Your Baking Career: Instant Patisserie
By Marianne SalinaFlaky layers, creamy fillings, and golden crusts are treasured secrets of professional bakers. But you, too, can bake the perfect pastry and turn an ordinary kitchen into a patisserie for family and friends. Just follow these simple pastry baking tips, and you'll be on your way.
Pastry Baking 101
- Pro bakers keep their cool. Before you bake, make sure your hands are cold, and that you are using a cold baking workspace, roller, and water. Put dough in the refrigerator when you're not baking or working with it--this keeps it firm.
- The baker never skimps. Don't opt for low-fat or reduced fat ingredients in your at-home bakery. These products contain too much water, and won't bake up the best pastry.
- Bakery shortcut: If you choose to bake cake from a mix, or use store-bought frosting, add one teaspoon of vanilla extract to the mix or frosting, to upgrade the flavor to "homemade" status.
- Preheat! In a bakery, the ovens are always hot. At home, make sure to preheat your oven at least 10-15 minutes before you begin baking--pastry bakes best in a hot oven. Otherwise, it could turn out tough and deflated.
- For a bakery perfect pie, bake the pie on the lower rack of your oven. This will get the bottom crisp and prevent the top from burning.
These tips are a good beginning, but to become an off-the-charts-amazing baker you'll probably want to check out culinary school. And who knows? You may find yourself a mouth-watering new career.
About the AuthorMarianne Salina is a freelance writer in Spokane, Washington. She writes about pursuits in education and degree opportunities.
Featured Schools
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