Christmas is generally known as the most peaceful time of year. With our tips for Christmas baking and cooking it is really easy to make sure this is true.
1. Before you start the preparation, you should read through the recipe carefully and put out the stated amounts of all the ingredients. If you do this, everything will be in reach and you can focus all your attention on the recipe.
2. Always use ingredients at room temperature, and sieve all powdery ingredients (flour, dry yeast etc.).
3. You should also make sure that you have all utensils on hand: bowls, spoons, moulds, mixers and other electric devices.
4. Gluten-free flour has different properties to normal flour and therefore special recipes with different amounts of ingredients are needed. Find your gluten-free recipe and follow a few simple rules when baking:
– Clean the work surface carefully to avoid contamination.
– Only use the type of flour and the amounts of ingredients stated in the recipe.
– More water is needed for gluten-free dough than for dough that is prepared in the usual way. Follow the instructions in the recipe exactly.
– Gluten-free dough sticks to hands and utensils more than normal dough. It is therefore recommended to always line cake tins with baking parchment and to grease or flour the hands while working the dough. When working with shortcrust pastry, it is advisable to roll the dough out between two layers of baking parchment.
5. When using the oven: Fan ovens are suited to baking biscuits (even on several shelves), but are not so good for baking gluten-free bread. This is because yeast dough dries out quicker. Switch the oven on before you need to use it so that it reaches the required temperature. If possible, do not open the oven door during the first 15-20 minutes.