Choosing the Ingredients
One of the most common mistakes people make with baking is thinking that the first step in the process begins with making the dough. In reality, it begins even earlier, with the selection and preparation of the ingredients: everything affects it, from the temperature of each product to the type of fat or yeast chosen. Here’s what you need to pay attention to in the initial stages.
1. Leave the Ingredients at Room Temperature
One of the tricks to obtaining tall and fluffy cakes is to work them when they are at room temperature, so don’t use them when they are cold from the refrigerator but after letting them rest for half an hour. Butter, milk, and eggs, unless the recipe specifically calls for using them cold, are best worked when they are at room temperature. And if you’re in a hurry? Always avoid kneading them cold and try some alternative methods: you can heat the milk in a saucepan for less than a minute, you can microwave the butter for a few seconds (but be careful not to melt it), and you can warm the eggs by immersing them in hot water for up to a minute.
