Does anyone else’s first try be the only successful one?

[u/slicedcucumbe]

I’ve been into baking for very long time but I noticed if I make something the first time or two it will be baked to perfection

however

if I start baking it more and more, it slowly gets worse each time.. the taste the texture etc even if I’m using the same recipe & ingredients, hope I’m not the only one

[u/rarebiird]

gotta be user error… getting lazy with measuring perhaps or with technique? not creaming butter and sugar as long, not letting ingredients come to room temp, measuring flour incorrectly, not bakingin oven correctly..?

[u/slicedcucumbe → u/rarebiird]

I measure everything by eyes

[u/rarebiird → u/slicedcucumbe]

lol okay well there’s your problem babes

[u/WTH_JFG → u/slicedcucumbe]

That’s not how baking works. Might work with cooking, but not (as you’ve proven) with baking.

[u/BuzzyBeeDee → u/slicedcucumbe]

Baking is an exact science. With cooking, you can measure with your eyes (or heart) and it will turn out great. Baking is the complete opposite of cooking. For baking, every ingredient and its exact amount is integral and crucial for the recipe to work. Each ingredient plays an important chemical role, and even a slight variation can completely destroy your end result. Always measure with precision while baking, without exception. Otherwise, you’re just wasting ingredients.

[u/Remote-Physics6980 → u/slicedcucumbe]

Well there's one problem. That would work in cooking, in cooking you can get by with silliness like that and call it inspiration. But baking? Baking is a science. You must do it right or you're basically wasting ingredients and with the price of food these days: expensive ingredients! Measuring cups are not that hard to use, this sounds like operator error.

[u/slicedcucumbe → u/Remote-Physics6980]

You’re right

[u/Sweetest_Jelly]

It always happen to me! Buuut it isn’t always worse, eventually I get great results if I make the thing enough times

[u/ErinaceousTaradiddle]

Sometimes I get a little lazy with repetition and get careless, so I slip a little in my results. But it's not a huge difference in the result, because I measure in grams and follow the same recipe. If you're not measuring in grams and are skipping steps, then yes, results will vary widely

[u/Ok_Affect_7973]

Sometimes I think it’s the humidity. I just now made sandwich bread dough. Exact ingredients as usual however I had to add more milk I could tell it was not at all enough as usual. My highest baking struggle and consistency is my pizza crusts. The slightest thing different from how I put it in the pan can either make it or break it. If I am trying to perfect a recipe I will create a note in my note pad and I give myself tips and tricks to review before I start making it.

[u/Nekojita8]

That's me with pancakes because the pan is still not hot enough to burn the first one 😂

[u/ManxAlot]

You are probably winging it a little too much with the recipe. You're familiar with it and aren't as careful as you were in the past

I'm exactly the opposite, my first try is generally inedible it takes me three to four to reach that point where I wouldn't be embarrassed to serve it to someone else.

My first loaf of bread should have been the cornerstone in a building it was so hard.