Becoming a Baker: A Beginner’s Journey

I never dreamt of becoming a baker. I grew up hating all things involving the kitchen. Learning how to cook let alone bake was out of the question.

By my early twenties, my outlook changed only as it pertained to a kitchen’s aesthetics. A kitchen island? Oh, I would love to have one if I had a bigger apartment. Marble countertops? Yes, those would look great in my large kitchen. Large cabinets and pantries? Yes, I would need plenty of storage space for…for whatever kitchens are supposed to store. Fancy kitchen supplies? Yes, even though I wouldn’t know how to use any of it. I wanted all of it only to stare at it in smug admiration.

Even when I took on the task of learning how to cook to decrease my living expenses and eat healthier, I never once considered learning how to bake.

The baking spark was partially lit after I had my first slice of a Tres Leches cake in Viejo San Juan, Puerto Rico, while I was visiting a friend. It was the best dessert I’d ever had. My mouth is watering as I remember the softness of the cake, the sweetness of the combined leches, and the perfect icing on top.

It was perfect. I devoured my share in seconds.

Five years passed before I decided to bake my own Tres Leches cake. Everything was going fine until the bottom of the blender fell off because I hadn’t secured it properly, leaving a pool of milk on the floor. My mom, in an effort to help, slipped and fell. “It can still be saved,” she blurted out from the milk-covered floor. “Go to the supermarket and buy more milk!”

I did as she commanded and saved the cake, but I never baked anything again.

I love watching The Great British Baking Show. A reality show without the yelling and backstabbing, a good ‘ol competition among people trying their best at something they truly love. Even after binge watching the first five seasons on Netflix, it didn’t once occur to me to pick up my hand mixer and try my hand at baking something, anything.

Something changed after watching series 14 of the show, which aired on September 29, 2023. I decided I would try baking again.

Part of the change came from the realization that I love building things. I feel a great sense of peace when I’m building something.

My favorite class in junior high school was Stained Glass. I took a woodworking class at Makeville Studio in Brooklyn in 2018, and I built a wooden table, which has been my nightstand ever since. I took a jewelry making class at Jewelry Arts Inc. some time before or after that. I still wear those rings; they’re silver after all. I also took a pottery class in between those two ventures at Brickhouse Ceramic Art Center. My ceramic creations are scattered around the apartment, all playing the important function of keeping me organized.

Since I love working with my hands, I asked myself, “Why don’t you try building edible things?” I love building things, and I have a sweet tooth. It makes perfect sense.

Since I was serious about this, I decided to search for a standing mixer. While the hand mixer I had would do just fine, I wanted a standing mixer to facilitate the prep process.

A quick Google search revealed that standing mixers are expensive AF. Good grief! I was not about to spend hundreds of dollars on kitchen supplies for a hobby I was only just picking up. Sorry not sorry, [cough] KitchenAid [cough].

Luckily, Macy’s was having a big sale, and I found a Hamilton beach standing mixer for $69.99. I also found a Hamilton Beach food processor for $29.99. The cashier scanned a coupon, and the total came out to $101.28. With Christmas and birthday gifts in hand, I walked out of the store with a joker-style grin on my face.

I didn’t wait until Christmas or my birthday to use these two items.

Creations

What I’ve made so far comes from one cookbook, KitchenAid Recipe Collection. The irony.

I don’t recall purchasing this book, but I have it. I also have The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook, which I purchased from the Strand Book Store or Barnes & Noble ten years ago.

Side Note: I lied earlier, but not intentionally. I did bake a few more times after the Tres Leches fiasco. I just remembered that I baked a 3-layered Red Velvet Cake, which looked lovely and was delicious and too big for two people. I got the recipe from Magnolia Bakery’s cookbook. I tried making the same cake twice, but I completely botched it. I also tried making cupcakes some time after that, and I botched those too. That’s when I gave up. That’s the truth, I promise.

Of the three cookbooks I have with dessert recipes, the recipes in the KitchenAid cookbook appear easier to make even though I had difficulty with my first bake.

Here’s what I’ve baked so far:

Orange Apricot Chiffon Cake – this light cake is delicious with coffee or tea, in the morning or afternoon
Chocolate Chip Cookies – these are not sweet and are a perfect snack
Lemon Drops – these cookies are delicious and great for a special occasion
Soft Ginger Cookies – these cookies are light, tender, and delicious
Brown Edge Wafers – a light cookie with a hint of orange

Of all the things I’ve baked and plan to learn how to bake, I want to be able to make chocolate chip cookies with my eyes closed. It’s the one recipe I’d like to memorize because it’s my Achilles’ heel.

I know people like to experiment with recipes and perhaps that will come with experience, but I realized that I don’t want to drastically change the recipes of any of the baked goods I’ve made especially based on the feedback I’ve received.

Yes, folks, people have willingly tried my creations. Yes, those people are still alive. No, I’m not lying about people trying my baked creations.

The only recipe I’m interested in playing around with is the chiffon cake. I would love to bake a chocolate chiffon cake or substitute the orange for another fruit. It’s a light cake with plenty of potential.

Otherwise, I believe that some baked goods should be left as is. Let’s see how long that lasts.

Lessons

Understanding the terminology and techniques in a recipe is the most important lesson I’ve learned so far. I botched the first two chiffon cakes because I wasn’t beating my egg whites to the right consistency, because I failed to understand the meaning of soft peaks and folding.

It was stupid of me to approach this endeavor as I did my first bake. I’m being sincere when I say that I’m taking this seriously, so I should have performed a quick search on Google or YouTube to understand the importance of creating soft peaks and folding it into the batter.

Once I beat my egg whites into soft peaks and folded them into the batter, mixing the lighter liquid into the heavier liquid with a spatula, I got the result I wanted.

Accepting that I’m going to have spectacular failures for the foreseeable future is another lesson I’ve learned. Something has gone awry on every bake since I began my baking journey in December, and I cannot allow those failures and any future failures to chip away at my resolve.

It’s easy to become discouraged, but I see it as growing pains.

Learning how to bake is my one thing (see previous post), and I’m working hard on getting it right by dedicating the appropriate amount of time to learning the basics and practice.

While it’s not a lesson directly tied to baking, it’s an important one because focusing only on baking has allowed me to approach my bakes in a mature way.

Tips for Beginners

I’d like to share my top five (5) tips for beginners as a beginner.

Don’t get caught up on having the greatest and latest equipment. You don’t need expensive equipment to bake. I lucked out at Macy’s, but you can easily find second-hand products in very good condition at your local Lot-Less or 99￠ Discount stores. I purchased an immersion blender for $14.99, and I bought my baking sheets for $7.99. I don’t buy anything from Amazon, so I won’t be recommending them.
Don’t spend a ton of money on cookbooks. I purchased my cookbooks at the Strand Book Store and/or Barnes & Noble because those books were on sale at the time. Visit your local library and borrow a cookbook, or borrow an e-Book. Write down any general information you find useful as well as any recipes that catch your eye.
Be organized. You don’t want your baking ingredients and tools scattered around your kitchen. Dedicate a drawer in your kitchen for all your baking tools and a cabinet shelf or two for your baking ingredients. Being organized will help you stay focused on what’s important: baking.
Pick a baking “day”. I’ve been meal prepping on Sundays for over ten (10) years now, so it makes sense for me to bake on Sundays. I go grocery shopping the day before to make sure I have what I need for my day in the kitchen. I strongly encourage you to follow this strategy because it’ll force you to take stock of what you have and need in advance. You don’t want to be running to the supermarket in the middle of your bake.
Buy cheap and only what you need. As with baking equipment, don’t get caught up in this organic vs non-organic nonsense. Buy the ingredients you can afford and only the ingredients you need for your bake. Some products don’t have a long shelf life. Use it or lose it.

So this is where I am in my baking journey, and I’m really enjoying it. I feel more comfortable with the equipment, the techniques and terminology, and the work that goes into creating baked goods.

It’s been incredibly rewarding to see my baking creations come to fruition. I’m looking forward to sharing the recipes I bake along with photos.

See you in the next post!