FAQs

I use a gas oven for all of my baking. I will admit that it isn’t my preference. When we bought our home, we did not change any of the appliances. If you see how many stairs it takes to get to the house, you’ll understand why we do not want to deal with that process. I’ve only had electric ovens in previous places I’ve lived.

I prefer gas cooktops over electric burners due to their efficiency with heating. On the flip side, my experience has been that gas ovens are slower to bake and brown foods. Electric oven heat is drier than a gas oven, which plays a role in the browning process.

Bottom Line: Oven times vary based on your equipment, and visual cues should also be used when determining if your bake is done. 

Oven temperature is critical when it comes to baking. Minor discrepancies can cause a scone not to rise correctly or a cookie to spread too much or too little. It can also impact how long it takes to bake a dish. I do not trust my oven when it registers it is preheated. Instead, I use an oven thermometer to gauge its actual temperature.

Place an oven-safe thermometer in the middle of a sheet pan, and set the pan on the middle rack of your oven. Set the oven’s bake temperature to 350°F. Check the temperature on the thermometer when the oven registers that it is preheated. If it is below 350°F, measure how long it takes until the oven thermometer reads 350°F. This is how long you should wait until you bake anything in the oven.

It takes my range 9 minutes to chime and register that it is preheated. It takes an additional 8 minutes until the thermometer in the oven reads 350°F. I now wait 8 minutes following the oven chime before I add any food to the oven to bake.

If you followed the steps to check your oven’s actual temperature and your thermometer still registers a discrepancy from what you have the range set at, you can do one of two things to correct it.

1. Set the Bake temperature to factor in the difference. Example: If the thermometer in the oven only registers 325°F after the oven preheats to 350°F (and you’ve waited an additional 10 minutes), you can overcompensate by setting your bake temperature to 375°F.

2. Calibrate the temperature setting directly using your oven’s manual instructions by adding up to + / – 35°F to adjust for the discrepancy (depending on the stove). In the above example, you could add +25°F so that the range registers the temperature it is being set at. Here is an excellent example of how to do that, though the button combination to reach the temperature setting may differ.

There are several ways to measure your ingredients, but not all are great. Hands down, the best thing I did while learning to bake was to make use of a scale. It has allowed me to achieve consistent bakes each time. It is easy to over- or under-measure your ingredients, which can adversely impact your turnout. Using a scale, however, is for next-level baking. Here are additional methods:

Spoon and Level (dry ingredients): Fluff your component, spoon it into a measuring cup, and level off. This method is preferred if you are not using a scale, but it can result in less weight than the recipe calls for.

Scoop and Level (dry ingredients): Drag your measuring cup into a container, scoop the component out, and level off. This method typically adds more weight than the recipe calls for. Hello, dry baked goods!

Pour and Eye It (any ingredients): Pour the component into a measuring cup and eye with the line or shake off or dump excess to make it flush with the top. In this method, there is plenty of room for error. For example, you scoop a measuring cup into a flour container and shake it so the flour levels off with the rim. The ingredients are now packed down and inconsistent. If you were to dump out the measuring cup and try again, you’d get a different weight from the first.

In my recipes, I add the metric conversion so that you can view the weights I use when measuring ingredients. A good rule of thumb is to use a scale if the recipe features ingredients by volume (even if they have measurements in cups) since that is how the author is doing it. If no weights are mentioned, spooning and leveling for dry ingredients and pouring and eyeing for wet ingredients work as alternatives.

There could be a variety of reasons for this to happen. 

• Your oven temperature may be out of calibration. 
• Ingredients may not be measured in the same volume I use (I always use a scale). 
• Your refrigerator temperature may differ from mine, so the resting period is affected. 
• Your kitchen temperature is different from mine.
• You are baking at a different altitude.

Whatever the reason, I’m happy to help troubleshoot to the best of my ability. Please send me a message using my contact form.

Please send me a request via my contact page. I like a challenge, but I reserve the right to decline if it is too out of scope. 

I test and retest recipes, switching items up to see if I can make them any better (or if I may be out of a particular ingredient). I’ll give you my best-researched opinion if I do not know.

I have some experience with vegan products such as butter or cheese. I am always down to learn what you tried that may have worked (vegan or otherwise).

I don’t want you to either, so I didn’t write it out. But I totally understand what you mean. Click the blue “jump to recipe” button at the beginning of each post under the featured image to skip the story. I promise my feelings are not hurt.

At the top of each recipe post are three blue buttons, one with the option to print. Click the button and follow the prompts. There is a blue “print recipe” button near the description on the recipe itself. The recipes, by default, do not print with a photo. Place a checkmark in the “Recipe Image” box in the print setup if you want the recipe photo printed alongside the recipe.

Me! I enjoy taking photos and videos of the process (and it is even better when I have help with maneuvering the equipment). I believe in bringing videos to every recipe, chiefly to help with those “between the lines” notes that aren’t in recipes. It is a lot of work to bring the whole package together, but it is also gratifying.

My photos are copyrighted and are not to be used without my permission. With a heads up, only the featured image can be used from my post in your blog post as long as you’ve tested the recipe and the goal is to tell others about it, but it must be directly linked to my site. In that instance, I’d also want to receive credit for the recipe. Otherwise, photos can be purchased for use. Contact me for more information if you’d like to buy a print.

Yes, but please give credit to where it came from and link it back to the original post on my site. You can use the feature image from my recipe as long as it is connected directly to my site/post and I am notified. Photos should be your own from your experience making the recipe. Additionally, write the recipe in your own words from your own experience making it.

Send me a request via my contact page. I will only work with products and brands I truly believe in. 

I do not make any commissions from your purchase of products I link to or mention. If that does change, I will state it as such. I will only share products I have tested extensively and stand behind.