What is the principles in baking breads?

The main principle of baking as opposed to "cooking" is that everything needs to be measured carefully. If the recipe requires 1 cup of flour or 2 eggs or 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder do not use more or less.

* Always preheat the oven slightly above the required cooking temperature, This will allow for any heat loss when loading the oven.

* Try and bake evenly sized portions, arranged symmetrically on a tray to assist even cooking.

* Place foods on the appropriate position in the oven to suit the item, for example, foods with pastry bases need to be baked low in the oven to ensure complete cooking.

* Grease trays to prevent foods such as cakes and pastries from sticking, commonly available cooking sprays work well.

* Fragile items such as custards may need to be placed a food item in a water ath to moderate the heat.

Other pieces of advice are;

* Different oven temperatures lend themselves to different foods. A low range, from 80C to 160C, is suitable for items such as meringues, meringue type biscuits like macaroons (or macarons) and biscotti, tomatoes, bread for crumbs and drying herbs. These need a low temperature to allow the food to dry without colouring.

* Heavy cakes such as fruit cake, mud cake, chocolate cake or cheesecake also need to be baked in the low range. If these cakes are cooked at a high temperature they burn on the outside edges and remain undercooked on the inside.

*For products that are set by egg, such as baked custards like crème caramel, crème brulee, lemon tart and quiches also use a low temperature range. If they are cooked at a high temperature the mixture will split due to the liquid boiling, leaving the custard with bubbles or a grainy texture. To allow for an even temperature, products like crème caramel and crème brulee are placed in a water bath.

* Pastry products like choux (used primarily for eclairs and cream puffs), puff, sweet or savory shortcrusts, filo and strudel need a high temperature. Choux and puff pastry need a higher temperature to allow the moisture in the product to become steam and make the product rise.

* For a glazed finish on your baked item try these prior to baking: for savory items, mix 1 egg yolk, 1 tsp soy sauce and 1 tbs water; for sweet items mix 1 egg yolk and ½ cup milk or cream.