Baking

janeym8

am looking for tips on this fine art.years ago on my mums old cooker i was awhizz if i do say so myself but since she got a new cooker-and we are talking about 20+years ago my baking flops.
today i made a batch od scones-they didnt rise much at all and outside is hard-inside lovely and soft and they do taste ok
also made a victoria sponge which feels crispy to the touch around the edges but again soft in the middle-havent tried it yet as no icing sugar to ice it up

any hints gratefully accepted
as i am trying to reduce some of my weekly food bill-was £62 yesterday and is usually way over £100 so was pleased now if i could just do some basic baking instead of buying processed treats i will be onto a winner


thanks in advance and sorry for waffling on


janey xxx

newlywed

My mum's gas cooker has always been slightly lower than the temperature is meant to be so she had to turn it up more than the recipe says. Could it be that her old cooker was like this and so now you are slightly overbaking things? Eg, electric fan oven cooks much quicker so you put it on a slightly lower temperature.

Have you tried cooking it at a slightly lower temp?

Rikki

These are a MSE favourite. Weetabix Brownies and Flapjacks.

janeym8

sounds lovely rikki even i might manage to get that right lol

janey xxx

Paulie'sGirl

Hey Janeym8,

I once had scone which didn't rise, I'd been a bit enthusiastic with the sugar... Also, I think the oven has to be preheated else the outside hardens before the scones can rise.

Oh, and another mistake I once made (recurring theme I know...) was I used plain instead of selfraising flour. I'm sure you're not as blonde as me though...

Hope that helps?

PG

dragonstamperuk

I always add a 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder to help the raising, and have learnt never to roll it out, and a very hot oven, never cold, for 10 mins approx

hope you find a solution
Tracey