Whether you’re following the ‘rule’ that boiling water must be salty before you put pasta into it or adding sugar to a spicy dish will dull the bursting flavour, there are a multitude of myths in the cooking industry.
KitchenAid’s Training Specialist Belinda Gazzard is well aware of the narratives behind the mixing bowls (or Stand Mixers in the brand’s case!) and has sorted fact from fiction.
You don’t need to be accurate when measuring ingredients for baking
Some will say that a pinch of salt there or a dash more flour than instructed won’t make a different to the final outcome but that’s not the case according to Ms Gazzard.
‘Not true, you really do, it is one of the most important things about baking,’ she said.
Opening the oven door during the cooking process won’t ruin your cake
While it’s essential to take a little peek to make sure everything is going smoothly, Ms Gazzard reiterated that it’s important to keep the temperature stable.
‘Do you don’t want to be opening it up for prolonged period of time,’ she said.
However, you don’t need to preheat your oven.
Although many recipes state to preheat the oven before cooking, it turns out it’s not necessary when baking – in fact it’s just wasting energy.
Fan forced ovens don’t require pre-heating as they generally heat up pretty quickly. So this task isn’t essential when baking for short periods of time i.e cookies, cupcakes.
Never tap a cake tin on the bench before baking
This one isn’t as sacrilegious as you might think.
‘All cakes will benefit from a gentle tap on the bench to remove any air bubbles that could lead to a holey, uneven texture in the cake,’ Ms Gazzard said.
Baking powder and Baking soda are the same thing
Unfortunately these two ingredients aren’t interchangeable.
‘Baking soda and baking powder are not the same thing. Sodium bicarbonate and bicarbonate of soda are other names for baking soda. Baking powder is made of baking soda plus cream of tartar and cornstarch,’ she said.
Baking powder is an essential ingredient when it comes to baked goods, with a shelf life of around a year.
Over time it will lose its potency and not be useful. A simple test to find this out is to put a spoonful in a glass of water – if it bubbles it is still effective to use, if not it’s time to replace it.
