How many times have you heard someone say "I can cook but I can't bake" Why? What is so different, so scary about baking that it makes professional chefs and home cooks alike tremble? Gorilla Baking is dedicated to helping cooks and non-cooks over come their fear of baking. Remember the three P's of Gorilla Baking: patience, practice, and persistence.
Most people never bake they buy. Even when they bake they're using some pre-fabricated concoction and putting it in the oven for the required amount of time. Also there is a persistent myth that baking requires precision of a chemist working with nuclear fuels while cooking allows you to just throw things in a pan. Nothing could be further from the truth. First, my mom is a chemist and spent about 15 years working with fissionable material. She's also a first rate baker and will be the first person to tell you that her vocation requires much greater accuracy and precision than her avocation. Second anyone who cooks with wild abandon may tell you he is not measuring when he really is. People cook every day and this familiarity helps them learn what works and what doesn't. It also helps them learn how to add a half cup of something without pulling out the measuring cups and spoons. Believe it or not I know some great bakers who make huge quantities of great food using only their eyes and their hands to measure. This is where patience, practice, and persistence come in.
Patience, practice, and persistence are the essence of Gorilla Baking. Everything won't come out right the first time. Even when you are experienced, everything won't come out right every time.
Patience. Be patient. Be patient with yourself. Take your time learning. Learn about equipment and ingredients and techniques. It takes time. Watch and talk to others. Read. Figure out what works and what does not. This will be an ongoing process as you learn and your skills improve. Take your time while preparing and baking. Don't rush especially when making something for the first time. And most importantly, get your hands dirty. Dig in and make things. There is no substitute for practice.
Practice. Often people won't bake unless there is an occasion to bake. This just increases the pressure. There is a birthday cake or cookies or cupcakes to make for someone's birthday or a dinner party. You pull out the recipe and start to gather the ingredients wondering if you have everything you need and if what you do have is still good. You heart starts beating faster and you are filled with a feeling of dread. You either soldier on and cobble something together you probably aren't pleased with or you decide it worth the effort or the risk and you whisk to the store to buy something, utterly defeated.
To practice, don't wait for a special occasion to bake. Bake for fun. Bake to feed people you care about or strangers you meet in a bar (I've done both). Bake because you're up early on a Sunday morning or you want something to take your mind off work on a Wednesday night. Bake cookies, cakes, pies, breads, biscuits, and scones. Bake for the glory of baking.
Persistence. Add your content here