We love baking here at The Seasoned Chef.  We host at least one baking-specific class per month, kids learn all about baking in our summer Young Chef Camps, and everyone loves a sweet and delicious treat.

Needless to say, baking delivers some delicious results in our world!

Through our many years of experience we’ve started to recognize that baking tends to be the perfect entry point for many new to the cooking world.  Especially for young people! While cooking tends to require more “feel” and less measuring (thus being a skill that’s learned later), baking offers an exact recipe that leads to a good result.  Adults and kids alike love baking as a family, and it’s the perfect way to learn new tricks in a safe, difficult-to-mess-up environment.  

If you’ve been thinking about getting started cooking, we decided to dive into the top three reasons why baking can often be the best way to get started in the kitchen.  Before you know it, you might just be the next Iron Chef!

3 Reasons Why You Should Start Cooking… By Baking!

It tastes truly delicious

Let’s be honest… whatever you’re baking, it’s probably going to end up being pretty tasty.  From muffins and macarons, to croissants and cupcakes, almost every baking recipe turns out being something that delights the taste buds.

Even if you’re somebody that prefers a recipe that’s gluten-free or lactose-free, your freshly baked dishes can end up being moist and baked to please even the pickiest of palettes.  (If you need some good suggestions for substitutes or potential modifications, just let us know and we’d be happy to help!)

Baking is a series of exacts

While we’ve written at length about how we believe in the power of personal measurements when cooking, baking is a very different practice.  Cooking involves several different methods of personalization, such as mixing different spices and ingredients based on your personal preference.  Alternatively, while there are a few substitutes that can be made for dietary needs or preferences, baking is much more of an exact science.

If a recipe suggests one cup flour or two teaspoons of vanilla extract, we recommend that you stick pretty close to that suggestion.  Likewise with the amount of time and temperature that a recipe suggests you keep the recipe in the oven, especially living at altitude where baking is a much different science than closer to sea level. (We touch on why in this post.)

Having an exact recipe to follow simplifies the process and feels a bit safer for many new cooks as they start to learn what they do and do not like to have in their favorite recipes.  It’s a way to confirm that the dough rises as much as we would expect, that the cupcakes look relatively similar, and that the macaroons all end up having the light flakiness we love.

The end result is (typically) lovely

Baking for others or for our own enjoyment typically ends up with a pretty striking finale.  From a cake with a personalized cake topper to a batch of fresh chocolate chip cookies looking as good as they smell, our baked goods typically turn out pretty darn… well… pretty!

It’s the perfect way to display our hard work and to show off our newly learned kitchen skills in a way that is perfectly presentable for our friends and family to enjoy. Though even if it’s not photo worthy, we’re still willing to bet that it tastes really, really good.

Did you know?

Our Young Chef Camps are happening all summer long and we’re so excited to teach your little one all about fun in the kitchen!

There are several camps and classes to pick from, including lots of baking, and all classes are created to help families be able to enjoy time in the kitchen together.

Check out our June, July, and August Young Chef calendars to see what’s in store!