I don’t know about you, but when fall comes I am ready for ALL the baking!! We’ve had a few stormy days recently and it just makes me want to pull out all my pans and whip up everything pumpkin and cinnamon and apple and maple!

There’s a few things you can do to ensure you have a successful, fulfilling baking season.

• Make sure your ingredients are fresh! Did you know that baking powder should be replaced every 6-12 months to ensure your baked goods rise correctly? If you feel like your baked goods aren’t getting as fluffy as you’d like, try swapping the crucial ingredients for fresh ones!
• When baking sensitive items like bread and cake, give your oven plenty of time to preset, and invest in an oven thermometer. My ovens have always been off one way or the other, and having a thermometer is such a handy way to make sure you’re not under or overbaking your goodies! And allowing your oven to preset for several minutes ensures that every inch of that oven is nice and hot, allowing a more even bake.
• Make sure you have a nicely stocked pantry. Nothing is more frustrating than starting a baking project, only to find that you don’t have as much sugar as you thought, or someone snuck the bag of chocolate chips! Take inventory of your pantry and restock those items that are getting low!
• Use Cook’n to help you plan out your recipes! Maybe you have a fall cookbook, maybe you just have a few favorite fall recipes off the top of your head. To help you keep track of all the baking you want to do, create a new cookbook and call it something like “Recipes I Want To Make Fall 2023” and then put all the recipes you’re planning on making into that cookbook (whether new or beloved family favorites). Then you only have to look one place to plan out your baking, and you’ll know exactly where your recipes are!
• In line with the above suggestion, ask your family what some of their fall favorites are so you can plan ahead. I love trying new recipes and of course making some of my favorites, but I want to make sure my husband and kids get their favorites, too!
• Invest in a kitchen scale! Most of us don’t measure flour correctly, and using a scale makes a huge difference! I won’t bake my cakes without a scale!
• If you feel so inclined and have the time, it’s not a bad idea to do a little organization! It can be so frustrating trying to find something in the pantry and having to move everything around. Put all your baking supplies in one basket, or have them easily accessible on a shelf to keep your baking stress-free and organized!

What do you do to prepare for the baking season? Share your wisdom with us below!

    Camille Hoffmann
    Monthly Newsletter Contributor since 2014
    Email the author! camille@dvo.com