Baking for Easter: SOS tips for beginnersDry muffins, burnt cake, not enough food prepared for your Easter brunch? Don't panic! With our SOS tips for baking and cooking, you can look forward to the coming holidays with peace of mind. Something can always go wrong - but you've got everything under control from now on.
Baking is easy - isn't it? Cooking and baking are varied hobbies - and it's easier than you might think to get started. If you want to bake for your family at Easter, all you need are the right tools, the right mindset and a few golden rules. Cooking is emotion, baking is precision. It can be chaotic in the pots and pans, but discipline is key in the baking tin. The more precisely you carry out each step, the better your cakes, bread, quiches etc. will turn out. Sound like a challenge? With our tips for Easter baking (and every other baking moment), you can do it with ease from now on.
Follow the recipe exactlyWhen baking, chemical reactions can result in fluffy dough, crispy crusts or the exact opposite. As soon as you deviate from the quantities in a recipe or replace ingredients, these reactions change. Clear signs of quantity or ingredient errors are, for example:Pastry that is too compact and too firm (e.g. oil used instead of butter)Pastry that is too dry (e.g. too much flour)Pastry that does not rise (e.g. wrong raising agent)Of course, your work of art will taste good even with errors. Nevertheless, you should read through every recipe completely before starting and measure all ingredients precisely. It's best to use a kitchen scale - even for liquids - and if you want to swap ingredients, you need to find the perfect substitutes. If you use baking soda instead of baking powder, the dough will need additional acid - for example lemon juice or buttermilk. If you want to replace butter with vegetable oil, add some semolina to the dough so that it retains its fluffy structure.
Mixed right is half bakedIngredients are right, quantities too - just mix everything together? No way! The mixing technique determines the result in the oven. If you mix too little, lumps will form in the dough. If you mix too much, it won't rise properlyThe basic rule is: mix dry and wet ingredients separately before combining them. Flour, baking powder etc. should be added to the eggs, vanilla and butter as late as possible, and the choice of the right tools and mixing time are also important. If you want to beat the ingredients until frothy, it is best to use a hand mixer or food processor and work the mixture on a low setting for a longer period of time. Fold in the flour and baking powder by hand - just until no more flour is visible.
Use the right mouldIt's up to you whether you use baking moulds made of silicone or baking moulds made of classic sheet steel. The size is more important than the material. It must match the amount of dough. The baking tin must not be more than half full and the dough must touch the edges. Otherwise it will not be able to "climb" up the sides and rise properly during baking.
Know your ovenWhere does the most heat develop, which rack is suitable for which recipe? Your oven has a mind of its own - and you should know it. If the surface browns too quickly, do not reduce the heat, but place the pastry on the bottom shelf and cover it with baking paper. After the specified baking time, test it with a skewer and add a few more minutes if necessary.until the approximate end of the baking time, keep the oven door closed! Every time you open it, the temperature drops and important reactions are interrupted or altered.
Simply conceal blemishesThis happens even to baking professionals: when removing from the tin, the baked goods break or the cake is drier than desired. Such baking faults can often be corrected at a later stage and dry baked goods can be made fresher with an infusion of milk or fruit juice. Make holes in the surface with a toothpick or wooden skewer and drizzle the liquid into them. Leave to infuse for a short time and then serve on the table. To do this, beat the icing sugar and butter at room temperature until fluffy and then add the cream cheese. Pour chocolate icing over the top and nobody will notice!
Baked too little? You've spent hours baking for Easter, but your treats aren't enough to feed all your guests? Instead of calling the delivery service, you can rely on two Blitz baking tools:In the hot air fryer, you can prepare practically everything you need for Easter brunch in record time. Baking bread in the Airfryer? It barely takes 30 minutes with a quark dough. Even an easy cheesecake only takes around 15 minutes. You can find suitable recipe ideas in the Lidl recipe world, and the waffle iron can do more than you might think. You can prepare waffle batter perfectly with a hand blender and make it in a flash. For waffle buns, you can take ready-made batter from the chiller cabinet, tear it into small portions and bake in a greased waffle iron in just a few minutes. This also works with frozen croissants and similar breakfast classics, but either way, it's always worth having a few aces up your sleeve when baking for Easter. What you don't need for Easter brunch can simply be reused after the festive season. Most doughs can be frozen and simply put in the airfryer, oven or waffle iron when needed.
