Guide to abbreviations in my recipes:
I find it easiest (and the least frustrating) to make sure I have all the ingredients before I start mixing things together. Granted, this hasn't always been the case and has lead to too many frantic trips to the store, hoping that I wouldn't come home to a useless mess.
I also put my ingredients away when I'm done with them. It keeps the kitchen cleaner, and I also don't freak out wondering if I really did put in the baking powder.
Handling yeast:
For several years, I've put bottles of dry active yeast in the fridge after opening them. But I recently noticed that the lids say that you can either refrigerate or freeze the yeast after opening. If you freeze the yeast (in the bottle with the lid nice and tight), the yeast will last way beyond the expiration date on the bottle. Wahoo!
Baking at high altitudes:
I live in the Salt Lake Valley in Utah with an average altitude of 4,310 feet. This means that I've been having a bear of a time getting scratch cake recipes to work for me. I haven't experimented with the suggestions in the following link, but from what I know about adjusting box cake mixes for our altitude, everything she recommends sounds spot on! If I try them out and they don't work, this section will change. I will also probably blog my results.
High altitude scratch baking guide
- Tbl = tablespoon
- tsp = teaspoon
- C = cup
- pkg = package
- lb. = pound
- oz. = ounce
- qt. = quart
I find it easiest (and the least frustrating) to make sure I have all the ingredients before I start mixing things together. Granted, this hasn't always been the case and has lead to too many frantic trips to the store, hoping that I wouldn't come home to a useless mess.
I also put my ingredients away when I'm done with them. It keeps the kitchen cleaner, and I also don't freak out wondering if I really did put in the baking powder.
Handling yeast:
For several years, I've put bottles of dry active yeast in the fridge after opening them. But I recently noticed that the lids say that you can either refrigerate or freeze the yeast after opening. If you freeze the yeast (in the bottle with the lid nice and tight), the yeast will last way beyond the expiration date on the bottle. Wahoo!
Baking at high altitudes:
I live in the Salt Lake Valley in Utah with an average altitude of 4,310 feet. This means that I've been having a bear of a time getting scratch cake recipes to work for me. I haven't experimented with the suggestions in the following link, but from what I know about adjusting box cake mixes for our altitude, everything she recommends sounds spot on! If I try them out and they don't work, this section will change. I will also probably blog my results.
High altitude scratch baking guide
