Tips and Techniques Posts

Syrup being poured onto a stack of pancakes

I've baked over 18,000 pancakes. Here's how to make your best.

From preparing toppings to greasing your griddle, these are my top tips.

Oct 26, 2021
toasted nuts on French toast

5 practical ways to toast nuts

From quick-toasted to slow-roasted, choose the process that works for you.

Oct 20, 2021
A stack of pain au chocolat with one cut into showing the structure

When less is more: Why fewer folds make a better croissant

A pastry technique that actually saves you time.

Oct 19, 2021
loaf of sourdough bread

Here’s how I streamline my sourdough baking

Cut to the chase — and still get great results.

Oct 15, 2021
Hands folding bread dough

Why this pro baker doesn't knead

For better dough strength and more flexibility, I turn to folding instead.

Oct 8, 2021
Baked pizza being removed from oven with baking peel

How to turn any home oven into a pizza oven

You’ll never hit 900˚F, but with the right tools (and a few bricks), great pizza is possible.

Oct 4, 2021
Pizza being pulled from Ooni pizza oven

Make the most of your Ooni pizza oven

5 tips for wood-fired pizza success.

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

The air fryer cookies are my new favorite baking method

It's the key to gooey centers and crispy edges in chocolate chip cookies.

Oct 1, 2021
A baker folding wet dough in a square pan with their hands

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 you refrigerate 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
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
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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