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The Guardian
05-07-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Ten baking tips (and life lessons) from Australia's best bakers
Baking: it's part science, part craft, part magic. A mindful escape or total mystery, depending on who you ask. In writing The Bakers Book, a collection of recipes, kitchen notes and wisdom, I asked 36 Australian bakers for an essential piece of baking advice – a lesson that changed everything, a tip that's always in their back pocket. I expected a pantry of practical tips, but I also realised their wisdom has applications beyond baking. Here's what I learned. We've all been there. You've turned up ready to bake, only to glare at the instruction for room temperature eggs and butter. Yours are fridge cold. Maybe you microwave the butter to a half-solid, half-liquid result and you take a gamble on the cold eggs. Your mixture comes together, but the scrambled egg effect is real. That's because a cake batter is an emulsion of ingredients, explains chef Danielle Alvarez. 'When something is a little bit too cold or a little bit too warm, it's never going to combine perfectly, or it will split or it will break,' she says. But if you forget to grab ingredients ahead, here's what she recommends: put eggs in their shells in a cup of warm water to let them come up to room temperature. It only takes a few minutes. For butter, warm a bowl in an oven or microwave, then place it face down over your butter. The ambient heat will soften it quickly – and evenly. How did you first cream butter and sugar? Did you, like cookbook author and TV presenter Belinda Jeffery, put the butter and sugar in the bowl of your mum's old Kenwood mixer and 'beat the hell out of them'? These days, Jeffery recommends a gentler approach. Going hell for leather means you can over beat the mixture and let in too much air, which will make your cake rise, and then promptly collapse. Use a medium speed instead – until the ingredients are well mixed but not all the way to white, light and fluffy. Same goes for egg whites that need to be folded into a mixture – they should be 'just beyond sloppy', Jeffery advises – too firm and they won't incorporate into your batter. Start by whisking them in a stand mixer, but quit while you're ahead and finish off whisking by hand so you can stay in control and avoid over beating. 'I think baking is one of those things you can't ever really be perfect at,' says Nadine Ingram, cookbook author and owner of Flour and Stone. It's a bold admission from the woman with a TED talk on cake. Instead, baking teaches you that imperfect is beautiful, she says. 'You need to try things more than once to improve. I think a lot of our culture these days says you've got to get it right the first time or you've got to be the best at it … Baking teaches you how to break those habits.' 'I'll test recipes eight times and they're still not right … sometimes, things will turn out how they're going to turn out and you have absolutely no control over it, even with all the skills in the world.' Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning When a recipe has an overwhelming number of steps, break down a project-bake by making the most of the freezer. 'I think people get so scared of baking because they start reading a recipe and think 'I don't have three hours',' says pastry chef Anneliese Brancatisano. 'Remember the freezer is your best friend … you don't have to make everything from scratch on the day.' Icings and buttercreams can be frozen and later defrosted in the microwave, for example. And the cold makes some things a choux-in. 'I always keep choux pastry in the freezer – just pipe it and freeze it. You can bake them from frozen, and the moisture from the freezer creates steam, which will help them puff up even more.' Alisha Henderson of Sweet Bakes is living proof. She taught herself to pipe from YouTube videos, practising on cake she'd make, then freeze, and re-freeze, so she didn't have to bake one for every attempt. 'Instead of going through that process … you can bring it out, decorate it, try out all your new techniques, wipe it off, and chuck it back in the freezer,' she says. 'Don't eat it, obviously, but use it again and again.' Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion 'Baking is 70% organisation,' says Baker Bleu pastry chef Gad Assayag – and taking the time to get organised usually improves the outcome. This means reading through your recipe before you begin, weighing your ingredients before you start and ticking them off as you go. 'And only then, once everything is organised, your tools are there, then you start working. You have to understand the process and understand where you're going before you actually start,' he says. It helps to remember bread has its own plans. 'Bread keeps you honest, it keeps you on your toes,' says chef, baker and teacher Michael James. 'It's a bit like life: you've got to let it take you on its journey. There are a lot of variables, so it's about guiding it.' Or as Jesse Knierum from Tasmania's Cygnet Bakery puts it: 'You might think you're hot shit, but then the weather changes.' You'll need to adjust for the season you're in, the temperature of the room and the ingredients you're using. Understanding what to tweak and when will help. Just because baking is a science, doesn't mean you should leave your intuition out of the equation. 'Always, always listen to your gut when you're baking,' says Giorgia McAllister Forte of Monforte. 'Sometimes it's easy to get a little bit lazy or just think, I don't need to do this, it'll be fine.' If in your gut you know you should be doing something differently, don't ignore that feeling. It takes much less time to fix something earlier in the process than going all the way through to the end. Ask yourself: Does this feel right? Does it look right? Is there something I can do now that will save me time later? 'To stay in control, try baking low and slow,' says Alice Bennett of Miss Trixie Bakes. 'We have our ovens on at about 145C/300F on low fan. Typically, a lot of cookbooks will tell you something like 160C/325F. I've always gone a little bit lower and slower with temperatures – and you can apply this before you even put your cake in the oven. If you slow down the whole process, you're less likely to make a mistake.' Gillian Bell, who travels the world making bespoke wedding cakes, is mindful of her mood when she's baking. 'I always mix my cakes by hand, and I stir in good wishes, good thoughts. I really believe that somehow it comes through … So I say to people, 'Find that place in your head, put on some music, do whatever you can to get to that place'.'' And remain positive. 'Everyone can bake,' says Bell. 'It's just that you don't know how to, or you don't have the confidence. You can make a cake in anything – you can make a cake in a big bean tin. So relax, let go.' Ruby Goss is the author of The Baker's Book, Favourite recipes and kitchen wisdom by Australian bakers you love (Murdoch Books, $45)
CNET
12-06-2025
- General
- CNET
20 Useless and Overrated Kitchen Tools, According to Chefs
Professional chefs know the value of space in a drawer or on a countertop better than anyone. Stroll through the swinging doors of any restaurant kitchen worth its salt, and you won't find an excess of single-function gadgets collecting dust. Every instrument and piece of cookware serves a purpose, earning the real estate -- however small -- it occupies. That's what makes career chefs the perfect people to ask about all the kitchen the tools that don't belong in your kitchen, especially when space is at a premium. To compile this list, I asked five professional chefs about the most useless and overrated kitchen tools and what they recommend using instead. Some on the list get knocked for simply taking up too much space to justify buying, while others get a failing grade for being downright gimmicky. Here's what they said. Masaharu Morimoto Celebrity chef, restauranteur Masaharu Morimoto shared his pick for the most overrated kitchen tool. Dave Kotinsky/Stringer/Getty Mandolin Chef Morimoto encourages beefing up your knife skills to make thin and uniform vegetable slices. Milk Street Why: "While it brings good slices, mastering proper knife skills gives you more control, precision and safety in the long run. Mandolins can be bulky, hard to clean and risky if you're not extremely careful. Relying too much on a mandolin, or tools like a two-in-one apple cutter or a tomato corer can hold you back from developing real technique. Taking the time to learn how to handle a sharp chef's knife or Japanese blade will help you in almost every recipe." What to try instead: Mac 8-inch Japanese chef knife. Lead chef-instructor Institute of Culinary Education, Los Angeles Culinary instructor Eric Rowse knows a gimmicky kitchen tool when he sees one. Institute of Culinary Education Onion goggles Why: "A waste of money, as they don't form a great seal around the eyes to prevent the sulfur compounds from getting to your eyes and making you cry. Keep your knife sharp and open a window or turn on a fan instead." What to try instead: CNET's Peter Butler shares tips for cutting onions without crying. Onion holders Why: "These look like a weapon for Wolverine wannabes; it's meant to help you hold a whole onion and "chop" it. Instead, cut the onion in half to create a flat surface so it won't roll away. If you're trying to cut rings, save the $14 and stick a fork in the root and hold the fork." What to try instead: Learn to properly slice an onion the old-fashioned way. Metal, glass, stone and acrylic cutting boards Glass, stone and metal boards are OK for serving but when it comes to slicing and dicing, wood is the way to go. David Watsky/CNET Why: "Cutting on hard surfaces is bad for your knives; instead, go for wood or poly." What to try instead: Our list of best cutting boards features plenty of knife-safe options. Chicken shredder Why: "I can't think of anyone needing a tool devoted to shredding chicken outside a restaurant, and even restaurants don't use it. This item only has one purpose, so I'd skip it." What to try instead: Two forks. Herb stripper Why: "I love thyme but hate stripping it. When I was young, I got suckered into believing this tool would help me… It's been sitting in my cupboard, laughing at me for almost a decade now." What to try instead: For heartier herbs like rosemary and thyme, just use your fingers to slide down the stem, opposite to how the leaves grow. Bluetooth wireless probe thermometer Instant read meat probes work fast and don't require fussy Bluetooth connection. Chris Wedel/CNET Why: "These are a great tool, but can be very expensive. I can see myself losing, breaking, dropping, accidentally throwing away or dropping it in the coals." What to try instead: ThermoPro's Lightning Instant Read Thermometer Cookbook author and lifestyle expert Cookbook author Peter Som didn't hold back when asked about his least favorite kitchen tools. Peter Som Electric can opener A manual can opener is cheaper, works great and is less likely to break. Nelson Aguilar/CNET Why: "Most of us grew up with an electric can opener permanently stationed on the kitchen counter, like it was a vital appliance. But truthfully, they're more nostalgia than necessity. They take up space, can be a hassle to clean, and often struggle with irregularly sized cans. A good manual opener is compact, reliable and gets the job done without needing an outlet or a user manual." What to try instead: Oxo's soft-handled can opener. Richard Ingraham Personal chef to Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union and author of Love: My Love Expressed Through Food Richard Ingraham avoids certain kitchen tools when cooking for celebs like Dwayne Wade and Gabrielle Union. John Parra/Gett Avocado slicer Why: "A knife and spoon do the job just as easily, and the specialized tool rarely fits all avocado sizes properly. It's a one-trick pony that clutters drawers." What to try instead: A good paring knife like this $35 Wusthof. Egg separator Why: "A tool just for separating yolks is unnecessary for most home cooks." What to try instead: Cracking an egg and using the shell halves or your fingers works just as well. Garlic peeler tube Why: "Rolling garlic cloves in a silicone tube may work but requires storing a single-purpose gadget." What to try instead: Smashing garlic cloves with a chef knife is quicker and more reliable. Pizza scissors Chef Ingraham says skip the scissors on pizza night. Zoranm/Getty Why: "A pizza cutter or knife works better and faster. These scissors are gimmicky, awkward to clean and take up more space than they're worth." What to try instead: KitchenAid's stainless-steel pizza wheel. Herb scissors Why: "They're hard to clean and don't offer a huge advantage over a sharp chef's knife. Plus, they tend to crush delicate herbs more than slice them." What to try instead: Made In's 8-inch Chef Knife. Electric egg cooker Why: "Boiling eggs in a pot is straightforward and flexible. The electric version just adds clutter unless you boil eggs constantly and hate using a stove." What to try instead: This 1-minute hack for making poached eggs in the microwave. Butter cutter and dispenser A good butter knife works just as well and requires less space and maintenance. Williams Sonoma Why: "It slices sticks of butter into pats… but why? A knife works instantly, and you don't have to load and clean a plastic gadget for it." What to try instead: Williams Sonoma breakfast butter blade. Pasta measurer Why: "It's a plastic disc with holes to tell you how much spaghetti to cook. Just eyeball it or learn the rough weight by experience. It's not worth the drawer space." What to try instead: A kitchen scale for precise measurements. Oil mister Why: "Often clogs, sprays unevenly and requires constant cleaning. A small spoon or brush does the job with less frustration." What to try instead: World Market's olive oil cruet. Electric potato peeler A sharp vegetable peeler is all you need to skin a batch of potatoes. Capelle.r/Getty Why: "Takes up a surprising amount of space and peels slower than a regular peeler. Plus, it's overkill unless you're peeling dozens of potatoes at once." What to try instead: Oxo's Swivel peeler. Bagel guillotine Why: "Sold as a safer way to slice bagels, but takes up a ton of space and is awkward to clean. A serrated knife does the job just fine." What to try instead: Opinel's 8-inch bread knife. Jackie Carnesi Executive chef, Kellogg's Diner Jackie Carnesi StarChefs Oven mitts There's a reason pro chefs don't use oven mitts. Webstaurant Why: "Oven mitts are the most useless item in a home kitchen! A sturdy kitchen towel does the same job, and odds are, it's more likely to be washed regularly. I don't know many people who wash their oven mitts frequently enough... it seems many have deemed it an item that doesn't warrant regular cleaning. It does." What to try instead: A set of quality kitchen towels.
Al Jazeera
28-05-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Malaysia: Time to explore and enjoy
Malaysia has so much to offer, whether you're visiting on a business trip or attending a conference. Beyond your professional agenda, you'll find plenty to explore and enjoy. From its diverse and delicious cuisine to world-class shopping, your itinerary is bound to be full. Just be sure to carve out some time to relax and unwind before heading home.
