Fresh bread, layer cakes, and casseroles: if it cooks in the oven, it's fair game. Our baking guides share tips and tricks for baking the best sweet and savory fare.

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What's the Difference Between Instant, Active, and Fast-Acting Dry Yeasts?
close up of ap flour sourdough starter on day 11
The Science of Sourdough Starters
Slices of crusty white bread
What Is Gluten? The Science Behind Great Dough
Spooning up a bit of custard topped with cherries in a glass cup.
What to Do With Leftover Vanilla Bean Pods
A large, hardened lump of brown sugar in a zip-top bag, the opening of which has been rolled back and propped open.
The Quickest Way to Soften Brown Sugar
Measuring spoons, measuring cups and a kitchen scale.
The Best and Most Accurate Way to Measure Wet and Dry Ingredients for Baking
Bowl scraper and dough
Every Kitchen Needs a Bowl Scraper
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How to Make a Paper Piping Bag
Two hands gently hold a smooth ball of dough on a wooden work surface.
How to Knead, Fold, and Shape Sourdough Bread
Bubbly sourdough starters in glass jam jars
The Best Flour for Sourdough Starters: An Investigation
A bag of vital wheat gluten.
Can't Find Bread Flour? Vital Wheat Gluten Can Help
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The Best Way to Refrigerate or Freeze (Most) Cookie Doughs
Two hands are placing a ball of bread dough into a bowl lined with a floured kitchen towel.
Breadmaking 101: All About Proofing and Fermentation
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The Difference Between Blackstrap Molasses and True Molasses
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Breadmaking 101: How to Troubleshoot Bad Bread
A pile of cocoa powder
What's the Difference Between Dutch Process and Natural Cocoa Powder?
The Science of Baking Bread (and How to Do It Right)
Pizza Flour Types, Foams, and Dough
特写镜头的麦芽milk powder in a white bowl.
Meet the Umami Bomb of Dessert: Malted Milk Powder
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A Guide to Cake Frosting
stand mixer creaming butter and sugar
How Do Stand Mixers Work?
The Best Bread-Making Tools, According to Our Experts
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What to Bake When You're Out of Flour
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Watch Kenji Make No-Knead Bread With Beer
Overhead view of a pan pizza topped with pepperoni and torn basil leaves.
Watch Kenji Demonstrate How Foolproof His Pan Pizza Recipe Really Is
KitchenAid Pro-6
This Is the Best Stand Mixer You Can Buy
A container of baking powder next to a spoon full of baking powder.
How Does Baking Powder Affect My Cookies?
What's the Difference Between Light and Dark Brown Sugar?
A white casserole dish filled with Thanksgiving bread stuffing
How to Oven-Dry Bread for Faster, More Flavorful Thanksgiving Stuffing
A bagel resting on a cutting board next to a knife with cream cheese spread in the center
The Right Way to Toast a Bagel
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Cookie Science: Why Cream Butter and Sugar?
Overhead shot of a round layer cake, sheet cake, and rectangular cake with portions cut out and plated.
How to Scale a Recipe for Cake to Fit Any Pan
Brown sugar stored an airtight glass container with a rubber gasket lid
Keep Brown Sugar Soft in One Easy Step
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How to Measure a Cup of Flour | BraveTart
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Does Refrigeration Really Ruin Bread?
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A Very Unofficial Snack Cake Field Guide
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We Tested 9 Casserole Dishes—Here Are the Best Ones
An assortment of vanilla extract bottles on a marble background.
Real Talk: DIY Vanilla Extract Is a Waste of Time and Money
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Cookie Science: The Real Differences Between Brown and White Sugars
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The Best Way to Temper Chocolate | The Food Lab
Overhead of three bundt cakes, two dusted with powdered sugar.
How to Use a Bundt Pan
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Baking Guides: How to Make Mini Pies
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How to Make Vegetable Galettes
An empty blind-baked pie crust in a glass pie plate.
How to Blind Bake Pie Crust Without Weights
A wooden spoon mounded with buttercream.
How to Rescue Swiss Buttercream, No Matter the Problem
a ball of pizza dough on a floured work surface
What's The Best Way To Freeze Pizza Dough? | Ask The Food Lab
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Pizza Protips: How's the Water?
One round cake pan lined with a circle of parchment, hands pressing a circle of parchment into a second cake pan.
How to Line a Cake Pan With Parchment
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How to Make Vibrant, Flavorful Fruit Frostings
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Beyond Vanilla: Extracts, Oils, and Waters That Can Improve Your Baking
pie dough tart
Make an Easy Tart With Fresh Summer Fruit and a Creamy Spread
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For Your Next Baking Adventure, Mix and Match Your Layers
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I've Baked Thousands of Cakes—This is My Favorite Cake Pan
Someone mixing and kneading bread dough by hand.
Breadmaking 101: How to Mix and Knead Bread Dough Like a Pro
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Cookie Science: How Do Eggs Affect My Cookies?
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11 Essential Tips for Better Pizza | The Food Lab
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The Science of Pie: 7 Pie Crust Myths That Need to Go Away
Four buttercream cupcakes resting on a white plate
The World of Buttercreams: 6 Varieties to Try at Home