I'm one of those cooks who uses a pinch of this and a dash of that, and I tend to measure by eye. In cooking, that's not a bad thing. But cooking is more forgiving than baking, which depends on a precise combination of elements in a certain proportion to produce a pastry.Remember those "For Dummies" books? They've got a website!
"Baking is a science, and when you mix together ingredients, you're creating chemistry, albeit edible chemistry, so being precise is important. There is balance between flour, leaveners, fats, and liquids."
Click here for a crash course in measuring various ingredients, from flour to shortening.
At our Chocolate-y Party this week, I helped kids create their own hot cocoa mix from scratch. They each filled out a recipe card, then followed the recipe themselves by measuring ingredients into a heart-shaped bag. Then they took home the bag and the card, so they could enjoy their hot chocolate with their families! This activity was loads of fun, and whether the kids were old hats at cooking or they'd never followed a recipe before, they really got into it!
Kyle, pictured above, is leveling out his tablespoon of cocoa powder by shaking off the excess! These kids were precise!
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