Baking Tips From Paula Deen

Paula Deen is a popular, modern cooking guru who has hosted television shows and specials touting the delights of Southern cuisine. Those who faithfully watch Paula’s programs have picked up some valuable tips to incorporate into their own baking efforts. Many feel Paula Deen’s tips make meal preparation much easier and lead to more flavorful baked goods.

One of the first tips that Paula Deen espouses is to use butter liberally. Butter adds moisture and flavor that can’t be found in imitation products. Butter almost always improves breads, cakes, pies, and other baked goods, and a good cook will not shy away from it because of a fear of calories or cholesterol.

Paula also teaches her viewers a few substitutes that will work in a pinch without significantly altering the flavor or texture of baked goods.

For example, if a cook is out of buttermilk, Paula recommends using a cup of fresh milk and a teaspoon of white vinegar added to curdle it. Another substitution that shouldn’t change the final baked product, according to Paula Deen, is to use two tablespoons of corn oil mixed with one tablespoon of water in a recipe which calls for an egg.

Paula Deen also insists that eggs should be allowed to come to room temperature before they are whipped into a meringue for pies or meringue cookies. They will retain air much better this way. Eggs should also always be beaten first before the baker begins to add the sugar to a recipe.

In fact, Paula has a special formula for the order that ingredients should be added in baked goods. Her tip for lighter products is to begin preparing a recipe for any kind of baked goods by adding part of the flour. Next, the eggs should be whipped. Finally, the baker should alternate adding the eggs and the milk with the dry ingredients until the batter is finished, but the final ingredient should always be flour.

Paula Deen is also adamant about oven temperature. She tells viewers that preheating the oven to the suggested temperature will lead to perfectly browned baked goods that are completely done on the inside. Skipping the preheating step can lead to an inferior finished product.

Most of these ideas are not new to the world of baking, but they are basic cooking tips which are quite helpful to beginning cooks. Paula Deen makes learning the basics great television entertainment. Her recipes and tips give her viewers new ideas and keep them coming back for more.