Today we have another post in our new series… the Tip of the Week! For years, you’ve been sending in your questions. Asking for tips and advice on anything and everything baking related. For years, I’ve tried to respond to as many of your questions as possible. I’m honored that you would even ask me! But I have to admit that I struggle to keep up with the sheer volume of your emails. So I thought it would be fun (and beneficial for all) if we started to address some of the most commonly asked questions here on the blog. Each week we’ll feature a new baking tip, trick or technique to officially kick off the conversation. Then, it’s your turn to chime in! Our little community is filled with talented bakers and an abundance of knowledge… from which we can all learn and grow. And we’d love to hear your thoughts! So let’s get chatting…
There’s nothing like following a recipe to the T… only to have it fail. Using fresh ingredients is a simple upgrade you can make, to help get the baking results you want. Here are some quick and easy ways to tell if your ingredients are fresh.
BAKING POWDER
Add 1 tsp baking powder to 1/3 cup hot water. If you see bubbles, the baking powder is still fresh.
BAKING SODA
Add 1 tsp baking soda to a mixture of 1/3 cup hot water and 1/2 tsp vinegar. If you see bubbles, the baking soda is still fresh.
EGGS
Place eggs in a bowl of water. Fresh eggs will sink to the bottom. Older eggs (which are still good for most purposes) will stand on one end. Bad eggs will float to the top, and should be discarded.
Do you have a favorite way to check for freshness? Share it with us!
Thanks Carrie for this really beneficial series. Here’s my question regarding ingredient freshness;
BUTTERCREAM How do you determine if it’s still good, if it’s a few days before the expiration but it smells suspicious?
Flour : Keep flour in a sealed airtight container in a cool, dry place to keep it fresh up to 12 months. The way you know that flour has gone bad is that it will start to get a rancid odor or when you sieve your flour there will be many tiny bugs/worms in your sieve.