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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How to Make a Herringbone Pie Crust
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The Stand Mixer Setting Home Bakers Overlook, According to a Pastry Chef
A slice of pumpkin pie on a plate.
7 Rules for Making Perfect Pie Dough, According to a Pastry Chef
Overhead view of cookie
A Pastry Chef's 2-Minute Trick for Perfect Round Cookies
Irish soda bread in a parchment-lined cast iron skillet in the oven.
I’m a Chef—I Always Check These 5 Things In a Kitchen Before Making Any Recipe
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Do You Scoop or Spoon Your Flour? A Pastry Chef Weighs In on How to Measure Flour Correctly
One round cake pan lined with a circle of parchment, hands pressing a circle of parchment into a second cake pan.
The Simple Restaurant Trick for Lining Cake Pans Perfectly Each Time
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How to Make Christmas Cookies Look Like They Came From a Bakery, According to a Pastry Chef
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How to Make a Stunning Lattice-Top Pie, According to a Pastry Chef
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Winter Weather Could Be Ruining Your Baking—Here's How to Fix It
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This Easy Trick for Homemade Brown Sugar Saves You a Trip to the Store
Two cookies side-by-side on a marble surface.
The Easily Forgotten Step That Can Make or Break Your Cookies
Overhead view of pie crust
How to Combat Soggy Pie Crusts With Epsom Salt
Overhead shot of six bowls containing ingredients for homemade brownie mix, each with a different variety of Dutch cocoa
8 Unexpected Ingredients All Savvy Bakers Should Have
Sliding a charred broccoli rabe pizza onto a serving tray
How to Make Great Pizza in an Outdoor Pizza Oven
Meringue on pink background
The Science Behind Vegan Meringues
The levain used for sourdough bread rises in a glass jar, about triple its starting volume.
How to Ferment Sourdough Properly
Bags of different types of flour against a purple background.
Types of Flour: A Guide
Homemade lofthouse cookies on a baking sheet.
How Silicone Baking Mats Are Ruining Your Cookies
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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
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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
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
Closeup of malted milk powder in a white bowl.
Meet the Umami Bomb of Dessert: Malted Milk Powder
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A Guide to Cake Frosting
The Best Bread-Making Tools, According to Our Experts and Tests
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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
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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Does Refrigeration Really Ruin Bread?
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A Very Unofficial Snack Cake Field Guide
a closeup of four different dishes with baked macaroni and cheese, showcasing the different handles
12 Pounds of Mac and Cheese Later, These Casserole Dishes Reigned Supreme
An assortment of vanilla extract bottles on a marble background.
Real Talk: DIY Vanilla Extract Is a Waste of Time and Money
Overhead view of two ramekins filled with white and brown sugar, respectively.
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
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