Welcome back to our comprehensive guide on How To Be A Master Chef for beginners and food enthusiasts! In today’s posts, we’ll go over recipes, tips and techniques to make perfect pie crusts, and delicious cakes and quick breads you and your family can enjoy! If you’ve ever wanted to be a master chef, the time is now, so let’s get started!
Did you miss our introduction to Baking for Beginners? If so, catch it here: Baking 101: Everything You Need To Know To Bake Like A Master Baker!
Perfected Pie Crusts
If you grow your own fruits, there is nothing more satisfying than putting them in a pie! In this section, we will go over how to make a perfect pie crust to put together a phenomenal pie made with the fruits of your labor!
Use your food processor! This dough is very delicate and the less you handle it, the better it will come out. The food processor will blend everything together fast, making the dough extra light!
During every stage of making your dough, you want to chill it. This will ensure that there will be no warmth to make the dough dense.
Roll out the dough using a rolling pin.
Sometimes, you will have to parbake the crust prior to filling your pie. Do this, but make sure you do not let the crust bubble while it bakes. To ensure the crust doesn't bubble, cover the top layer of the crust with a sheet of aluminum foil, then, with either pie weights of beans, weigh the crust down by dropping just enough beans or pie weights into the crust shell. Baking a single crust means you will need to put it in the over at 400 degrees for 15 minutes followed by another baking session at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Make sure to watch that your crust does not get too brown!
Cakes & Quick Bread Baking
We love cakes and bread and we're sure you do too! You're going to read this section and become a pro! Be prepared to gain some sugar-infused weight after this post!
Making Cake
Tender, rich, moist, light and delicious cakes are just a recipe away! Don't use prepackaged cake mix! Bake it from scratch! When you bake cakes from scratch, it is easy to tell how much better they are than the prepackaged stuff. You can even make homemade frosting!
Always follow the recipe directions precisely! Don't deviate from the recipe!
Mix the ingredients thoroughly. Make sure all of the ingredients are room temperature before you mix them.
Quick Bread
This stuff is really easy to make, and you can make it in no time at all! Quick bread are delicious! You can make zucchini bread, pumpkin bread, banana bread, and way too many to list here! This bread does not use yeast, meaning they are “quick” to make. Baking powder is used in these recipes. These breads are made as though you are making a cake, meaning you will mix the ingredients in the same way and pour the batter in a pan, bake, and send your taste buds on a sweet adventure! Toss some chocolate chips in your quick bread for some added richness! Try this chocolate chip banana bread recipe out:
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
image via Gluten Free on a Shoe String
Prep Time: Around 15 min, Cook Time: 45-50 min, Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ cups mashed bananas
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs whisked together
- ½ cup vanilla yogurt
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 8×5 loaf pans with cooking spray
- Use a sifter over a bowl to add flour, granulated sugar and baking powder into the bowl.
- Combine mashed bananas, eggs, brown sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and yogurt in another bowl.
- Pour everything you just sifted and mixed into one bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until it is totally combined.
- Toss in the chocolate chips and nuts and stir everything together.
- Pour the batter into the two loaf pans (evenly) and bake for 50 minutes or until you see the top become a deep golden brown color. Once you can put a toothpick into the pan and pull it out mostly clean, your bread is cooked. Let it cool for an hour prior to slicing it up.
Don't miss the series; catch the rest of our guides below:
Chapter 1: Be A Master Chef in 10 Days
Chapter 2: Kitchen Storage Ideas
Chapter 2.1: Main Kitchen Appliances
Chapter 2.2: Creating a Safe and User-Friendly Kitchen
Chapter 2.3: Essential Pots, Pans and Cookware
Chapter 3: How To Organize and Stock Your Kitchen Pantry
Chapter 4: How To Buy and Use Your Kitchen Knives
Chapter 4.1: Knife Cuts – Chopping, Dicing and More
Chapter 5: How To Steam, Boil, Poach and More
Chapter 6: How To Saute and Make Homemade Sauces
Chapter 7: How To Braise Meat and How To Make Stew
Chapter 8: How To Roast Meat, Veggies and Poultry
Chapter 9: How To Grill Steak, Chicken and Veggies
Chapter 10: How To Bake Goods and Desserts From Scratch
Chapter 10.1: How to Make Pie Crust, How To Bake Cakes and More!
Chapter 11: Cooking for Beginners – Breakfast
Chapter 11.1: Breakfast Bread – How To Make French Toast, Pancakes & Waffles
Chapter 13: How To Cook Perfect Pasta and Hearty Grains
Chapter 14: How To Make Sauces From Scratch
Chapter 15: Easy To Make Homemade Desserts For Beginners
Chapter 16: How To Make Single-Pot Recipes From Scratch
Chapter 17: Thinking Like A Chef – Cooking Tips for Beginners
Don’t forget to catch the next part of our guide to How To Be A Master Chef In 10 Days! We love hearing your feedback and comments, so let us know if you have any other tips for beginner cooks or your thoughts on this series. HomemadeRecipes.com was founded to create an online community where foodies, epicureans and chefs can share recipes and learn new ones! We need your help, however, in creating this community where you can come, share and learn. If you love to cook, love food or have some great recipes and ideas you’d like to share with us, shoot us an email and make sure to stay in touch on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest! We’re always looking for contributors and want to hear from you.
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