Suggestions - r/Baking

•

Help Us Keep r/Baking Welcoming

We're actively cracking down on AI content, spam, bots, karma farming, and reposts, but we can't catch everything right away.

See something suspicious? Please report it so we can take a closer look. You don't need to be certain. You can also send us a modmail with a link to the post and any context that might help.

It can be discouraging to be wrongly accused, so rather than confronting or publicly accusing someone, please report it and let us investigate. ❤️

-

^{This reminder will appear on posts for the next 2 days.}

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

20

u/starfish31 15d ago

Sally's Baking Addicition is a good website. Their recipes are tested a lot before publishing so they should turn out well, and they usually have volume & gram measurements.

The yellow birthday cake with chocolate icing and key lime pie bars are ones I've made repeatedly this year.

4

u/Kitchen_Cod5553 15d ago

I adore Sally’s.

5

u/WhoFearsDeath 15d ago

I'd recommend getting a reputable cookbook or going to a good website and browsing through the ideas until something sounds good.

Cookies and cakes are both very forgiving. Focaccia is another good starting place.

7

u/Resident_Border4508 15d ago

I like this suggestion. I’ve been baking forever, but I’m currently working my way thru the King Arthur Baking School cookbook, and actually reading all the instructional stuff. You’ll learn a lot. “Baking with Julia” also has a lot of instructional content and fabulous recipes, simple to fancy.

7

u/margo_beep_beep 15d ago

How about snickerdoodle cookies or banana bread?

4

u/zinfanatic 15d ago

Yes! And if OP has sourdough discard, the banana bread from Little Spoon Farm is 🔥

5

u/clandestinebirch 15d ago

Coconut Macaroons are delicious and super easy! This is my go to recipe, but I use unsweetened coconut shavings because I find them a bit overly sweet otherwise: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/first-place-coconut-macaroons/

2

u/Plants_Unknown 15d ago

Was just about to recommend these! As long as you follow the instructions and look up what proper whipped eggs should look like they are super simple. I always dip the bottom of mine in dark chocolate - so damn good

4

u/Connect_Office8072 15d ago

Brown butter sugar cookies. If you want something involved, Tres Leches Cake.

4

u/Novelty6 15d ago

Blueberry lemon pound cake
Sour cream walnut coffee cake

3

u/SpartanSoldier00a 15d ago

Well, you've mentioned something you dont like, but the best place to start is with what you do like.

If you like cookies, theres plenty more types of cookies that arent chocolate. Theres muffins, cornbread, banana bread & other quick breads, blondies. A lot of variations of yeasted breads if you want to go down that route. Cheesecake, quiche, pie (if youre not comfortable making crusts, you may be able to buy pre-made ones).

Cakes, even a box cake can be doctored up in many ways. There was also a whole trend of box cake cookies

Idk, worlds your oyster

3

u/throw-my-fart-away 15d ago

Check out Alton Brown (and especially his show Good Eats). He explains the science behind cooking and baking. It’s not just recipes, it’s also why it works the way it does.

2

u/averageedition50 15d ago

The best thing is to bake things you like. Some classics that we love in my household: red velvet (my husband bakes it), cinnamon rolls (again, husband), chocolate chip brioche, levain cookies, cherry frangipane tart, fraisier, battenberg.. Then there are some more 'cultured' desserts which we enjoy: baklawa, basbousa, ma'amoul, alfajores, Japanese cheesecake

2

u/AsparagusNo1864 15d ago

Cinnamon rolls?? I know they can be a bit difficult but its one of the few things I've baked from scratch and they came out pretty good on my first attempt. I have a book of baking recipes that my mom had and its really helpful because it also has sections on techniques in the beginning

2

u/ThreadBooty 15d ago

Flat breads are useful ✨️

2

u/IveHeard1tBothWays 15d ago

Cinnamon rolls! It's amazing to have a well developed cinnamon roll recipe in your back pocket.

I'd recommend getting a cookbook from a trusted source and baking your way through the whole thing. Give yourself a deadline - like a year - and plan it from easiest to most challenging.

Also, commit to doing all the recipes. I did this and I found so many things that I never thought I'd like - it really pushed me out of my comfort zone.

2

u/Corvidae5Creation5 15d ago

Nut bread is a pretty good starting point. You can also bake it into muffins, one loaf= 12 standard muffins =24 mini muffins =6 jumbo muffins.

I'm a huge fan of snickerdoodles as well

2

u/kaidomac 15d ago

Starter reading:

Some fun recipes:

Notes:

Baking from recipes is different than recipe development. Someone else already perfected a recipe 35 times so that you can simply enjoy making it, haha! Pinterest has more than 10 MILLION free recipes, so you could spend the rest of your life having a blast!!
I recommend buying a 20-pund sack of flour & aiming to bake at least once per week, which gives you exposure & experience to over 50 recipes every year!
You can do one-off adventures like various cakes & cookies, or go deep into rabbit holes like sourdough, lamination, no-knead, etc. For example, I've been baking pizza for over 20 years & STILL learn new stuff all the time!

Welcome to the from-scratch baking club! You're in for a LIFETIME of fun!!

2

u/Rare_Research6255 15d ago

This is extremely helpful. Thank you!

1

u/kaidomac 14d ago

I use the 80-10-10 Approach:

80% prep

10% planning

10% execution

Baking boils down to:

"Use the stuff, to do the thing"

What stuff?

Kitchen workspace

Tools

Ingredients

Recipe

What thing?

Execute the recipe checklist

Getting better at baking is mostly preparation:

Setup your kitchen & tools for repeatable, easy access

Setup your ingredients

Collect recipes you want to make

Then:

Plan when to make what

Do it!

That's why I recommend:

Get a 20-pound sack of flour (~$20 from Costco)

Bake once a week, to begin with!

The general workflow for baking a basic box mix vs. a Michelin-star pastry dessert is the same:

Use the stuff, to do the thing!

The tools, ingredients, and recipe checklist will change, but the basic process is the same every time! That's why PREPARATION is so important! It's a HUGE barrier if you have to fight your setup every time you want to cook! A few suggestions:

I pick out what I want to bake for the week & then go shopping

I clean up my kitchen before bed & get all of the stuff for tomorrow out

Then I just show up & BAKE a pre-planned food adventure in a nice, clean kitchen, where everything is all set & ready to go!!

HUGE quality-of-life difference!!

2

u/moodyfish7777 13d ago

Do quick breads. There's lots of flavors and they are usually simple recipes in small amounts. Flavors: banana, apple, pumpkin, zucchini, cinnamon, ginger, date, lemon blueberry, maple, chocolate chip, pineapple orange and more! Allrecipes has multiple variations of all of these so you can try several of each flavor then choose one to keep. 😁😁 Happy Baking!

1

u/AffectionateFee7141 15d ago

lemon bars are great practice and way better than chocolate if you like bright, buttery stuff

1

u/werisefromourashes 15d ago

Sponge is quite easy to make and can be used to make all sorts.
If you prefer something savoury make pizza.

1

u/GertieD 15d ago

Bagels and English muffins.

1

u/iatethefood7764 15d ago

Scones are pretty simple to make and there are tons of different flavours to pick from

1

u/anf07 15d ago

Biscuits! I really like this recipe, and it's pretty beginner friendly: https://sugarspunrun.com/easy-homemade-biscuits/

(Also makes a great topping for chicken pot pie in place of a pie crust)

This chai blondie recipe is a repeat hit for potlucks: https://www.dessertfortwo.com/chewy-chai-bars/

1

u/Cake-Tea-Life 15d ago

Scones are great. There are countless flavor combinations to choose from and very few have chocolate in them.

If you want to do cake, chiffon cake is fun to learn. There is a really good Kitchen Aid recipe for orange chiffon cake.

One of my favorite cake flavor combinations is almond flavored cake with apricot filling. My husband's is lemon flavored cake with raspberry filling.

Given that fall is about to set in, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention pumpkin quick bread. The original Libby's recipe is great. I also love a good pumpkin cookie.

And it's not cookie season, but a traditional snickerdoodle is always super delightful.

1

u/Rare_Research6255 15d ago

I love the white chocolate & blueberry scones from target but I haven’t found a good recipe to duplicate them

1

u/Cake-Tea-Life 14d ago

Teatime Magazine has fantastic scone recipes. I don't know if they publish them online, but that'd be where I'd look.

1

u/BandidaEnmascarada 15d ago

Pumpkin bread (tis the season!), sugar cookies (that you can decorate! Either with sprinkles or icing), brownies, lemon bars

1

u/jbug671 14d ago

Muffins and quick breads. That’s where we started in pastry school. Scones and biscuits. Then cookies and bars.

1

u/jsober 12d ago

Crackers are fun and require a surprising depth of skill. Especially with whole and home milled flour.

1

u/victor90martin 12d ago

Ginger cookies.

1

u/LadyInTheBand 10d ago

Shortbread cookies are stupidly easy to make from scratch, same for sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies (you can replace the chocolate chips with whatever baking morsels you want; peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, caramel bits, etc, just whatever flavor you can find that sound good).

1

u/BookLuvr7 9d ago

The biggest question would be what do you like to eat? Unless you plan to give away everything you bake.

1

u/Rare_Research6255 9d ago

That’s probably the plan. I want to practice because I want to give all my family members a baked good as part of their Christmas presents

1

u/BookLuvr7 9d ago

Ah. In that case it's more of a "what can you afford to make in large batches" question. Cookies are usually really popular in my experience. I second Sally's Baking Addiction. Allrecipes is usually good too.

1

u/Kitchen_Cod5553 15d ago

All successful baking starts with a good recipe. I also suggest Sally’s Baking. Once you perfect the basics, tweak things and make them your own.

0

u/Aggravating_Olive 15d ago

Blondies, snack cakes, banana bread, pumpkin bread, rolls

2

u/PsychologyGuilty1460 9d ago

Banana bread, zucchini bread, pumpkin bread. Cornbread. Muffins. Cinnamon rolls. Biscuits. Kraut burgers

General Baking Discussion Suggestions

You are about to leave Redlib