I guess I'm going to have to learn to bake

[Medusa]

I love to cook because if I mess up a recipe, I can always somehow make it right. Ok, usually, not always. Baking is too precise. Anyhow, I bought a nut roll today and couldn't wait to get home and sit down w/a cup of decaf and enjoy it. Yuk! It was like biting into sawdust. So I thought I'd spread some butter on it and nuke it for a few seconds. Now it takes like warm, buttery sawdust. I guess I'm spoiled on my late sister Dorothy's nut roll which she made w/black walnuts and jampacked that thing w/nut spread. It didn't need doctoring ever. I've changed my mind, though. I still don't want to learn to bake. I'd rather gritch.

[pomtzu]

If you can read a recipe, and you have measuring spoons and measuring cups, THEN YOU CAN BAKE!!! There's nothing to mess up!!! Start with something simple - like pumpkin bread - it really is sooooooooo easy! Want my recipe?

[Medusa]

If you can read a recipe, and you have measuring spoons and measuring cups, THEN YOU CAN BAKE!!! There's nothing to mess up!!! Start with something simple - like pumpkin bread - it really is sooooooooo easy! Want my recipe?

This has been my experience: years ago when I was renting, I had an electric oven and, believe it or not, I did have a few recipes that turned out pretty well. Since I bought his house, though, it came w/a gas oven and cooking w/gas, I love but I've noticed that baking w/a gas oven just doesn't work. Or is it the baker, ie., moi?

[pomtzu]

Cluck-cluck-cluck (chicken)

I have to admit tho - I don't really like baking with gas either. Electric is much more precise and everything comes out better. Guess you're off the hook!

[Randi]

Mary, your gas oven is no excuse! LOL! I don't think I have ever baked in an electric, so give it another try!

This link has some very easy shortbread recipes, they're quick and easy.

http://www.cooks.com/rec/search?q=shortbread

[Medusa]

I knew I wouldn't get off easy, doggone it.

[Karen]

Mary, buy yourself a bag of Nestles chocolate chips, and follow the recipe for Toll House Cookies on the back. They are how I gauge and new oven I encounter, gas, electric or other. And they are pretty darned easy, and taste good no matter what the results look like. And you will have volunteers to help use up the proceeds no matter what. Follow the recipe, and put the first tray in to bake. Set your timer for 10 minutes, even though the bag says 12 ...

Check them at ten, see what they look like. If the middles still seem uncooked, but the dges are already dark, you know your oven is running too hot, just turn the temp down a bit. Put 'em back in. If they seem just not quite done - edges not very dark, middles still looking a tad undone, you oven is probably fine, and they'll be perfect at 12 minutes. If they are still not browning on the edges at 12 minutes, and seem to have spread out a LOT, you can leave them in a few more minutes, but that just means your oven isn't quite up to temperature ...

See, tollhouse cookies - yummy, and helpful as a diagnostic tool, too!

[Taz_Zoee]

That is so funny, because I love to bake but do NOT cook. I think I've baked in a gas oven before, up at our condo in Tahoe. But it was just a box batch of brownies. My homemade brownies are MUCH better.
I am the cake maker for birthday's and holidays on Bruce's side of the family. I cannot go to my family (or some friends) during the holidays without my brownies. I make two different kinds and give half of each. That is my gift for my friends husbands.
I'm wondering if I like to bake because it is so precise. I'm not good at adding a bit of this or that to make it better. Give me a recipe and I'll follow it to a tee.

[Medusa]

Mary, buy yourself a bag of Nestles chocolate chips, and follow the recipe for Toll House Cookies on the back. They are how I gauge and new oven I encounter, gas, electric or other. And they are pretty darned easy, and taste good no matter what the results look like. And you will have volunteers to help use up the proceeds no matter what. Follow the recipe, and put the first tray in to bake. Set your timer for 10 minutes, even though the bag says 12 ...

Check them at ten, see what they look like. If the middles still seem uncooked, but the dges are already dark, you know your oven is running too hot, just turn the temp down a bit. Put 'em back in. If they seem just not quite done - edges not very dark, middles still looking a tad undone, you oven is probably fine, and they'll be perfect at 12 minutes. If they are still not browning on the edges at 12 minutes, and seem to have spread out a LOT, you can leave them in a few more minutes, but that just means your oven isn't quite up to temperature ...

See, tollhouse cookies - yummy, and helpful as a diagnostic tool, too!

Hmmm, I did bake toll house cookies years ago and as I recall they turned out pretty good, too, but again, I baked them in an electric oven. Ok, next trip to the grocery store, I'll buy the ingredients and experiment. Thanx, Karen.

[Medusa]

That is so funny, because I love to bake but do NOT cook. I think I've baked in a gas oven before, up at our condo in Tahoe. But it was just a box batch of brownies. My homemade brownies are MUCH better.
I am the cake maker for birthday's and holidays on Bruce's side of the family. I cannot go to my family (or some friends) during the holidays without my brownies. I make two different kinds and give half of each. That is my gift for my friends husbands.
I'm wondering if I like to bake because it is so precise. I'm not good at adding a bit of this or that to make it better. Give me a recipe and I'll follow it to a tee.

When I worked at the church rectory, the "brownie man" came in every once in a while. He baked them and if you didn't grab one immediately, you could forget about having one later. They were the yummiest, most moist brownies I had ever tasted, no frosting either. Deelish!

[Taz_Zoee]

When I worked at the church rectory, the "brownie man" came in every once in a while. He baked them and if you didn't grab one immediately, you could forget about having one later. They were the yummiest, most moist brownies I had ever tasted, no frosting either. Deelish!

Yep, neither of mine have frosting either. One is chocolate chunks and the other is peanut butter chocolate.

[jennielynn1970]

Hey, I bake with gas, and as long as the oven works, baked goods come out fine, lol.

I found out that you CANNOT put a pan on the lower rack to catch drippings of pies because that will block the heat and cause the oven to overheat. That's what happened the last time when the oven overheated. I had no idea I couldn't do that!

Baking is precise, however, let me tell you a story...
When I was in elementary school and middle school I HATED math. Hated it with a passion and basically failed everything past long division. I did love to bake, and never considered it math.

My bus got me home about an hour before my mom would get home from her job at school. In that amount of time, I would take a recipe for cookies and cut it down from making 36 to 4 or 6. Mix it, bake them, and eat them. All before mom got home.

Never ever did I realize back then that that was math. Division. Once mom caught me, but then said how good the cookies were and she couldn't believe I could do that!

I'm positive there are some things that I didn't cut down exactly, like baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar (my favorite cookie to make is still Snickerdoodles), so it wasn't THAT precise.

Go for it, I say!! If you're not sure of your oven's temp, buy an oven thermometer and make sure it's right, or if it's too high or too low, adjust your dial/digital accordingly.

For me, baking is therapeutic. If I'm pissed off and frustrated my favorite thing to bake is bread. You have to knead it and punch it down and all that good stuff, lol! I also do a lot of pastries. Tedious work, but it takes my mind off of what ever is bothering me. I'll attach a pic of my Xmas gift to my mom and dad last year. I made my mom an apricot danish pastry, and my dad's was cheese danish pastry. All with home made puff pastry dough.

Unbaked:


Finished (a bit too dark)

[jennielynn1970]

This one won at county fairs...

Nut Rolls

Dough
1/4 lb butter
1/4 lb margerine
1/2 c. sour cream
1/4 c. warm water
5 oz. evaporated milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
5 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 - 2 1/2 tsp. yeast

Filling
2 lbs walnuts
1/4 c. milk
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 c. sugar

Melt butter and margerine. Cool it. Add water and milk, sour cream, eggs, beat well. Add yeast. Mix in flour, blend well. Knead on a floured board. Form into a ball and refridgerate in the fridge overnight.

Next day, roll into long square/rectangle. Spread on filling. Roll up, seal the ends. Place on greased cookie sheet, let raise 30 minutes till almost double. Bake at 375* for 30-35 minutes. Use fork to poke air holes in the roll before baking!!!

[Freedom]

Mary, I grew up with electric. Every apartment I rented had electric. Every place I went, lived, visited, electric.

Seven years ago I bought this house; gas! I am terrified of an open flame. I told Dad we would have to convert it to electric before I would move in.

Famous last words.

Here I am, 7 years later, cooking and baking with gas and loving it. I'm still terrified of the open flame, but once I put the pan on I am all set.

You CAN bake with gas! lol

[RICHARD]

Finished (a bit too dark)

Are you nuts?

That sucker is perfect!

The oatmeal cookie recipe on the back of QUAKER OATS are the BOMB!

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LOL, I Like to bake too. I made a cake the other day, left it out to cool and forgot about it. I had an ant party on my table the next day.


And another thing is do not use SWEET AND LOW-Told this story before,

I made some kind of cake and the recipe asked for sugar sprinkled on the top- I put S&L on it-it's a sugar substitute? Right?

It's tasted like burnt S&L.

Be precise, but you can do it!