Flour is often the main ingredient in thousands of baked items, and yet it is the most common miss-measured ingredient.
- Do not scoop the flour out of the container/bag with your measuring cup. In some cases, scooping the flour could give you 150% of the correct measurement.
- Use a spoon and scoop the flour into the measuring cup.
- Do not pack the flour down and do not tap the measuring cup as both cause the flour to settle in the cup. Use the back of a knife to level off the top of the measuring cup.
- Following the recipe to the milimetre is the most important cake baking tip.
- Whole wheat flour contains both the bran and germ of wheat, which is coarser in texture, resting the batter before baking gives the liquid a chance to hydrate the bran and the germ and soften it first.
- Unless you’re an avid bread or cake baker, an all-purpose flour is probably your best choice to bake with. It’s made with an average protein content to be versatile enough for everything from cakes to breads.
- Flour has a long shelf life but generally goes bad after 3–8 months.
- You can extend flour’s shelf life by sealing it properly or refrigerating or freezing it. Throw out your flour if it has any unpleasant odors, discoloration, or mold growth.
- If the recipe called for “self-rising” flour, it was using the leavening agents in self-rising flour to cause the crust to rise. So, if you used “plain” flour, it would not rise.
- Doughs and batters are made with flour, and flour contains gluten, which becomes increasingly firm and elastic the more you stir it, beat it, knead it, and so on.Check the recipe for guidance on this.
