Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How hard is it to measure? WTF?

As a good cook but a shit baker, let me tell you, the measuring thing is deceptive! I never know whether to tightly pack, loosely pack or whatever. I was also told that you're supposed to dig your cup into the flour then level it off, but I've read that it's much more accurate to WEIGH your ingredients because the difference between loose packing and hard packing and leveling can be pretty big. I never seem to get it right.

That's BS. You can scoop things that don't pack (such as granulated sugar), but for flour, you need to scoop and level off.

If an ingredient needs to be packed, the recipe will say so. The only thing I can think of that is always packed is brown sugar. Maybe grated veggies, but the recipe should specify.

You don't need to buy a scale. They're nice, but if you don't have the room, a scale is definitely skippable.

OP, if you're going to ask for advice, don't get annoyed when people do so. Someone who wants recipes that are hard to screw up is different from someone who doesn't want to measure.

I'm the PP of this comment that you're responding to, but I'm not OP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How hard is it to measure? WTF?

As a good cook but a shit baker, let me tell you, the measuring thing is deceptive! I never know whether to tightly pack, loosely pack or whatever. I was also told that you're supposed to dig your cup into the flour then level it off, but I've read that it's much more accurate to WEIGH your ingredients because the difference between loose packing and hard packing and leveling can be pretty big. I never seem to get it right.

That's BS. You can scoop things that don't pack (such as granulated sugar), but for flour, you need to scoop and level off.

If an ingredient needs to be packed, the recipe will say so. The only thing I can think of that is always packed is brown sugar. Maybe grated veggies, but the recipe should specify.

You don't need to buy a scale. They're nice, but if you don't have the room, a scale is definitely skippable.

OP, if you're going to ask for advice, don't get annoyed when people do so. Someone who wants recipes that are hard to screw up is different from someone who doesn't want to measure.

Anonymous wrote:How hard is it to measure? WTF?

As a good cook but a shit baker, let me tell you, the measuring thing is deceptive! I never know whether to tightly pack, loosely pack or whatever. I was also told that you're supposed to dig your cup into the flour then level it off, but I've read that it's much more accurate to WEIGH your ingredients because the difference between loose packing and hard packing and leveling can be pretty big. I never seem to get it right.

Irish soda bread

I would go with quick breads; banana, zucchini, cornbread, etc., and if you want to improve your skills wait until you are comfortable with quick breads before moving on to yeast breads. If you want something even easier than quick breads, check out King Arthur's line of mixes on their website. Yeast can be tricky even for seasoned bakers! There is frequently a quick bread section in baking cookbooks, or just use that search term online.

OP checking in here. Thanks for the suggestion to those of you who provided them.

To those of you who got caught up on the idea that I can't measure, you missed the bigger picture.

I'm definitely going to look up the beer bread recipe and have already been making a pretty good banana bread, which was the inspiration for me to post. Just want to expand from there.

Beer bread. I don't have the recipe in front of me, but it's basically flour, a bit of sugar and a can or bottle of room temperature beer. You can make it taste different depending on whether you use miller lite or a rich dark stout. (I used to buy a mixed 6 of Saranac and experiment.) You stir it but don't knead it. It's terrific served warm with a bit of butter.

Buy a scale...it is easier then 1/2cup of this or that..

How about granola? Its baked, somewhat healthy, and does not require exact measuring. There was recently a thread here about favorite granola recipes.

How hard is it to measure? WTF?

I recommend the book/website artisan bread in 5 minutes a day. It will give you great bread (and other things you can make with different doughs, like cinnamon rolls, etc.) with no kneading and a minimum of measuring (but baking does tend to rely more heavily on accurate measurements).

Do you own measuring cups and spoons? It's really not that hard to measure it correctly. I'm a terrible cook but I can bake okay -- just follow the instructions.

Here's my favorite go-to. Banana bread:
INGREDIENTS
3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
METHOD
No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Anonymous wrote:Can you provide any recommendations for breads, cakes, muffins, and others that don't require rolling, kneading, precise measurements, etc? I am thinking of things like banana bread and blueberry muffins, but please share your favorites. Bonus points for recipes that provide some nutritional value.

Well see, that's a problem. Baking is basically Edible Chemistry. The measurements are exact because you are causing various chemical reactions. As far as something easy for someone who doesn't bake, you could try muffins or quick breads.

Or you could just let your Aunt Betty or Uncle Duncan do all the hard work for you.

precise measurements is exactly why I don't bake. that's sort of a given.

if you don't want to do anything, I would suggest a box mix or a bakery.

Can you provide any recommendations for breads, cakes, muffins, and others that don't require rolling, kneading, precise measurements, etc? I am thinking of things like banana bread and blueberry muffins, but please share your favorites. Bonus points for recipes that provide some nutritional value.