47 Pro Tips That Guarantee Better Bakes
Spring Bake is here, and it’s time to break out the flour, sugar, and butter for all the ambitious baking you’ve been meaning to tackle. We’ll be rolling out new recipes each week, but to truly make great cookies, cakes, pastries, and breads, you need guidance too. Below we’ve rounded up a handful of essential (and sometimes surprising!) tips from pro bakers, cookbook authors, and Epicurious editors—all of which will take your baking chops to the next level. Whether it’s finding the best substitute for heavy cream or the secret to a perfectly swirly Swiss roll, this list of little pro moves can make your spring baking even more fruitful.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne1/47Floss Your Cinnamon Rolls
Using this simple, inexpensive, ubiquitous dental hygiene product is the answer to perfectly shaped cinnamon rolls. Unlike a knife, dental floss lets you portion the rolls into pristinely clean, squish-free slices. Just be sure not to use the mint-flavored kind.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Drew Aichele2/47Add Cream Cheese to Your Pie Dough
Cream cheese is a rare ingredient that simultaneously promotes and inhibits gluten for a crust that’s both flaky and sturdy. Plus, it adds a delicate, tangy flavor that’s “incomparable,” according to expert baker Rose Levy Beranbaum.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich3/47Start That Cake in a Cold (Yes, Cold) Oven
Nope, don’t preheat that oven. Instead, trust cookbook author Cheryl Day’s “low and slow” method. The gradual increase in heat and extended cooking time yield a pound cake with a deep, flavorful crust and a buttery cloud-like interior.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne4/47Fire Up the Instant Pot for Fruit Curds
Double boiler? Don’t know her! Counterintuitive as it may seem, you can make perfectly delicious fruit curds in your Instant Pot.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Susan Ottaviano and Stevie Stewart5/47Get Perfect Swirls in Your Swiss Roll, Every Time
Rolled cakes like Swiss rolls are prone to cracking, especially during the rolling process. But this method can save you from all the misery.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton6/47Cover Your Cobbler With Hot Water
It sounds counterintuitive, but adding boiling water to your cobbler actually makes it crispier, rather than soggy. The sugar and water bake into a crunchy, shiny, crackly top layer, firm enough to smack a spoon against without breaking but that shatters easily when you plunge a utensil in—a bit like the torched lid of a crème brûlée.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Judy Haubert7/47For Perfect Layer Cakes, Embrace the Sheet Pan
Yes, the same pan you use to roast your broccoli is the answer to the perfect layer cake. The sheet pan allows you to bake the layers evenly, quickly, and all at once. No domes or cracks, only perfect stacks.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich10/47Add Coriander to Boost Your Blueberries
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne11/47Master the Reverse Creaming Technique
Creaming butter and sugar together before all else seems like a cardinal rule of cake baking, so doing the opposite may feel a little sacrilegious. But according to Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of The Cake Bible, it’s a faster and foolproof way to mix cake. Starting with the dry stuff then slowly adding room-temperature butter before bringing the remaining ingredients into the mix coats the flour in fat making it hard to overmix the batter.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne12/47Listen to Grandma and Use Mayonnaise In Your Cake
Photo by Henry Hargreaves15/47Head to The Freezer Aisle
Store-bought phyllo and puff pastry are the ultimate cookie shortcuts for pastry chefs like Christina Tosi, Claire Saffitz, and Nadiya Hussain. They’re an easy way to make seemingly difficult cookies like pinwheels and palmiers without the stress of attempting laminated doughs at home.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell17/47Finesse a Heavy Cream Emergency With the Right Substitute
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne18/47Forget the Stand Mixer, Make Cookies in the Food Processor
Mixing cookie dough in a food processor lets you get all your chopping and stirring done without dirtying too many bowls and cutting boards. In addition to being faster and cleaner, it keeps the ingredients cool, which prevents the dough from becoming overworked or spreading too quickly in the oven.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Megan Hedgpeth, Food Styling by Samantha Seneviratne and Jason Schreiber20/47Age Your Dough
When it comes to spice cookies like Lebkuchen, aging the dough—anywhere from overnight to four weeks—makes the spices taste full-flavored but less harsh, and more evenly spread throughout each bite.
Photo by Joseph De Leo24/47Brush Up on Baker’s Math
Do your failed loaves have you feeling like Mercury is perpetually in breadrograde? You might just need a quick brush-up on baker's math (a.k.a. baker’s percentages). Understanding this system of ingredient ratios can help you determine whether you’ll end up with a tender crust or a light, chewy loaf.
Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Susan Spungen26/47Bake With Milk Powder
Liquid milk adds water to batters and doughs, too much of which can ruin the texture of the finished baked good. Using milk powder instead of liquid gives you the benefits of milk without adding extra water, giving your dough a dose of concentrated milk sugars and protein. For extra-boosted flavor, toast the powder before proceeding.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne27/47Marshmallow Whip Is the Better Whipped Cream
Pipe it, dollop it, eat it by the spoonful. Oh, and if you want to keep this stuff around for one or two days, that’s fine, too. Worried we might be asking you to make homemade marshmallows for this pie topper? Nope—not unless you want to. This stuff starts with a store-bought jar of marshmallow fluff.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks30/47Make Smart Swaps
What's a well-meaning host to do if they want to make a cinnamon streusel coffee cake for a Sunday-morning brunch but don't have any Bundt pans on hand? We talked to Baking Bible author Rose Levy Beranbaum and Flavor Flours author Alice Medrich to find out the right ways to bend the baking pan rules.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone31/47Bake Cookie Dough in a Ramekin
Have leftover chocolate chip cookie dough in the fridge? Give it the chocolate lava cake-treatment with this brilliant technique, perfect for when you want a snack fast.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks32/47Top Biscuits With Crumble
The ultimate biscuits are lighter than air and melt-in-your-mouth rich. These biscuits? They're even better, thanks to a little crumble topping.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone34/47Nail Perfectly Round Cookies
This one trick from baking expert Dorie Greenspan will help your cookies run rings around the competition.
Photo by Shutterstock35/47Bake in Pyrex, the Right Way
Don't let exploding glass happen to you. Here's how to prevent it.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks36/47Use the Best Wash
Don't know which wash to use? Egg, milk, cream, or a mix: they all do something different when it comes to finishing your dough. Here's a guide to all the different washes for pie dough.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks38/47Make Cookies Soft and Chewy, Every Time
Forget about under-baking—this simple ingredient swap guarantees soft cookies every time.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova39/47Perfect Your Pie Dough–Rolling Game
Not sure how thick (or thin) to roll that dough? This trick will bring change to your pie crust game.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks40/47Never Over-Mix Batter Again
It might look a bit strange, but this Danish dough whisk is our favorite tool for mixing dough.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks41/47Give Cakes and Cookies a Pretty Finishing Touch
All you need is one simple pantry staple to dress up your favorite desserts.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone42/47Make Sure Your Baking Powder Still Works
This is a super easy way to avoid baking flat cookies.
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton43/47Keep Baking Even When You Run Out of Cornstarch
Here are five easy alternatives that get the job done.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, food styling by Katherine Sacks44/47Become a Baking Improvisational Pro
We know: sometimes you want to veer off the recipe road map. Baking legends Rose Levy Beranbaum and Alice Medrich share their best secrets to bending the baking rules.
Photo by Andrew Purcell, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Carrie Purcell45/47Make Your Cakes Moist
How do you turn a good Easter coconut cake into an irresistible one? Hint: It's got nothing to do with the cake or the frosting.
Photo by Shutterstock46/47Sift Only When Necessary
A sifter might feel old-fashioned, but maybe your granny was onto something. Here's what you need to know.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, food styling by Katherine Sacks47/47Skip the Chocolate, Sometimes
Sometimes, baking tips seem counterintuitive. Like this one for attaining the best brownies: Don't use chocolate.
