Even people who rarely bake tend to tackle a recipe or two at this time of year. With the economy in mind, Dan Lepard at The Guardian contacted 30 bakers in 11 countries for their tips and ideas to help ensure we don’t waste time, energy or money.
Many of the bakers are American, including food scientist Shirley Corriher whose new and long-overdue book Bakewise does for baking what Cookwise did for cooking. Her trick for longer-lasting baked goods? “Just substitute an equal measure of vegetable oil for a third of the butter in your cake or muffin recipe and this helps to keep them moist. The reason: oil greases the flour proteins better than butter and prevents gluten forming, so leaving more water in the batter.” It saves money on butter too.
Dorie Greenspan says bake big to save time and money. Her go-to is Bundt cakes, which serve 16. Jim Lahey, who gave us the famous no-knead bread, reminds home bakers to measure precisely; it’s no time to be slap-dash. Lepard also spoke with Rose Levy Beranbaum, Peter Reinhart and several other Yanks.
Canadian Marcy Goldman is a favorite of mine. Her tips include refreshing our spices. “It’s funny how people dive into baking for the holidays, without thinking twice about using ages-old cinnamon or cloves. Fresh spices and fresh baking powder is the key.” From Scotland Robert Winters, known for sourdough, says good flour is key for great bread.”Don’t worry about saving money of the flour you buy, because even at it’s most expensive its still good value. Find a stoneground flour, preferably wholemeal wheat or rye, and add that to your dough. You’ll gain so much flavor that way.”
In Denmark, Camilla Plum wins me over with her combination of baking and consumerism and this sound advice: “If you don’t buy any kind of ready-made food, just for a week, but actually cook yourself … you’ll save a lot of money. And this you can use for real butter, lots of currants and raisins, lovely fresh vanilla pods and cardamom. Then you can do some really wonderful Christmas baking!”
