemed like an absurd amount. It was at this moment where I really thought I messed something up, i was thinking that maybe I didn’t add enough of one of the wet ingredients because it was so dry but I decided to leave it and hope that it would turn out in the end. After making the dough I set it in the fridge for 45 minutes to cool then took it out and started making little balls and setting them on to my trays lined with parchment paper.

I then placed them in the oven for 15 minutes and crossed my fingers. After the 15 minutes I pulled them out, set them on a rack to cool and then tried them. I was very happy about how chewy they were, and how they were sweet but not too sweet which was a really nice surprise. Based on taste, texture and appearance I would give these cookies a 9/10. I think with some more chocolate chips they would be a home run but I just didn’t put enough in which is something that I now know to do next time. My overall experience while baking these cookies was actually very fun. It didn’t feel like i was doing homework, I was able to play some music and take my time to enjoy  it which I felt like I needed. It was a very good break that also resulted in building my baking confidence and with a container full of cookies that I can proudly say I made.

So this is it folks, day one, part one of learning how to bake in one semester. I thought I would start myself off with something easy, something that I couldn’t possibly mess up; something like cookies. Okay, so here’s my thinking, I have made cookies before, mostly with the help of my mom or my friends but usually they always turn out tasting good even if they get messed up. So by starting with this it might be good to raise my baking confidence right off the bat and to get used to some of the most basic techniques like separating your wet ingredients with your dry. Look at me go with these technical terms! So the cookies that I am going to bake first are going to be chocolate chip oatmeal cookies because they are my favorite.  After making that decision I then took to my computer to do some research on what recipe I want to use and narrowed my options down to two.     

#1 Sallys Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

#2 Live Well Bake Often Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Both look really good and give very good instructions to follow for each recipe but they are both very different which is where my inexperience shines through because I don’t know what the difference in ingredients will do. Sally’s recipe calls for 2 large eggs and a tablespoon of molasses and Live Well’s calls for 1 egg and doesn’t have molasses. I am not even sure what molasses is, and I have no clue what it might do to the cookie but because I am curious and because of how good the cookie looks in the picture, my gut is telling me to try Sally’s recipe and hope for the best.

I am confident that next week is going to go well. I have good instructions, a solid recipe, and some experience in baking cookies so I feel as though the odds are in my favor! Lets hope I’m right.

Tune in next week for the results and to see how it went!

Hello again friends,

So, I have a bit of a predicament, I can’t decide what I want to do for my free inquiry for  my tech class.  I can literally choose anything I want, like anything! I feel like I am at the worlds best ice cream parlor that has so many yummy flavors and I am told I can only choose one. It’s heartbreaking really, but the idea I always keep coming back to is baking. I would love to learn how to bake using different ingredients and different methods. You see, I have been working at a bakery for 4 years now, which is crazy, and resulting from this I can’t even make a batch of cookies from scratch. I don’t know how I have lived this long and have so much trouble following basic baking instructions. I haven’t fully thought out how I might approach this inquiry but I would like to start with something simple such as cookies and then slowly work my way up to baking a loaf of bread!

It sounds very ambitious I know but I think it could be fun, and it is something that I have been wanted to do for a while now. One reason i would like to learn how to bake is because it would be nice to bring homemade baked goods to events rather than buying desserts from my bakery all the time, and I would love to incorporate baking in my own classroom one day. I think it is a fun activity to do with kids and can teach them a basic skill as well as simple measurements! As for how I might go about learning how to bake, I think I should start with doing some research by looking at different recipes on Pinterest, in cook books, and online cookbooks. After this I want to plan out the order that I should bake things in based on the difficulty level. Then I will focus on the ingredients being used and start to think about my plan of attack.

Wish me luck friends! I might need it