Half-baked

[liv]

I've decided that the new skill I most want to build up this year is baking. I can cook savoury things reasonably well, but I really can't bake at all. I've spent a lot of time being too intimidated to start, and this is a bit ridiculous, it surely can't be that hard compared to some of the molecular biology things I do without even thinking about it.

hatam_soferet has been encouraging me, and I think the next step is to make a public commitment that I'm going to make this change in my habits. So, here's the plan: I'm appealing for your favourite easy recipes for things like cookies, brownies, cup-cakes, American muffins, anything you think a beginner could do. If you provide a recipe that I can understand and follow, and if you don't mind PMing me with a postal address, I will send you half a dozen of the first batch. Yes, anywhere in the world; if you live outside Europe maybe suggesting things that you know travel well would be most helpful.

This way you get literal cookies for helping me learn a new skill. And I get an incentive to actually get on with it and learn to bake, as opposed to holding on to this intention for years and never actually doing it. And hey, if you feel like evaluating the results of my baking to see whether they came out like they're supposed to, that's even more useful.

For reference, being European I prefer to measure ingredients by weight rather than volume, but I'm sure the internet will help me convert if your favourite recipe is in cups. My oven is gas; again, I can convert temperatures to Gas Marks, but I am not sure if it will have exactly the same characteristics as an electric oven. Assume I seriously don't know any standard baking techniques; if you use a technical term please point me to a link that explains what's involved?

And yes, it is a month before Passover. This is partly to give me an additional incentive to get on with this plan rather than procrastinating, and partly because it would actually be a good idea to use up my flour etc rather than throw it out. If your recipe requires specialist flours I might wait until after the festival to acquire them, though.

Any takers? Alternatively, if anyone wants to come and visit and show me techniques in person, that would be excellent too, we could have a baking day :-)

Comments

[monanotlisa]

Baking is magic. :)