Great Kiwi Bake Off judge Peter Gordon, second right, with presenters Pax Assadi and Hayley Sproull, and fellow judge Jordan Rondel. Gordon shares his baking secrets with the Herald.
Great Kiwi Bake Off judge Peter Gordon, second right, with presenters Pax Assadi and Hayley Sproull, and fellow judge Jordan Rondel. Gordon shares his baking secrets with the Herald.
Top Kiwi chef Peter Gordon shares his expert tips for how to be a better baker, including the secret to his world-famous-in-NZ cheese scones.
What are the most common mistakes bakers make, and are there any easy fixes for them?
Weighing ingredients incorrectly and getting oven temperatures orbaking times wrong. Baking starts out as four parts science, three parts skill and part part creativity. Then once you’ve nailed it, it all become more equal.
What are the kitchen equipment must-haves to become a brilliant baker?
An oven you understand (hot spots can ruin a bake), scales (I’d rather weigh cream than use a measuring jug), and bowls and tins of the size that you want finished cakes and the like to be.
That’s one Americanism I really don’t like. In fact, I also don’t like our own use of “tablespoons of butter” - it can be hard to fill a tablespoon with butter straight from the fridge. But… a stick of butter weighs a silly 113.4g, according to Google. Which is also eight tablespoons - I mean how silly is it, really!?
Can you swap dairy milk for alternative milks, like oat/soy/coconut/almond etc in baking? What are the top tips we need to know?
You mostly can, but you’ll likely need to tweak the recipe a little as milk contains lactose and milk solids, which all have an effect on a recipe. Full-fat milk for example is not as “wet” as oat milk, which is oats pureed with water - so if swapping them out, your oat milk cake may be more wet than a milk batter. And it’ll give a less rich cake.
Discover Kiwi chef Peter Gordon's baking expertise, from scone secrets to fixing common mistakes. Photo / 123rf
What’s your favourite chocolate to bake with and why?
Solomons Gold is my go-to. I tasted their first samples years ago before they began selling and fell in love with the slightly savoury smoky aromas. That’s all we use at Homeland.
How do I start a sourdough starter from scratch?
It’s easy but complicated - best you head to Google land to find what suits you best. At the moment in this hot and humid weather, you may not get the best result as everything will speed up and bubble away crazy, so maybe wait until the heatwave has passed.
Why does my cake never rise, or droop in the middle after I’ve baked it?
If they never rise, then perhaps you should focus on macrame instead of baking. Seriously though - follow the recipe of a reputable baker and you should have no problems. And just check whether you’re supposed to be using self-raising or plain flour in the mix.
What are some of your best pantry substitution tips?
Swap out coconut butter for dairy butter in biscuits, or even just a portion - say 50/50. Flavour is delicious - but in this heat, keep an eye on both fats as they may soften too much.
How do I make gluten-free baking taste just as good as regular baking?
It depends what you’re baking, as it’s also the texture that will be different to regular flour and you can’t simply swap one for the other.
Chef Peter Gordon.
Peter Gordon is a judge on The Great Kiwi Bake Off, screening now on TVNZ+ and TVNZ One, with new episodes every Thursday.
