Essential bits-and-bobs to have before you start baking

My Essentials for baking

I would always recommend having the basic bits for baking as it can really help when starting out. Lots of these things you will probably already have, but many you can buy from a good supermarket or online.

Equipment:

Balloon Whisk
Wooden Spoon
Spoon Measurements
Spatula
Bowl
Mini Whisk
Sieve
Jug
Pastry Brush
Electric Whisk (only if you are making meringues)
Cake Tester/Skewer
Cookie Cutters (mainly circles)
Muffin/Cupcake Tin
Cake Tins
Loaf Tin
Oven Gloves
Piping Bag and Nozzles
Conversion Table https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vT5YwdeMpgPDHiLK6n8fg3-O5Oy9Hyr-jIz_wnovcIC23NJqO6hhC8oP7by3yQd5ilp9yCl8h7fiHSG/pub
Rolling Pin

Ingredients:

Plain Flour

Self-Raising Flour

Bread Flour

Yeast

Eggs

Sugar (caster, light soft brown and icing)

Butter

Baking Powder

Bicarbonate of Soda

Vanilla Extract

Comments

Savoury Bread Base

Savoury Bread Base This bread is really simple and makes a great base for rolls, loaves or even pizza! Bread can always feel like a bit of a faff but make sure you take the time to make it and do the full prove times to get the ultimate fluffy bread. Ingredients: 400g Strong white bread flour 1/2 tbsp dried yeast 1 tbsp sugar 1 tsp salt 350 ml warm water 1 tbsp semolina (this isn't necessary but helps make the bread fluffier) Salted water for glaze EXTRAS Garlic Mixed herbs Pizza toppings Cheese Sun-dried tomatoes Rosemary Fresh, halved tomatoes Olives Method: - Mix dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl - Add the water and mix to form the dough. The dough should be sticky and will stick to your fingers. - Turn onto a floured work top and knead for 10 minutes adding more flour if necessary (the key with kneading is just to keep it moving, everyone's kneading technique is slightly different!) - Place i...

Welcome!

Welcome to Ellen Bakes! My name is Ellen and I love to bake! I will be posting on this blog about once a week with a new recipe, you can subscribe to see when I upload by pressing the subscribe button on the home page or at the top of your screen. Please feel free to send me anything you make and any recipes you would be happy for me to post. There is also a comment section on each post where you can share any tips and tricks for the recipe and ask any questions! Most of my recipes will just say 'sugar', 'butter', or 'flour' and, unless I state otherwise, you can swap these ingredients for any variants you have in your cupboard (although please use self raising/plain/bread flour when needed, we don't want any flat cakes!), and generally any allergy-specific alternatives can also be swapped in. I will also avoid using measurements for extras, such as chocolate or dried fruit, as I know a perfect amount for me might be too little for someone else!...

Shortcrust Pastry

Shortcrust Pastry This pastry can be used to make pies of all kinds! If you want to make it sweet, check the 'extras' section for ideas. I haven't used measurements for this recipe as you can make different amounts, although I usually use 150g of flour but you can make more or less :) Ingredients: Plain Flour Butter (cold) Water (ice cold) EXTRAS Sugar Cinnamon (or other spices) Method: - Weigh out your flour and put into a large bowl - Weigh out your butter, use have as much butter as flour (so for 150g flour, use 75g butter) - Cut the butter into cubes and rub it into the flour with your hands until it resembles breadcrumbs - Add any extras and a small amount of the ice cold water and mix, keep adding water until the dough comes together and isn't too sticky or dry - Wrap in clingfilm and put into the fridge for at least an hour - Roll out pastry on floured surface until about the thickness of a pound coin. Then use the pastry as you wis...

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