When baking do you really need to follow the recipe word for word?

Question

Or does it really matter if you add the ingredients in the wrong order, or you don't beat the sugar and butter until lemon colored?

Answer 1

Well, it depends on what you're making and what consistency you want it to come out. Generally, they tell you a specific order because it needs to be more or less watery, or retain a shape better, etc. etc. If you don't beat the sugar and butter until lemon colored, you're going to wind up with chunks of butter and patches of sugar, and the taste won't come out nicely blended. If you don't add the salt and the baking soda/powder to the flower, it won't rise like you need it to. If you put in the dry ingredients first and then the wet, it will be more firm. If you do wet first and then dry, it will be a little more watery. You need to think about what ingredients you're using, how you're combining them, and whether or not they'd be better in clumps or chunks or blended smoothly throughout the recipe. You can substitute some items, but again, that depends on what you're making.

Answer 2

It can with some recipes. If you are cooking from scratch, it can make a big difference in the taste, consistancy, and so on. Rule of thumb is to beat all liquid ingredients such as butter & sugar, eggs, water, milk together first. Then add the dry combined ingredients such as flour, baking powder & soda, salt, spices. If it tells you to alternate with another ingredient, then do that. When cooking meal items and not baking, it is not as critical.

Answer 3

Yes to all of your examples. From your description, it sounds like you're making cookies. In that case, beating the butter and sugar incorporates air, which helps the texture of the cookies and also makes it easier to mix the eggs thoroughly with the butter. Making cookies like this is basically a 3 step process.
1) Cream together and sugar
2) Mix in eggs and vanilla
3) Mix in dry stuff
If you don't do any of those in that order, you'll probably be disappointed with the results.

On the other hand, adjusting the amount of each of the ingredients is a perfectly valid area for experimentation.

Answer 4

It depends but follow it 4 the most part like the beating the sugar and butter do that but if u want to add something feel free a long as it would taste good. Don't be afraied 2 experiment.

Answer 5

No it doesnt matter if you add ingredients in the wrong order, as long as it all mixes up well. It also doesnt matter if you add a couple of ingredients of your own. After all following a recipe word for word can get boring!!
As long as the end result is edible changes can be ok!!

Answer 6

MIXING THE CAKE

To assure even distribution of ingredients, scrape around the bowl with a plastic spatula or scraper frequently to incorporate batter remaining on the sides.
The ingredients should be at room temperature. If the ingredients are not at room temperature the batter could separate and your cake could have a bread-like texture.

If the recipe calls for the sugar and butter to be creamed (usually done with a beater) make sure you follow the time guidelines to obtain the correct texture. This is important because the beaters cause air to be incorporated into the mixture. The air then becomes “trapped” by the fat from the butter creating air pockets. The heat from the oven causes the air pockets to expand and the cake to rise. See the recipe below. After creaming the butter and adding the sugar it says to” beat until the mixture resembles moist sand” this is the consistency you want to achieve. It also gives a time guide, about three minutes.

Eggs should be added one at a time. This will allow more air to be incorporated into the batter. To make a cake with a lighter texture, separate the eggs adding the yolks to the butter mixture. Beat the egg whites and gently fold into your batter at the end.

Be careful not to over or under mix the batter. Over mixing the batter can cause the cake to toughen. Under mixing will keep the cake from rising and may create lumps. To achieve identical cakes, pour the same amount of batter into each pan. Sometimes cake will rise with a dome or even split in two. This can be caused by excess air in the batter. To prevent this, remove excess air from the batter by dropping the filled cake pans about three inches onto a flat hard surface.

BAKING THE CAKE

When the pans are filled with batter they should be placed immediately into the oven, which should already be preheated.

If you will be decorating your cake then it will probably be important for the cake to rise with a flat top and not a high dome. One way to achieve this is to put a rectangle pan on the bottom rack half filled with water. The moisture released from the pan will assist the cake in rising evenly. Another way to prevent the middle dome shape is with Magi-Cake Strips. These strips are supposed to slow down the edges of the cake from baking faster than the middle so they both will rise evenly. The Strip is supposed to be moistened then wrapped around the outside and pinned in place.
If you are baking in two pans, you will want to have as much equal space between the pans and oven walls to allow the heat to circulate evenly. To achieve this, put them both together in the center of the oven and move two inches apart.

NO PEEKING! Keep the oven door closed until minimum-baking time has elapsed. Opening the door to soon can cause your cake to sink or fall. Wait at least twenty minutes before opening the oven door. Test for doneness before removing the cake from the oven. Removing an under baked cake from the oven prematurely can cause it to fall. Insert a wooden toothpick into the center of the cake; if it comes out clean the cake is done.

TIP: To speed up the softening of butter, thinly slice and let sit for about 10 minutes over warm water.

The order you prepare your baked goods is very important if done incorrectly your products will not rise properly.

Hope this helps. good luck.

Answer 7

I was watching some show on Food Network and the guy was making toll house cookies. He was carefully mixing the liquid separately from the dry.. yadayada.. my Mom was like that and no in that case just put it all together mix it well.. and bake at the right temperature and don't burn 'em and they taste exactly the same if you were all careful.
But like for doing egg white.. you really do have to chill the metal bowl, don't use plastic and no grease in the bowl or it won't work.
So its really trial and error most times to see if it makes a difference.. but I always do it the way they want the first time and then try my own way and if tastes the same well.. I do it my way!

Answer 8

Ok.... In terms of order, it won't really matter that much DEPENDING on what it is. When you beat the sugar and butter, the main thing is to get them mixed together. It just makes the process easier. In terms of MEASURING, the answer is yes. Its easier to ADD than SUBTRACT.

Answer 9

Yes, it all matters. The steps must be done in the correct order for the proper reactions between all the ingredients to take place. Baking is a lot like chemistry, only with edible substances.

Answer 10

you should follow general instructions like combine dry ing. then add wet. but i usually eyeball everything or add my own little ingredients. i had a friend once that followed directions to a tee. if it said stir by hand counter clockwise for 2 min. then clockwise for 2 mins. she'd set timers. i'm not even close to that fanatical. you just have to know what it should look like and what kind of texture it should be. once you get the hang of it. you really won't need directions all that much.