Why should you take baking lessons rather than learning to bake from videos?

The last two years have been more than weird. The COVID-19 pandemic shook our world to its core, changing almost every aspect of our daily lives, for example, the way we cook and eat. Due to lockdowns, people began to take online classes on how to prepare various meals and bake. In some ways, this was a positive effect of this health crisis. But, like most other things, learning from videos isn’t without its flaws.

 

Baking bread or pie, thanks to online videos, can work, but only to a certain extent. Most YouTube chefs will shorten their videos, expecting that you know your way around the kitchen. This, however, leads to a poor experience. Luckily, with coronavirus restrictions slowing down, people are beginning to take in-person lessons to up their culinary skills, especially baking. Allow us to, therefore, explain why you should enroll in a baking class too.

The Proper Usage of Utensils

Due to the length of videos, most online classes will skip past the basics. As we’ve said, they will imagine you know all about cooking and that you’re just there for a new recipe. As such, you’ll probably wonder what all the utensils in the virtual kitchen are for. From peelers to knives and spatulas, you’re bound to end up confused.

 

Fortunately, when taking an in-person class, your teacher will explain everything in more detail, as they have more time to work with you. But that’s not all. If you, by any chance, become confused, you can always ask them a question. This is great because it will help you lay down a healthy foundation before you acquire even more knowledge.

Improves Eye for Details and Measurement

Unlike preparing most other meals, baking is quite tricky. In fact, some consider mastering it even harder than making sushi. The reason is that there are so many details that come into play, making the whole deal one hell of a struggle to get through, especially if you’re a newbie to culinary arts. Unfortunately, if you try to master baking a pie or homemade bread by watching online video lessons, you’ll probably fail badly.

 

Yet, there’s no reason to despair. Enrolling in cooking classes that focus on this particular skill is the answer. By doing so, you’ll immerse yourself into details, ask questions, and have an overall better experience that will, in turn, provide you with the best possible results. Even if you’re not a quick learner, you’ll get the hang of it. This is due to being next to a chef who knows their game, as well as due to the try-and-repeat process of in-person classes.

Learn Baking Styles and Techniques

Benefits of enrolling in baking classes include all the information the instructor can provide you with. When you watch a video of someone cooking and baking, they’ll skip past techniques, expecting that you already know them. Those are silly assumptions most content creators assume. However, if you start attending classes in cooking, you’ll go through various baking styles and techniques.

In short, there are four basic baking techniques. They include whisking, creaming, melting, and the famous rubbing-in technique. All of them are useful, regardless of what you’re looking to bake. From cakes to pies to cookies, mastering all four will improve your cooking skills. The best way to do so is to take private classes instead of subscribing to YouTube accounts that pretty much keep doing the same thing.

Develop Creativity

Another thing online baking classes lack is creativity. For example, you turn on your laptop, go online, watch the video, and that’s it. No response from the chef teaching you how to prepare a meal — or bake, in this case — which means nothing extra.

 

On the flip side, during baking classes, your teachers encourage you to experiment and come up with recipes of your own. Each lesson starts and ends with encouragement from the instructors. They ask and answer questions, leading to your further development.

Getting in Touch With Your Senses

One of the most important advantages of learning how to cook in person instead of in virtual classes is that you get to use your senses. When you’re watching a video of a pastry chef baking a, let’s say, apple pie, you can only experience things verbally. They will describe what the doe feels like, how the filling smells, how hard or soft something is, but you will never be able to feel it for yourself. This is the main reason why you fail baking.

 

However, when attending an in-person baking class, you’ll get to feel and fully experience the baked goods your pastry chef is making in front of you. This is the only way to understand what the pastry should feel like between your fingers and how soft the fill should be. In many ways, in-person baking classes are like test kitchens. Attending them, you go through the whole curriculum, experiencing it with all five of your senses.

First-Hand Experience From Your Teacher

Lastly, we need to mention mistakes. When you’re taking an in-person course on baking or cooking of any kind, your instructors will be able to spot what you’re doing wrong. As such, they can correct you and show you first-hand how something should be done. Whether it’s using tools and equipment wrongfully or setting the temperature of the oven too high — it doesn’t matter. You can count on your pastry chef to rectify any mistake.

 

It’s needless to say that online courses can’t provide you with that. No matter how good they are, your virtual instructors can’t see what you’re doing. So, if you truly want to master your baking skills, well, there’s no doubt which course you should take.