I have had so many people ask me how I got started baking. They will ask, “How do you even know how to do that?” Or they’ll say, “I would love to do that but I wouldn’t even know where to start.” I certainly didn’t get it from my mama (no offense!) and most of us probably don’t. We come from some working mamas and honestly it’s hard to do everything, so that’s okay! I’m sure there is a quote somewhere that says if you want to start something, just start. Easier said than done right? The more invested you are in what you’re fueling your body with, the more you’ll be looking at ingredients and trying to figure out how to make and source healthier foods. We have taken it all the way to milling our own flour. I purchased a grain mill and bulk order our berries and we make flour as needed (***Coming soon… everything about my grain mill!). You can also buy healthy products from the store, you’re looking for organic, non-gmo, glyphosate-free, unbleached products! (More on these down the way)
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To start, I would recommend picking something you enjoy eating… bread, cookies, muffins, cornbread. If you go with cakes and cupcakes you just may need a few extra ingredients to go completely from scratch (otherwise you can buy organic pastry flour of bread flour). The first thing I ever baked from scratch was an artisan loaf of bread. I would work the dough, let it rise in my laundry room for hours and bake it in my Dutch oven. It was WONDERFUL. My hubs fell in love with it and I knew then, I would be baking. When our daughter was born, I wanted to make her even more things from scratch so we just got to work in the kitchen. Anything that you can dream of you can make. Another first favorite for me was Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies. I take a recipe, look at ingredients and change them to fit our lifestyle. I often exchange applesauce for egg, coconut oil for butter/oil, and choose healthy flour when I was buying.
My process when I started: I picked recipes, gathered tools, gathered ingredients and followed the directions to a T. As you grow in the kitchen, your tools, knowledge and ability to take risks to make recipes your own will grow. For tools/utensils I would say you can start out pretty basic, depending on what you’re baking. I would suggest the following: a glass bowl, measuring cups and spoons, whisk, spatula, and I would add offset spatula (I’ve had these since 2022 and love them) if you want to ice cakes/cupcakes but you can also just use spoon/butter knife. Then you think of what you are baking and go for that vessel: cupcake/muffin tin, loaf pan , Dutch oven (I make soups and everything in mine so this is a great kitchen investment if you can) round cake tins, springform pan for my cheesecake lovers and the list can go on but you get the idea. As far as a mixer goes, I have a hand mixer and a stand mixer. I did not have either of these when I started. Everything that is make in the kitchen can be made without these to this, you just have to be willing to add a little more time and flex your baking muscles. If I were going to buy a new hand mixer, I would go with this one because it’s corded and sometimes I bake on a whim and need to make sure I have the power. As far as the stand mixer goes, you can buy them almost anywhere and Kitchenaid has so many color and options. Mine is white and is the lift stand not the head-tilt. Here is a good starting point for looking at them on amazon (they are definitely an investment so beware of the rabbit-hole you may go down!)You can get a larger quart option for cheaper if you go with the lift stand instead of the head-tilt. I personally don’t have a comparison to which one I would like “better” because I’ve only ever used mine! Again, these are helpful but not a must if you’re wanting to get started to see if you like baking.
When you’re sourcing ingredients, I recommend organic, non-gmo, glyphosate free products. Flour is going to be your main ingredient when you’re baking. We expect white flour from the store so most flours are actually bleached to retain color and keep shelf-life. A huge point we have been processing through in our family as we move more into everything being homemade is what our expectation of what something is supposed to taste like or supposed to look like. We are used to store-bought products that look a certain way and have a certain texture or taste. When you make it from scratch, it may be a little different each time and that’s okay! We aren’t processing and using chemicals to hold the product for a certain shelf stability because we don’t have to since we’re making as we go. Our family has actually discovered that the taste is SO MUCH better when we source good ingredients. It’s no wonder most people feel better when they’re eating overseas than they do here, or our gluten-free and celiac friends do not react that same overseas as they do here. Food is regulated and processed differently overseas, and when you don’t have certain things in your food, you don’t feel bad (I can wormhole so I digress…). We are in a movement right now of getting back to our ‘roots’, making foods in our homes as best we can and understanding where our food is coming from. Great job you! Let’s keep it going! Okay back to ingredients… pretty much everything you bake will use: flour, sugar, salt, baking powder (occasionally baking soda), eggs or applesauce, milk, water, and butter. You will also have add-ins like cinnamon, bananas, or chocolate chips. We mill our own flour so our wheat berries are organic, non-gmo. You can purchase organic products in store or online. For flour, a good basic that is very versatile is King Arthur Organic Flour. For baking powder, Bob’s red mill is organic, gluten free and aluminum free. You’ll need yeast if you’re baking bread, we love this one. I personally grab sugar from Aldi and salt from Costco! As far as eggs go, if you haven’t gotten chickens yet, I highly recommend working that into your life… they are simply wonderful and I admit, I’m a chicken lady through and through now! Something to look forward to down the road: you can make your own butter from heavy cream! I think we have a pretty good handle on ingredients. I would love to talk more ingredients if you want so let me know in the comments if you have any questions!
I try to store everything in glass containers. You can source these from thrifting which is where a lot of mine have come from but there are also great options on amazon. I try to make sure I can fit a one cup measure easily in and out of the top so this one is a great option. These jars are also very aesthetically pleasing and come with labels (they’re not as big but your baking powder/sugar etc. won’t be that large of a quantity). Now that you’re set with your tools and ingredients based on your recipe, you’re ready to bake! Everyone’s oven is a little different and your house temperature and humidity will be different so until you have a couple rounds under your belt, just keep a close eye on things! For example, I have recently discovered that one more minute in the oven make the world of difference in my bread loaves. It’s always better to under shoot on your time because you can always bake longer, you can’t bake less, which I know that seems obvious but I personally did not think about that until later in the game when my stuff was consistently overdone. For the most part everything is going to be exactly as is the recipe calls, I am just pointing out a few factors that I have learned over the years. Recipes are absolutely wonderful, but don’t be afraid to try something new or switch something out to see if it works for you!
I will be rolling out more recipes we enjoy and I am happy to help you in any way I can because I want to be a great resource for you! I am going to work on a list of helpful hints, tips and swaps for you also! So… what are you going to bake? What can I help you get started with? Do you have a recipe you’ve been trying to make happen and it just simply isn’t working?? Let’s work this together and get you baking! I’m proud of you for taking the leap! You can do this!
May His favor be upon you. May His face shine upon you.
Xxoo,
Beth
