Common Baking Failures and Fixes

                  We’ve all been there, right? I’m sure I’m not alone in this. When the cookies burn on the bottom but are golden brown on top. When the cake comes out stiff and rubbery even though YOU KNOW you followed the recipe to a T.

Baking is truly a science. The method matters. The temperature matters. The time matters. So I asked you what are your most common baking issue are AND you came through, friends. as you always do. So, here we go.

Cake

My cakes always dome in the middle?!!? How can I fix this?

This is a very common thing. Cakes dome, it’s in their nature. Science predicts that the cake closest to the heat (the bottom and the outsides) will cook faster than the center. This leaves the center with plenty of extra time in the oven to rise. Here is the fix:

  FIX: Wilton Bake Even Cake Strips. They are magic.

or, level that cake, girl!

My cake came out rubbery??? Wutup?

Rubbery cake usually is the by-product of one or more of these causes:

1. You’ve over-mixed the batter. The eggs in a cake are precious and will stiffen the longer you mix. That’s why we first cream the butter and sugar together leaving it light and fluffy before we add the eggs. They are finicky.

2. You… may have forgotten an ingredient. I know… It’s hard to remember if you actually used the correct amounts after a fresh batch of stress baking.

3. Expired leavenings. Your baking powder and baking soda do have a shelf life and will lose potency. If that happens, it will mess with the texture of your cake.

 FIX: But, let’s not get upset… you can always crumble this cake, freeze it and use it for a future cake-pop situation. Nothing is lost that cannot be found.

My cake came out too dry?? Halp.

                  Your batter is perfect, you’ve remembered everything, your ingredients are up-to-date and you are putting that oven to good use. But, the cake came out dry. What in the world?

1. There is LITTLE-TO-NO margin for error when baking a cake. When it’s done, it’s done…. Take it out of the oven. Your cake should never look dark golden. This is why I never trust the toothpick method. By the time the toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cake, it’s already over-done.

2. And, while we would all like to think our oven REALLY is registering at 350 degrees when it says so, it isn’t. That’s why we can’t nail down an exact time the cake will be done. The last 10 minutes are crucial. Take it out of the oven as soon as you touch the top of the cake and it doesn’t deflate. I mean AS SOON as this happens.

FIX – But look, it all happens to us. We get a call and all of the sudden we are distracted. We check the cake, it’s not done and forget to set a second 3-minute timer. Dry cakes are easily moistened back to life again by drizzling on simple syrup before you frost the cake.

Simple Syrup: Equal parts water and sugar. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

Is your oven running at the correct temp? Buy an Oven Thermometer!

Cookies

My cookies always stick to the bottom of the pan even though the tops are perfect?

Oh man, this is a frustrating thing to be sure. So, here is the best way to fix this.

1. Preheat your oven longer. The oven may need extra time to evenly distribute the heat.

2. Buy a really nice baking sheet. It’s more than likely that this is the problem. If your baking sheet is bending when it reaches heat, that’s a sign it’s not thick enough. Buy a cookie sheet with good density.

My fave? These Sur La Table baking sheets and these William Sanoma baking sheets.

3. You won’t believe the wonders that can happen when you bake with Silpats. They are a bakers’ must-have.

My cookies are dry and dense?

1.Just like cakes, the eggs can be over-mixed. When adding eggs to my cookie batter in a standing mixer, I just mix on low for about 10 seconds.

2. Using room temperature eggs will also help with mixing the eggs into a butter mixture and keeping a smooth consistency without having to over mix to combine properly.

When to chill my cookie dough and when to not chill my cookie dough?                 

Do: Chilling your cookie dough before baking can make wonderful soft/gooey insides for your favorite chocolate chip cookie. I say you can do this with just about any chocolate chip cookie with a few exceptions.

Don’t: Using this method with peanut butter-based cookies or gluten-free cookies might result in a cookie that won’t leaven as well as its room-temp counterpart. If you still want to try this method, flatten the cookie dough out before chilling and baking.

My sugar cookie batter looks too dry?

Unfortunately, there isn’t a great way to troubleshoot this. I would just go with it! It might just bake a little faster in the oven.

One way to help prevent this in the future is to fluff the flour up first before placing it in the measuring cup.

My macarons don’t ever get fe….

Whoa! Hold up right there. French Macarons are a whole other post… One day soon…

Bread

How do I know when my bread dough has enough flour?

Who has time to weigh ALL of your ingredients? I know, it’s the foolproof method to help with consistency. But, we don’t always have time for this. A good ole’ measuring cup and feeling it out works for many-a-baker. It is all by feel, and I get it… I prefer a black and white answer, so, this is what I go for.

For Lean Doughs (uses only water, yeast, salt, and flour): Slowly add flour JUST until the dough stops being sticky. This will differ with all recipes obviously, but it’s always been my rule of thumb that’s worked!

Bread Dough Ratio= 5 parts flour: 3 Parts Liquid

For Enriched Doughs (includes the addition of milk, fats and/or eggs): When it’s being kneaded in a standing mixer it should eventually start to pull away from the sides of the bowl. If it doesn’t, add flour just 1 tablespoon at a time leaving plenty of time for kneading in between additions.

When is my bread done?

Lean: 190 Degrees Fahrenheit

Enriched: 190-200 Degrees Fahrenheit

Pie Crust

My pie crust looks like the top layer melted? What the what?

This just means that the butter wasn’t properly chilled when it went in the oven. If the butter is room temp when baked, it just melts and evenly distributes creating a wavy-melted look. Butter always wins, take the time to re-chill the butter before baking.

My pie crust is stiff? *places head in hand*

Look, pie crust is a battle field. This occurs when you use too much liquid. It’s a really delicate dough, I get it. Form the dough JUST until it comes together and the flour doesn’t look dry.

My pie crust JUST isn’t flaky.

It’s probably a case of over working the butter. You want the dough to be well marbled with chilled butter CHUNKS. We don’t want the butter to be well incorporated into the flour as this will create a tart-like crust. The chilled speckles of butter steam in the oven and create wonderful pockets of flakiness that we all know and love. Treat those pockets with love and care.

FIX: When in doubt…. chill in the fridge. Keep the butter cold as if your pie depends on it.

My pie crust looks ugly

Good. Ugly pies taste great. It’s a known fact.

How do you feel? We finished. Well, at least with part one. There are so many things to touch on but these are always the most common. So, let’s roll up our sleeves and bake-on, my friends.

Have issues that I didn’t address? Please feel free to comment your questions/concerns and I’ll be sure to include add them to this post OR save them for the next edition!