Ultimate Baking Resource Guide
The delightful and enticing smell of fresh bread is a universal pleasure that has been around for thousands of years. Bread baking began in Greece around 600 B.C. and is still being practiced, along with other types of baking, throughout the world in more flavors and forms than imaginable. Take the time to browse the links below to find a baking forum to share recipes or discuss baking equipment, locate a conversion table, discover a free baking course, check out a baking blog and more. Within the 40 assorted resources dedicated to baking, bakers of all skill levels are sure to find something of interest.
General Baking Resources
Find baking forums, baking history, lists of the best bakeries and pastry chefs in the world, an infographic and more in this section of general resources.
The Fresh Loaf – With a free membership, you can post comments and share recipes with other bread enthusiasts.
Sourdough – This site offers a web forum and community for bakers of all skill levels who enjoy baking sourdough bread.
10 Best Bakeries in America – Check out this link to discover the 10 greatest bakeries in the United States and where to find them.
25 Bakeries around the World You Have to See Before You Die – New York, Boston, Tokyo, Paris, London and Milan are some of the cities in which you will find these outstanding bakeries.
The History of Baking – This infographic details the history of baking throughout the ages to modern times.
8 Famous Pastry Chefs from Around the World – Learn about some of the most famous pastry chefs, their specialties and achievements.
Top 10 Pastry Chefs – From Dessert Professional magazine comes this list of the top 10 pastry chefs of 2016.
The Baking Podcast – This is the premier baking podcast hosted by master baker Taunya Moore and her sister Melody Hendrix. Join them to hear entertaining baking discussions.
Science of Baking Resources
It’s true that baking can be an art, but it’s an art based on science. Find out how baking ingredients work together.
The Science of Baking, In One Graphic – To create a successful baking recipe, the ingredients need to be precise. Find out how each baking ingredient interacts in a recipe.
Baking Ingredients and Their Functions – This helpful link takes you to a site that lists dry, solid, liquid and fat baking ingredients and details their functions.
Cake Troubleshooting Guide – In baking, practice makes perfect, but that doesn’t mean you won’t have some mishaps along the way. Take a look at this troubleshooting guide for wayward cakes.
Cookie Troubleshooting Guide – From Betty Crocker comes this handy guide that will help you figure out what’s wrong with your cookies.
Baking SOS – Baker Luis Troyon helps readers solve 10 common bread problems with his detailed answers to their questions.
Troubleshooting Gluten-Free Baked Goods – From America’s Test Kitchen comes these tips for making a conventional baking recipe gluten free.
Pie Troubleshooting – Creating a pie that looks and tastes like a masterpiece takes practice. To help you conquer pie problems, check out this link from All Recipes.com.
Six Different Types of Baking Flour – When baking, the type of ingredients you use can make a difference. Find out about the different types of flour and when to use each.
Baking Recipes Resources
No need to copy a recipe by hand or add another recipe card to your collection with these convenient online baking recipe resources.
Joy of Baking – Founded in 1997 by Stephanie Jaworski, this site contains only recipes that have been created, baked by her. Jaworski has lived in both Canada and the U.S., and her eclectic baking style reflects this.
Crafty Baking – Here, you’ll find a well-organized site with categories of baked goods designed for easy searching.
Home Baking Association – On the site of this non-profit you’ll discover recipes, lesson plans and activities that will appeal to bakers and teachers alike.
Clabber Girl Recipes – These baking recipes from the Clabber Girl corporation — leaders in leavening products —can be searched by difficulty level, time commitment or category.
The Vegan Society – Find delicious vegan baking resources on this site that’s dedicated to a vegan way of life.
Baking Conversion and Substitution Resources
Sometimes the recipe you’re using calls for a conversion or you may not have the exact baking ingredient on hand. That’s when these resources can help.
Baking Conversion Table – Find U.S. to metric baking conversions for a variety of baking ingredients as well as guidelines for converting Fahrenheit to Celsius.
Baking Ingredient Substitution Table – Taste and texture can suffer when you opt for substitutions in baking recipes. Use this table to help you understand the different ingredient swaps you can make.
Common Ingredient Substitutions – Find out how to make your own ingredient substitutions. This link also contains a handy infographic.
Ingredient Substitute List for Baking – Are food allergies a concern when you bake? If so, check out this link that will show you how to make your baking recipes safe.
Baking Tools and Tips
Check out the resources below to learn about the different types of baking pans and supplies available.
Types of Baking Pans: A Buyer’s Guide – Use this link to see pictures and read descriptions of the different types of baking pans before you go shopping.
Baking 101 – With 25 years of baking experience to her credit, home baker Sheri Silver shares her “must haves” for the craft.
Baking Essentials – From Bon Appetit comes this list of supplies that every serious baker should read. It details what you should always have on hand in your fridge, freezer, pantry and spice rack.
How to Build a Baking Pantry: Part 1 – Interested in the just the basics of a baking pantry? Check out this link that will help you know what to stock your pantry with as you begin your baking journey.
Baking Blogs
If baking is an established passion or if you’re just getting started, one of these blogs will be a perfect companion.
Call Me Cupcake – Created by Linda Lomelino, this blog offers sweet recipes and delightful pictures that will have you yearning to bake on your first visit.
Hint of Vanilla – If you’re looking to step-up your baking game, this blog is the perfect solution. Pro baker Megan Voigt pushes her personal boundaries to create challenging creations and you can follow in her footsteps.
My Baking Addiction – Middle school teacher Jamie authors this blog as a way to track her baking addiction. Check out her self-proclaimed “deliciously addictive” recipes and photography.
100 Cookies – Jack Volpi challenged himself to bake as many different cookies as he could when he was unexpectedly laid off from his job. This fun blog is the result.
Bakerella – Helping readers explore fun and easy baking recipes such as cakes, cupcakes, cookies and brownies is the goal of site author Angie.
Breadtopia – This long-standing blog offers bread-making tutorials via video and text and houses plenty of archives.
Online Baking Courses
Enjoy the convenience of free online baking courses that cover the basics of cakes, biscuits, bread, pastries and more.
The Art of Baking – This free course presented by food blogger Sarah Graham offers six self-paced lessons that cover the basics of baking, biscuit making, bread making, pastry making, cake making and assembling and icing cakes.
How to Bake Cakes in 6 Easy Lessons – This free six-lesson cake-baking class is accessible by clicking the links on the site or by signing up for them to be delivered once a week by email for six weeks.
Everyday Paleo Baking – Bob’s Red Mill and baking instructor Cat Ruehle team up to offer you four, free, step-by-step recipes that are paleo-friendly.
How to Make Fresh Bread – From The Culinary Cook website comes this recipe that includes both text and video instruction concerning yeast bread basics.
Online Baking Classes – These online baking classes from King Arthur Flour offer step-by-step instructions with helpful, full-color pictures.