Simple Ways To Make Your Holiday Baking Less Stressful
The holiday season is fast approaching, and everyone is probably looking up to you to make those delicious cakes and pastries that go with the festive season. But if you’ve ever baked during the holidays, you have a good idea of how stressful it can be. Not only do you have to handle the baking, but there are also the main and side dishes to focus on – not to mention the endless recipe requests from your loved ones. But the holiday is supposed to be joyous. So, if you’re dreading your baking responsibilities, here are some ways to make it less stressful.
- Start and end clean
Your kitchen is your workstation; you must keep that space clean and clutter-free. A disorganized and messy kitchen will make any cooking experience a stressful one. You’ll struggle to find your dishes and ingredients and stay on your feet much longer than you should. Cleaning up immediately after each cooking session is best, although you may sometimes want to wait a while before doing so, especially if you feel tired. You can do it little by little, and before you know it, you’ll have a clean kitchen ready to welcome you again.
- Practice new recipes ahead of time
If you’re thinking about trying new baking projects for the first time, start practicing them as soon as possible. Get smaller sizes or portions of the recipes and start trying your hands on them. Doing this will help you nail the recipe, find out what changes you need to make where necessary, and help you create a baking routine that will save time. Practicing will also help you know what recipe changes to make before time. For example, you can determine if your cheese sharpness is right, what sugar alternative you should use, or if you should swap butter for something else.
- Planning is essential for large projects
If you’re expecting to bake for a large group, you must start planning immediately. What type of pastries will you be baking? How many guests are you expecting? What ingredients do you need? What preps can you do ahead of time? Make a list of everything you need so you forget anything when you start baking. Also, see what preps you can get done ahead of time to reduce the workload when you start baking.
And after planning or determining your preferred ingredients, stock up your kitchen. This way, you can avoid the stress of shopping during a holiday rush or dealing with sudden price hikes.
- Get all the help you can get
If you live with a large family, there’s absolutely no reason for you to do all the baking on your own. Get your family members, no matter how young they are, to help. During the planning stage, assign simple roles to your family members and let them practice those roles where possible. Their assistance will prove extremely useful. You can also invite friends and other loved ones to assist you in any way possible.
