Ingredient Baking Tips

• Anchor ramekins in a hot water bath (bain-marie) by placing them on a folded dish towel. That way they won't skitter around when you lift the hot water bath in and out of the oven.
• For the ideal disposable pastry bag, use heavy-duty, quart-sized self-sealing plastic bags fitted with a cake decorating coupler and tip. The filling can't work its way out of these bags because they're sealed tight.
• When a recipe calls for sifting, it works just as well to put all dry ingredients in the mixing bowl and stir with a whisk.
• Line baking pans such as cookie sheets, loaf pans and layer cake pans, with waxed or parchment paper to prevent sticking and simplify clean-up.
• The sharp open ends of clean cans make great biscuit, scone, and cookie cutters.
• When a recipe calls for a "greased" pan, be sure to grease the pan with solid shortening or an oil unless otherwise specified.
• Remember cooking and baking times specified in most recipes are merely guidelines. Since oven temperatures can vary from oven to oven it's best to check your dish a few minutes before recommended. For instance, if a recipe instructs you to bake a batch of cookies 10 to 15 minutes check it 7 or 8 minutes into baking. But don't belabor it and keep the door open for a long period of time or you'll lose a great deal of heat.