Tips and Techniques Posts

Roasting Tomatillos

Fire up your Ooni pizza oven

5 tips for tabletop wood-fired success.

Oct 4, 2021
Hands holding chocolate chip cookie cut in half to show interior

The air fryer is my new favorite way to make chocolate chip cookies

It's the key to gooey centers and crispy edges.

Oct 1, 2021
Baker using hands to fold breading dough

Why kneading isn’t always the best way to develop bread dough

Different doughs require different methods. Here’s your guide to the most common approaches.

Sep 29, 2021
Baker covers a bowl of bread dough with plastic wrap

"Can I refrigerate my bread dough and bake it later?"

The answer is yes! And you can do it with almost any recipe. Here's how.

Sep 28, 2021
Shortbread baked with Baking Sugar Alternative

How to sub Baking Sugar Alternative for brown sugar or confectioners' sugar

Ditch the sugar — keep the sweetness.

Sep 27, 2021
Japanese Chocolate Milk Bread

How to give any bread a chocolate makeover

Considerations for off-roading in the land of cocoa.

Sep 23, 2021
Four chocolate chip cookies

Why I always bake a few test cookies first

Trying a new recipe? Don't risk a full-batch fail.

Sep 14, 2021
Baking soda on baking work surface

What's the difference between baking soda and baking powder?

And can you substitute one for the other?

Sep 10, 2021
z

Do you think you killed your sourdough starter?

Your starter hasn’t been fed in months and looks awful, but it’s OK — really.

Sep 2, 2021
Hand pouring salt into bowl of dough

"What if I forgot to add salt to my bread dough?"

Oh, and I left out the yeast too! Can my bread be saved?

Aug 31, 2021
Dutch oven with high hydration bread dough

5 tips for working with high-hydration doughs

How to troubleshoot slack doughs.

Aug 30, 2021
Pouring brown butter into cookie dough

A butter trick for better chocolate chip cookies

For flawless chocolate chip cookies, bakers brown their butter — but only some of it.

Aug 27, 2021
Sliding pita into a wood-fired oven

How to get the most out of the full wood-fired experience

Building fires and building communities.

Aug 26, 2021
Using dough scraper to cut rolls

A $3 tool that cuts, carries, and cleans

It’s a do-it-all marvel.

Aug 24, 2021
Sliced pandan chiffon cake

What you need to know about baking with pandan

How to put this classic and colorful Singaporean staple to use.

Aug 20, 2021
Hands in bowl of flour

A beginner’s guide to gluten

A little bread-ucation goes a long way.

Aug 18, 2021
Wet bread dough being stirred

When it comes to bread dough, is wetter really better?

An examination of high-hydration doughs.

Aug 16, 2021
cake doughnuts

Can you make doughnuts in an air fryer?

The answer is yes. But do they measure up to the real thing?

Aug 12, 2021
Electric beater mixing cake batter

A pastry chef’s trick for preventing curdled cake batter

Banish broken batters forever.

Aug 11, 2021
Baker using a wood-fired oven

So you want to build a wood-fired oven? Start here.

The first step is deciding which oven is right for you.

Aug 4, 2021
Sourdough culture in a clear glass jar.

Ask the Bread Coach: Can sourdough starter be too active?

Sometimes the secret to a tall loaf is a starter that’s been slowed down.

Jul 29, 2021
Sugar-free carrot cake

For me, this sugar substitute isn't as good as sugar — it's better

I enjoy these zero-added-sugar baked treats even more than the originals.

Jul 27, 2021
Plated biscuits

Erika Council's tips for better biscuits

The award-winning baker continues her family’s legacy, one biscuit at a time.

Jul 26, 2021
Plated buckwheat brownies

A guide to baking with buckwheat

This under-appreciated flour is the key to more flavorful bakes.

Jul 21, 2021