learn to bake

I realized the formulation of this goal was too vague. I certainly know how to bake a few things (not that it turns out great every time, but still) and I do occasionally bake something. I would, however, like to bake more regularly, try out some new recipes (not spend ages on tastespotting for nothing) and finally remove the barrier that has kept me from enjoying it recently. I guess I will have to articulate my goal better to achieve what I really want. 1 week ago

The brownies turned out awesome. The scones were pretty good too. 1 week ago

I shall go and attempt Double Chocolate Brownies. I think in my case post-mortem will reveal ‘death-by-chocolate’. 1 week ago

Attempting cinnamon rolls, buttermilk scones and wheat flour bread this week. 3 weeks ago

most recent baking fail:
chocolate swirl cake 1 month ago

I’m kind of obsessed with baking, but I was told by my therapist that this urge to bake was due to OCD. She said this is because I don’t stop baking until what ever I was trying to make turns out perfect- taste and appearance. I thought my relentlessness was due to some determination that I thought I had… but when I was told otherwise, the urge to bake more went away… for awhile. I’m not as obsessed as I used to be, but I still want to bake ‘perfect’ cookies. >8U 2 months ago

One of my big goals with this whole baking thing was to learn how to make my own pie crust. It’s something that my mom makes look so easy, but I just cannot get the hang of it.

By now, I’ve made a ton of stuff – I’ve worked with yeast and cakes and frostings and candies. Yet I still cannot get the right idea with pie crust.

It took me three tries today to get one that I could even make a pie in. The pie is setting now, so hopefully it turns out to be good and I can put a little bit of this frustration behind me! 8 months ago

This week, I made quick breads for the first time. It was something I never explicitly did before, but making these breads really wasn’t any different than baking a cake. I designed the recipes myself (another Food Network “mix and match” recipe). I created zucchini walnut oat bread with cream cheese frosting (dense and less sweet, but delicious) and apple cranberry chocolate chip with vanilla glaze (which I have yet to taste, but it did smell delicious). I was thrilled with how easy they were to make, and I thought it was a good starting point for my summer of baking.

• Learn how to bake more complicated recipes (pie dough, anything with yeast, more complicated and multi-faceted cakes, etc.)
• Learn how to make candies
• Continue to develop my cooking skills while doing the rest

I had a good start this week with quick breads and trail mix bark, so next week I will try recipes that are slightly more complicated and see how that goes! 9 months ago