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Tips for Great Baking

by Stephanie

Most of us will admit that when we think pastries, we think French. In an effort to encourage Americans to bake more, the French Pastry School has issued these universal and elementary tips for baking success:

– It pays to measure. While some ingredients can be added with a pinch here and there, it’s best when baking to always measure accurately.
– Preheat your oven. It makes cookies and cakes rise like they’re intended — something you’ll miss if you place your pan on a cold rack.
– Beware substitutions. Chefs know how important it is to use the right ingredients. Substitutions can completely change an item’s texture and appearance. The school uses only Plugra European-Style Butter (which is now available in the US), for example, because it has 82 percent butterfat, combined with a lower concentration of water. It’s this combination that makes cakes rise higher, cookies crisp more evenly and pie crusts turn out flakier.


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