Baking For Dummies

By Wendy Jo Peterson

Over 100 recipes for anything you could possibly want to bake

Baking For Dummies is your go-to source for basic instructions and easy-to-follow recipes. Learn to make delicious and impressive cookies, cakes, breads, cupcakes, frostings, pies, muffins, cobblers, quiches, and beyond. Elevate your next get together by crafting a dessert charcuterie board or serving decadent individual quiches, savory scones, and homemade rolls—it’s a step up from store bought cookies and cakes, for sure. In this low-key Dummies guide, you’ll find lists of basic ingredients and essential equipment, plus explanations of baking techniques and definitions of baking terms and techniques you’ll need to know. This book also covers basic kitchen prep, time-saving tricks, kid-friendly baking recipes, allergy and dietary modifications—this book has it all.

• Learn to bake impressive desserts and wonderful breads, even if you’re a first timer
• Start at the beginning with clear explanations of how to master the basics
• Discover great ideas for special-occasion goodies and stylish presentations
• Bake gluten-free, egg-free, and dairy-free recipes—something for everyone

For anyone new to baking or ready to level up, Baking For Dummies is the go-to guide.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wiley
• Release date: Apr 11, 2023
• ISBN: 9781394172481

Book preview

Introduction

At some point in your life — maybe now because you’re reading this book — the mystery of baking has attracted you. The desire to create becomes stronger than the desire to pick up a pack of cookies at the store, and you think, Hey, I’m a smart person. I can do this! And you can!

Knowing how baking works and which role each ingredient plays enables you to understand how to bake instead of how to just follow a recipe (there is a difference). When you understand how to bake and master the various techniques used in baking, you’ll gain confidence in the kitchen and become a proficient baker. You’ll also find yourself confidently experimenting with some recipes, too! So, roll up your sleeves, clean off the countertop, and get ready to bake.

About This Book

The purpose of this book is to fill you in on how to become a proficient and independent baker. You may feel like you know nothing now, but as you dive into this book, you’ll become competent in the kitchen and realize baking skills are something you can easily master. This book acquaints you with familiar, as well as unfamiliar, ingredients, and also tells you a few things you may not know, such as the secret to flaky pastry crusts and how to zest a lemon. From organizing your kitchen to an efficient workspace to storing your baked good properly, this book gives you the tools you need to become a successful baker and plenty of tantalizing recipes to practice with.

This book introduces you to the hows and whys of baking. From mixing a batter to putting the finishing touches on your baked goods, you’ll discover all kinds of information in this book. This book also explains various techniques for all kinds of baking situations — and with good technique, the sky is the limit. Practice makes perfect, so the more familiar you become with baking and handling your ingredients, the more proficient you will become as a baker.

Since the first edition of this book 20 years ago, the world of baking has exploded, from new techniques, trendy ingredients, and a newfound appreciation for old world recipes. Here’s what you can find in this updated edition:

More than 20 new recipes: These new recipes address some of the recent trends in baking. In addition, recipes now have weighted measurements. Many bakers work with a metric scale to ensure accuracy with a recipe. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert baker, a scale is an essential tool in your kitchen.

New equipment: Many kitchens are now equipped with Instant Pots (multicookers) and air fryers. Recipes that can be baked in some of these nifty tools have been updated with additional cooking instructions.

Allergy considerations: Ingredients also have come a long way, and although this book isn’t an allergy-free book, I’ve taken time and consideration into recipes that are perfect for loved ones following a specific diet or have a need for an allergen-free recipe.

The recipes in this book are very straightforward and easy to understand. But here are a few notes on the ingredients, which apply to all the recipes:

All oven temperatures are given in Fahrenheit.

Unless specified in the ingredient list, you can use any degree of fat in milk (whole through skim cow’s milk). You can also substitute dairy alternatives.

All eggs are large.

All flour is all-purpose flour, unless specified otherwise in the ingredients list.

All sugar is granulated sugar, unless specified otherwise in the ingredients list.

If a recipe calls for butter and not margarine, don’t use margarine. A few recipes just won’t taste good if margarine is substituted.

All dry ingredients are measured using nestled dry measuring cups (not the glass ones with the graded amounts on the side), and all ingredients are measured level, unless specified.

Lemon zest or orange zest refers to the outer colored peel, not any of the white pith.

Generally, canned, fresh, or frozen fruit can be substituted, unless the recipe specifies one or the other.

And keep in mind:

If you don’t know about an ingredient or technique in a recipe, be sure to check in Parts 1 or 2 for an explanation.

Make sure you have all the equipment you need. Double-check that the pans you have are the right size before you get started.

You can double most recipes in this book, unless the recipe states otherwise.

The recipes are basic but delicious and interesting. All of them can be embellished a little with additional ingredients, frostings, whipped cream, or powdered sugar. They use easy-to-find ingredients and simple instructions for extraordinary results.

Foolish Assumptions

This handy guide is a tool for both beginning and experienced bakers. No matter which group you fall in, this book will open you up to new ideas, techniques, and recipes. Here are some assumptions I do make about you:

You already know your way around a kitchen, but you probably favor the top of your stove more often than the oven.

You may rely too often on the grocery store or local bakery for your baked goods.

You love to bake or you love the idea of baking. You don’t have any prior baking knowledge to use this book. You won’t get lost either because I explain every technique and ingredient in plain English.

You want to become a better baker, no matter your skill level. You’ll discover your untapped talent and also master a lifetime of skills, tips, and shortcuts to keep you baking for years to come.

Icons Used in This Book

Look for these icons peppered throughout the book to help you find helpful bits of information:

Warning This icon staves off potential mistakes or mishaps in the kitchen. Heed the warning to avoid a kitchen calamity.

Remember I use this icon when you need to keep a baking basic in mind so nothing bad happens.

Technical Stuff This icon is used to identify information that may be just a little more than you actually need to know for successful baking, but that is interesting nonetheless. If you’re in a hurry and just want to get the information you absolutely need, you can skip the paragraphs marked by this icon and come back to them later when you have more time.

Tip Here you’ll find little gems of information that you may not have known about the recipe or technique you’re using. This icon points to information that will make things just a little bit easier to do or save you time.

Beyond This Book

This book is chock-full of tips and other pieces of helpful advice you can use as you’re baking to your heart’s content. In addition, check out the book’s Cheat Sheet at www.dummies.com and search for Baking For Dummies Cheat Sheet for information and resources to reference on a regular basis.

Where to Go from Here

Pick your favorite spot and begin. Perhaps you want to brush up on some technique know-how in Chapter 5 or dive right into your first batch of cookies in Chapter 8. Because you don’t have to read this book cover to cover to make the most of it, you can start anywhere.

Above all, enjoy yourself. Baking should be fun and an activity you share with your loved ones. Whether the inspiration for baking is remembering a birthday, making a sweet treat for the family or friends, bringing dessert for a dinner party, or welcoming a new neighbor or co-worker, you can certainly taste a difference when something is baked with love. You’re saying that the people you’re baking for are important enough that you took the time to do something special. Happy baking!

Part 1

Baking Essentials

IN THIS PART …

Build upon your foundation of baking.

Discover some common ingredients that you should consider keeping in your kitchen and their role in baking.

Create a well-stocked kitchen, from appliances to gadgets.

Chapter 1

Bake, For Goodness’ Sake!

IN THIS CHAPTER

Bullet Discovering the many reasons to bake

Bullet Starting off confidently by getting organized and exploring baking basics

Bullet Looking forward to enjoying your baked creations

So you’ve decided you want to find out how to bake? Congratulations! Perhaps you have tinkered in the kitchen but feel uncertain about what you’re doing, or maybe your attempts at creating something in the oven have not been very successful. Or perhaps you just have some general questions about baking. Reading this book is a good start for getting answers to the fundamental questions that arise when you bake. Soon you’ll be well on your way to becoming a better baker!

Baking is rewarding in many ways. First and most basic, it allows you to feed yourself and provides you with the ability to choose what you eat. You can give up the ammonium alginate, disodium guanylate, and guar gum you find in cake mixes. Your breads will no longer be preserved with sodium propionate. And your pies will be heptylparaben-free. Welcome to the world of butter, sugar, flour, and vanilla.

There’s something deeply satisfying about taking those basic ingredients and turning them into something that everyone loves, such as cakes and cookies. Freshly baked treats say You are special to me to the people you share them with. And recipients feel special because you took the time to create something for them. Welcome a new neighbor with fresh bread, surprise your office workers with a crumbcake for their coffee break, or treat your children to homemade cookies.

Baking is a way to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. An afternoon spent in the kitchen baking bread or making cookies to pack in lunches for the rest of the week is a nice gift to give yourself or your family. Mixing up a batch of cookies with your children, roommates, or loved ones is a great activity that doesn’t cost a lot of money and that will give you lasting memories.

Baking really is a lot of fun when you feel comfortable in the kitchen and at ease with what you’re making. Unfortunately, baking can also be a source of great anxiety and frustration when you’re not sure what you’re doing or feel like the ingredients are staging a rebellion against you. But it’s time to calm the troops. This chapter serves as the jumping-off point to the world of baking.

Knowing How to Get Started

If baking is so great, then why does it sometimes seem like it’s so hard? Did you ever get a chance to practice the basics? How many bad experiences have you had in the kitchen with burned cookies or dry cakes? You can forget about all that you don’t know (and perhaps your past kitchen disasters) and look toward a new horizon. You’re about to equip yourself with the knowledge of how to bake.

Baking differs dramatically from other forms of cooking. It involves a kind of magic. From mixing up batters to working bread doughs firmly but gently to watching your dough rise, baking brings a spectacular feeling. Other forms of cooking are more about sustenance — feeding hunger. But baking is something special. It’s both an art and a science. And the science really does count — instructions and ingredients work together to create delicious results. Wondrous aromas will waft from your kitchen, filling your home with flavors today and sweet memories tomorrow.

Sometimes it’s hard to know where to start when you’re trying something new. Chapters 2 through 7 are a good start. They not only help familiarize you with what you’re baking but also explain how to bake. Knowing how to bake involves more than knowing how to read a recipe and following the instructions; it’s also about understanding the following:

The variety of ingredients available

The roles of the various ingredients in a recipe

What happens when you combine certain ingredients

Various baking techniques

When you equip yourself with this knowledge, you’ll discover how easy and fun baking can be!

Getting organized

As you set out to bake, the most important thing is to get organized. Kitchen counters are often dumping grounds for dirty dishes, yesterday’s mail, car keys, or stray kitchen items that haven’t been properly put away. Take the 5 minutes it takes (if that much!) to clean off the space you need. Visit Chapter 7 for more tips and ideas for organizing your baking space.

Tip Before you crack your first egg, be sure that you have all ingredients on deck. Nothing is more frustrating than thinking you have a full box of raisins on hand and then finding that you have only half the amount you need when you go to pour them out. Read more about stocking up on staple ingredients in Chapter 2.

And one more thing: Do you know where both your beaters are for your electric mixer? Are you sure you have both the top and the sides for the springform pan you want to use? How about all the parts for your food processor? One thing I’ve learned over the years is that you can never be too prepared when you start to bake. Sometimes I tear my kitchen apart looking for my square pan, only to remember that I lent it to my neighbors. Or I search high and low for parts to my mixer, only to find them on the drainboard or put away in a different drawer. Have the tools you need in front of you before you start baking. Check out Chapter 3 for more details.

Finally, make friends with your oven. If you haven’t paid much attention to it lately, read some helpful advice in Chapter 4 to make sure that your oven is in proper working order. No matter how good the recipes are, if your oven is off, there is little hope for baking success.

Familiarizing yourself with baking techniques

If your eyes glaze over after reading a recipe, make a quick stop at Chapter 5 to get to know the common, and not so common, baking terms and techniques. There, you discover how to zest, fold, cut in, and whip. You should be aware that sometimes cooking terms dictate the kitchen tool you use.

For example, you whip or whisk eggs with a wire whisk, you cut in butter with a pastry blender, and you fold with a rubber spatula. If a recipe uses equipment you don’t have, you have time to consider alternatives or choose another recipe. So understanding the techniques not only helps you know what to do but also lets you know whether you need a specific tool to do it properly.

Practicing and practicing some more

If you ask any professional bakers or cooks whom you respect how they acquired all their baking talent, I’m sure that you’ll discover they spent a lot of time practicing their craft. The more you practice baking, the more you’ll get a feel for it and the more successful you’ll be.

Eventually, you’ll know by the look and feel of certain foods what’s going on with your dough or batter. You’ll find yourself adding a pinch of this or that or kneading the dough a little more or less just because you know how it should feel or behave. Practice is the key to successful baking, and Part 3 is full of recipes to practice with. You’ll discover what a good cake batter should look like, how bread dough should feel, and what to do if your recipes aren’t turning out the way you want.

Practicing baking is lots of fun, too, because the results are usually delicious and people are always happy to participate in your experimenting. I was quite popular with family and friends as I was developing and testing the recipes for this book, so I know that you, too, will be just as popular as you try these recipes.

Enjoying What You Bake

Who doesn’t get excited when a co-worker or family member bakes up a treat? Everyone is happy when homemade desserts are brought in to be shared. The reason you bake dozens of cookies or multiple loaves of bread is to share the results. There never was a baking book titled Baking for One or Two because baked goods are meant to be shared.

Cakes will last for days, and cookies can stick around for a week or so if stored properly. So be sure to read Chapter 17 to pick up some great tricks and hints on how to keep every last bite of pie tasting as good as the first ones.

If you want to really wow your fellow friends, turn to Chapter 18 for some easy and neat ideas to spruce up your finished product. You can find some tips on how to package your baked goods or add some extra special touches that elevate the ordinary to the extraordinary.

Chapter 2

Stocking Up

IN THIS CHAPTER

Bullet Understanding the virtues of having a well-stocked pantry

Bullet Making a list of what to have on hand

Bullet Knowing substitutions you can use in a pinch

A well-stocked pantry really makes a difference when it comes to baking for several reasons:

It’s a huge time-saver because it eliminates a trip to the grocery store.

It enables you to create delicious treats whenever the mood strikes.

If you happen to run out of one ingredient, a well-stocked pantry will ensure that you have a substitute or an extra ingredient on hand.

You don’t need a lot of room to have a good pantry, but you need to be organized and store your ingredients well to maximize not only space but also the ingredients’ shelf life. This chapter presents a list of staples you should have on hand when you begin baking. Of course, you don’t have to purchase everything all at once, but you may be surprised at how quickly you’ll build your pantry and how accommodating it will be to have a well-stocked kitchen for future baking.

Tip STORING BULK FOODS

If your supermarket or natural-foods store has a bulk section, purchasing ingredients there is an economical choice. However, never store items in the plastic bags for more than a week. Instead, save your jars and containers! Washed, clean jars or containers from spaghetti sauce, salsa, yogurt, peanut butter, and applesauce make great containers to hold items you purchase in bulk. Baby food jars, in particular, recycle into great spice jars. Don’t forget to mark your jars with masking tape and permanent marker. (Don’t use nonpermanent marker — it can rub off, and you’ll be left wondering what you put in those jars!) You may someday need a reminder of what’s in them and when you bought it! Labeling and dating each product as you get it is a good idea.

When shopping for your pantry, be a smart shopper. Look for items on sale at your local grocery store. If space is not an issue, buy two or three popular items when they go on sale (my theory is you can never have enough baking soda or sugar). Also, take a look in discount stores and those ever-popular dollar stores. Recently, I found nonstick cooking spray at the dollar store and stocked up, because one can costs double or triple that amount in my local grocery store. This also goes for spices; I almost always purchase spices loose at a local store that sells them prebagged. I never spend more than 75 cents for what most people pay $3 to $4 in a supermarket. You may be surprised at how inexpensively you can stock your pantry when you shop around.

If you hope to bake a lot or the holidays are coming, it is good to purchase flour, sugar, chocolate, and nuts in bulk at warehouse clubs. Of course, do this only if you will go through the ingredients quickly. If you’re a part-time baker, I find that the bulk section of my food store is good if I need smaller amounts of ingredients. I can purchase just what I need, and there is no waste — perfect for unusual spices you may only need during holiday baking, too!

Your dry pantry can be in the cabinets, on shelves, in a cupboard or in a designated pantry or closet. Make sure to keep the floor clean. Remove everything and wipe down the shelves at least twice a year (spring and fall are good times for this type of cleaning). And, of course, if you spill anything, clean it up right away to avoid any sort of animal or insect infestation.

Flour: Focusing on the Main Ingredient

Flour is the primary ingredient for most cakes, cookies, pastries, and breads. Although it is one of the most basic baking ingredients, it also can be the most confusing, because of the wide variety available on grocery store shelves. Some flours are perfect for bread baking but disastrous for piecrusts or tender pastries. What makes a flour good for one recipe and bad for another? The amount of protein it contains. The more protein a flour has, the more gluten it will produce when it’s kneaded. And the more gluten you have, the less tender your baked good will be.

Technical Stuff Gluten is the protein that forms weblike structures present in wheat and other flours. When the flour is moistened and the bread is kneaded, or doughs and batters are mixed together, gluten forms and adds an elastic and cohesive nature to the food. This elasticity allows the dough to expand and trap the carbon dioxide, produced by the leavening, which makes the dough rise and stretch. Gluten makes it all possible!

Here I touch on flour using in baking and what you need to know about storing your flour.

Identifying the main types of flour

Several different kinds of flour are available for baking; all-purpose, cake, bread, self-rising, and whole wheat flour are just a few. Become acquainted with three basic types of flour: all-purpose flour, cake flour, and bread flour.

All-purpose flour: It’s a blend of hard and soft wheat flours. The presence of more and tougher gluten in the hard wheat results in a rather elastic product. This produces the texture you want for cakes and cookies.

Bleached and unbleached all-purpose flours can be used interchangeably, but unbleached flour has a higher nutritional value. Southern flours, such as White Lily, are made with a softer wheat, which means that they have cake flour–like qualities. Southern flour is great for tender biscuits and piecrusts.

Cake flour: This flour is made with soft wheat, producing less gluten when mixed, so your cake will be more delicate, with a slightly crumbly texture. When purchasing cake flour, don’t buy self-rising cake flour unless the recipe specifically calls for it. If you do buy it by mistake, omit the baking powder or baking soda and salt from the recipe.

Bread flour: It has a higher gluten-forming protein content, making the dough nice and elastic. This makes it ideal for making bread.

GOING BEYOND WHEAT FLOUR

In the United States wheat is king, and it’s the only flour type you’ll find in many grocery stores. However, should you travel to Europe, you can find a large section of flours, from spelt, rye, einkorn, and semolina within each grocery store you visit. Each of these flours are used in cakes, cookies, and breads all throughout Europe, yet for some reason this appreciation of old-world grains was lost in the United States during the Industrial Revolution.

In this new edition I have added suggestions in some recipes on how to use or integrate more of these flours into your recipes. Rye is technically a grass and lower in gluten. Spelt, or dinklmehl in Germany, is also a lower gluten old-world grain. That means these grains will yield more dense baked goods.

If you’re curious about adding in more of these grains and having a wider variety of grain baked goods, start by cutting ¼ to ½ of the wheat-based flours and adding in ¼ to ½ of a different grain flour. For instance, if you’re making the Peanut Butter Cookies from Chapter 8, try using half spelt flour in the recipe or replacing ¼ cup all-purpose flour with ¼ cup rye flour. Look for these suggestions throughout the book and give them a whirl!

If you’re baking gluten-free, you can try using a gluten-free oat flour or a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend, now available at many grocery stores or online, such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour.

In addition to grain-based flours, nut flours like almond flour, hazelnut flour, and peanut flour are now being used in cakes and cookies. Check out the Lebkuchen recipe in Chapter 8 or the Gluten-Free Chocolate Hazelnut Cake in Chapter 9. Nut flours are full of flavor and offer a delicious grainy texture in each bite.

Tip If your recipe calls for cake flour and you have only all-purpose flour on hand, you can substitute 1 cup minus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour for 1 cup of cake flour. If you need all-purpose flour and have only cake flour on hand, substitute 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cake flour for 1 cup of all-purpose flour. The texture will be different, but if you have no other choice, using it is okay. If you have instant flour on hand, such as Wondra, combine 2 tablespoons in the cup measure, then add enough all-purpose flour to make 1 cup (which would be about ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons). That will also give you a flour-like cake flour.

Storing flour

Don’t store any of your flours in the paper sacks you buy them in. Instead, transfer them into airtight canisters and store them in a cool, dry place to make sure your flour won’t absorb any odors or off-flavors. Label the containers to ensure that you can tell the difference between the different varieties (they tend to look the same out of their bags). Flour can last up to six months if stored properly in the pantry and indefinitely if stored in the freezer. If you bought the flour from a natural food store, place it in the freezer for a few days to make sure nothing will hatch.

If you use flour slowly, you can store your flour in the freezer. Double-bag the flour in sealable freezer bags and be sure to label it. Flour stored in the freezer can last for several years.

Sugar: Getting Sweet

Sugar, another basic in baking, gives tenderness and sweetness to doughs and batters. Sugar also causes browning because it caramelizes (turns brown) when heated. Sugar also is a food source for yeast, making it rise.

In baking, you need to have three different types of sugar on hand: granulated sugar, confectioners’ sugar, and brown sugar (light or dark).

Granulated sugar: It’s the standard white sugar, either from sugar cane or sugar beets, and is the most popular and readily available sweetener in baking. Superfine sugar is a form of granulated sugar that dissolves easily in liquid. You can make your own superfine sugar: Place 1 cup of granulated sugar in the blender, cover, and process for 1 minute. Let it sit for about 1 minute longer to let the smoke settle. This produces 1 cup of superfine sugar. Sometimes superfine sugar is used in frostings and certain cakes. It dissolves quickly, so it doesn’t need much cooking time.

Confectioners’ (powdered) sugar: This sugar has been refined to a powder and contains a small amount of cornstarch to prevent lumping. Confectioners’ sugar dissolves instantly in liquid and has a smoothness that makes it a popular choice for frostings, icings, and whipped toppings. It’s also perfect for dusting cake tops and brownies. If your confectioners’ sugar becomes lumpy, you can sift it.

Brown sugar: Both light and dark is a mixture of granulated sugar and molasses. Brown sugar has a deeper flavor than granulated sugar. The color of brown sugar depends on the amount of molasses mixed in; dark brown sugar has more. Light brown sugar is the most common type used in baking, but the more assertively flavored dark brown sugar is also used. Recipes specify which brown sugar to use when it makes a difference; otherwise, you can use whichever you have on hand.

Demerara sugar: It’s a sugar made from the first pressing from the sugar cane. The large sugar crystals and light brown color have a unique molasses-like flavor. This sugar can add texture to baked goods, both baked inside and as a topping.

Remember When measuring brown sugar for recipes, be sure to pack it into the measuring cup for accurate measuring.

Tip When exposed to air for an extended amount of time, brown sugar tends to harden. If this happens to your sugar, there’s a quick fix: Place the hardened brown sugar in a heatproof bowl and place the bowl in a baking pan containing about an inch of water. Tightly cover the entire baking pan with aluminum foil and place it in a 200-degree oven for 20 minutes or until softened. Use the softened brown sugar immediately, because it will re-harden when it cools. You can also use your microwave to soften brown sugar. Place the hardened sugar in a microwavable dish. Add a wedge of apple. Cover and microwave on high for 30 to 45 seconds. Let stand for about 30 seconds, then use normally.

Store all your sugars in airtight containers in a cool, dry place.

Salt: Adding Some Seasoning

Salt is invaluable in the kitchen. It not only adds its own flavor but also helps bring out the flavor of the other ingredients. When used in baking, following the precise amount called for in the recipe is important.

Three types of salt are available for baking:

Table salt: This is by far the most popular variety.

Kosher salt: This salt has less of a salty taste than table salt and can be coarser.

Sea salt: This salt has a fresher taste and is usually used in salt grinders.

All these salts can be used measure for measure in baking.

Tip Most table salt has an anticaking agent added to help prevent it from clumping. However, on humid days (especially during the summertime) salt still tends to stick or clump. To prevent this, add about a teaspoon of rice to your saltshaker. The rice will absorb the moisture and keep your salt free-flowing. You never want to add the rice to anything you bake, though. If you need to get the rice out of your salt, run the salt through a fine-mesh strainer.

Eggs: Yolking It Up

Eggs thicken custards and sauces, help cakes to rise and be tender, and enrich and add sheen to baked doughs. Eggs come in two different colors — white and brown — but there’s no nutritional difference between them.

Eggshell color and color of the yolk (light yellow to deep orange) are the results of the breed and diet of the chicken and say nothing about the nutritional value or quality of the eggs.

Always buy large, fresh eggs. All the recipes in this book were tested with Grade A large eggs. Egg sizes are determined by their weight and volume, so substituting one egg size for another can affect the outcome. For example, two large eggs equal approximately ½ cup. It takes three medium eggs to equal the same ½ cup. Feel free to use free-range or organic eggs in any of the recipes in this book, as long as they’re the right size.

Remember How do you know your eggs are fresh? An easy way to tell is to place the egg in a bowl of tap water. If the egg sinks to the bottom, it’s fresh. If the egg stands up and bobs on the bottom, it isn’t so fresh. If it floats, it’s likely to be rotten. What makes the eggs float? Eggs naturally have a small pocket of air. As they age, this pocket increases, which causes the eggs to float in water. Check the expiration date on the box to ensure that your eggs are the freshest available.

Warning Do not store your eggs in the refrigerator door. This is the warmest part of the refrigerator, and you want your eggs to be cold. Keep the eggs in the carton and store them in the refrigerator. That way, you’ll always know the expiration date on the carton, and you’ll know which eggs to use first. Keep them away from strong odors as well.

TAKING CARE WITH EGGS

You need to handle your eggs with TLC because they can carry salmonella, a bacteria that can cause dangerous food poisoning. Although salmonella is rare, prevention is the best cure. Of course, pregnant women, young children, the elderly, and those with a compromised immune system should not eat anything that contains raw or undercooked eggs. Here are some tips that can help:

Always buy the freshest eggs possible. Buy only the number of eggs you will use within two weeks’ time to ensure the freshness of your supply. If you don’t use eggs that often, try to buy them by the half-dozen.

Be sure to wash your hands with hot, soapy water before and after handling raw eggs. If you use a bowl to hold raw eggs, wash and dry the bowl before reusing it for another purpose.