Hints and tips from the kitchen — A few guidelines for the home baker

06 Sep, 2015 - 00:09 0 Views

The Sunday News

BAKING with Clive Nyathi
YOU may wonder and say OMG where is the recipe today? Well even at school you get theory and practical lessons to increase your understanding of all tasks that you have to carry out. Here is how it will all go:
— First week of the month will be about hints and tips from the kitchen
— Second week something sweet
— Third week would be something savoury
— Fourth week something informative
— Fifth week special

Useful facts
The first issue I would like to address is the issue of cleanliness in the kitchen. For you to create good healthy bakes one must work in a good clean environment. Believe me no one and I repeat no one would like to eat food from a dirty kitchen. The integrity of the baker is therefore based on this fundamental principle of working in a clean environment to protect the people who are going to eat the food. This especially goes to those in the home business, they have to be extra careful when baking to give the consumer a healthy end product.

Keeping it clean is as easy as saying A, B, C. Hygiene is of utmost importance. Always ensure that your body is clean, wear clean clothes and cover your head with either a hair net or chef’s hat to prevent hair or dandruff from falling into food. To avoid contamination always cut your finger nails short because they harbour germs and dirt unless you have some other way to keep them clean. A must do is to always wash your hands before baking and in between.

Ever heard the saying clean as you go. Well it should be applied and it is easier that way. When you clean as you go you are able to keep everything in order. Believe me if you leave those dirty baking trays in the oven and say you will clean them later, the truth is you will not clean them until your next bake and by then they would have developed moulds or even rust meaning more time wasted on scrapping and cleaning.

Ever got stuck on oven control options, well here is something for you. A must do is that you should always preheat your oven beforehand. Preheating ensures that by the time you bake the oven will be hot enough and will be at the right temperature.
NB: Ovens vary and if you are in any doubt about the temperature control of your oven please revisit your oven manual and read the manufacturer’s temperature chart.

Oven temperature chart
Very cool 110-130 degrees Celsius
Cool 140-150 degrees Celsius
Moderate 170-180 degrees Celsius
Moderately hot 190-200 degrees Celsius
Hot 220-230 degrees Celsius
Very hot 240 degrees Celsius

Then there are others who are always worried that their cakes do not come out as they should. Some people, when baking, hit the bake switch then when the cake is raised they then hit the grill button. Well here is a tip for you; you are doing it all wrong. When you bake you have to preheat on the bake and grill at the same time. That way you get a good bake fast and also reduce baking time thereby reducing baking time.

Tips on fresh cream
Always refrigerate your fresh cream 24 hours prior to using it for a good whip.
When making fresh cream always ensure that your utensils are grease-free by washing them in hot soapy water and rinsing in clean water.

Whip your fresh cream until its thick making sure not to over-whip it or it’ll lose its structure and become watery.
You can add your favourite colours to your cream; I have discovered that gel colours give you a perfect colour finish.
Use your fresh cream to decorate your light cakes like sponge cakes.

Fresh cream can be also be mixed with cooked custard to make a wonderful desert.

I hope you enjoyed these tips.

Until next time happy baking . . .

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