how to bake
 

Hey,

I want to learn how to bake, google wants me to buy shit and look at advertising.

I'm hoping to learn how to make simple baked goods. Not desserts, just biscuits, or dumplings, eventually bread.

Anyone a genius on this? Or could point me in the right direction?

Thanks

You don't want to spend any money learning how to do it so you might go to your local library (if you have one). You can sit and read for free.

or

Ask someone to show you how. Offer them half of the pie :-)

Here's a guide from Google for pies. (oops! I just reread your post)

http://www.hannaford.com/Contents/En...e_making.shtml

http://www.appleofyourpie.com/pies/

http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/pages/c00119.asp
change the digits at the end for more recipes.

buscuits: http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf747410.tip.html

Chinese Dumplings: http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/d/x/dxl239/intro.html

more: http://www.southernangel.com/food/biscuits.html

http://teriskitchen.com/breads/biscuit-1.html

etc. lots to be found on Google

Bread is probably one of the easiest things in the world to make, and it's fun and Oh so therapeutic too -- I love the smell of it -- 'specially in the winter.

There's a wonderful cookbook, called teh Bread Bible written by Beth Hesperger -- this has a multitude of different bread recipes, from quick breads (basically a quick bread is a bread that doesnt have yeast in it -- like banana bread, apple cinnamon bread, etc) yeast breads, to fancier stuff like Sour Dough starters and such,

Baking, at the leve which you are doing it, is honestly just reading and following instructions - -and figuring out what they mean by the instructions (is creaming the butter)

Do some googling on a recipe that appeals to you, and make sure you understand the instructions.

You do want to have some proper equipment for your baking adventures, you don't need to spend 100s of dollars, but for quick breads, you 'd want a decent loaf pan (they probably run about 10 -15 dollars), for other breads, you might want to consider baking stones (these givethe breads an unbelievable crust) You will want a good sized bowl for mixing (I've had a stainless steel set of 3 that I've had forever -- they are great) and a heavy spoon for mixing (wooden spoons are great)

Baking is fun -- and if you find a recipe you like -- you can always do a little tweaking to be creative with it - once you know how the recipe works the first time, substitutions can be made... and if it doesn't work -- oh well - no one has to know... :D

I'm Just Here For More Food

Alton Brown's new book deals exclusively with baking. He is my, as well as many other's on the board, cooking god.