Bake with Confidence: Home Baking from Scratch

What's inside

1. Level 1: Flour, Sugar and Fat: What Each One DoesFree
   You'll find out how flour builds structure, how sugar sweetens, browns and keeps bakes moist, and how fat makes them tender and flaky.
2. Level 2: Eggs and Raising Agents: How Bakes RiseFree
   We'll look at how eggs bind, set and trap air, and how baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and yeast each make a bake rise.
3. Level 3: Weighing, Measuring and Getting to Know Your Oven
   You'll learn why weighing in grams beats cups, how to convert between them, and how fan and conventional ovens differ and why an oven thermometer helps.
4. Level 4: Bake Safely: Raw Flour, Raw Egg, Cooling and Storing
   We'll go through Food Standards Agency advice on raw flour and raw egg, then how to cool, store and freeze your bakes safely.
5. Level 5: Your First Loaf: Kneading and Proving
   You'll bake a simple white loaf and see how kneading develops gluten and how proving lets the yeast fill the dough with gas.
6. Level 6: Enriched Doughs: Soft Rolls and Sweet Buns
   We'll add butter, milk, sugar and egg to a yeast dough, find out why that slows the rise, and use it to make soft rolls and buns.
7. Level 7: Sourdough in Outline: Starters and Wild Yeast
   You'll get the basics of how a sourdough starter grows wild yeast and bacteria, and how that gives sourdough its rise and its tang.
8. Level 8: The Creaming Method: A Classic Victoria Sponge
   We'll cream butter and sugar to trap air, add the eggs without curdling the mixture, and bake a light Victoria sponge.
9. Level 9: All-in-One and Melting Methods
   You'll learn two quick cake methods, the all-in-one sponge and the melting method used for gingerbread and brownies, and when each one is the right choice.
10. Level 10: Biscuits and Cookies: Crisp, Chewy or Snappy
    We'll find out how sugar type, fat and dough temperature decide whether a biscuit spreads, snaps or stays chewy.
11. Level 11: Scones and Quick Breads
    You'll rub fat into flour, handle the dough lightly and bake tall scones, then use the same ideas for a soda bread.
12. Level 12: Shortcrust Pastry and Blind Baking
    We'll make a short, tender shortcrust, line a tin and blind bake the case so you never get a soggy bottom.
13. Level 13: Sweet and Savoury Pies and Tarts
    You'll use your shortcrust to fill, top and bake pies and tarts, from a fruit pie to a set custard tart or quiche.
14. Level 14: Rough Puff Pastry in Outline
    We'll see how rolling and folding layers of butter into a dough makes the steam-lifted flaky layers of rough puff.
15. Level 15: Meringue: Whisking Egg Whites
    You'll whisk egg whites and sugar into a stable meringue and bake it low and slow until it's crisp.
16. Level 16: Icing and Finishing Simply
    We'll make glacé icing and buttercream and use a few easy techniques so your bakes look as good as they taste.
17. Level 17: Baking for Dietary Needs and Allergens
    You'll learn how to adapt recipes for gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free and vegan bakers, and how to handle allergens safely.
18. Level 18: Final Challenge: Diagnose, Fix and Bake with Confidence Exam
    We'll bring the whole course together: you'll diagnose common baking failures across every method, then plan and troubleshoot your own bake from start to finish.

Access

The first 2 levels are free with a free account. Every level, the podcast edition and the AI tutor come with All Access at £4.99/month or any Creator plan — see pricing.

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