“Mise en place” is a French phrase that translates to mean “everything in place” or “putting in place.” It is a general concept for how everything operates in the kitchen. No where is it more critical than in baking.

Read the recipe thoroughly

Read the recipe through completely, from start to finish, before you start anything. By reading the recipe through fully, you gain a clear understanding of the workflow of the recipe and the timing involved. Being prepared with the time awareness and organizing the proper settings can deliver an efficiency (and calm) to the baking process. Being forewarned about vital ingredients, when your product needs to rest or needs to work, accelerated into an oven and assembling ingredients with proper care and techniques will save you a lot of trash bin contributions.

Understand the terminology and techniques used in the recipe

Identify any terminology and techniques used in the recipe that you may not be familiar with. We have dedicated this site to providing definition, some technique and reference to expert resources.  Terms like "folding", "punching down", "knead" and the proper way to interpret and implement measures, all combine to be overwhelming if not familiar, mid-recipe. Again the trash bin benefits.

Start with a clean kitchen

It may seem like a disconnected idea, but start with a clean kitchen, an empty sink and clean dishes. Clutter can cause ingredient mishaps (whoops - that's not sugar!), contamination and increases your discouragement with the process. Tidy your kitchen, your mind and your confidence, baking is challenging but can be rewarding!

Organize your tools and ingredients for the recipe

Gather any equipment you may need, any utensils, and all of your ingredients. Then measure out all of your ingredients before you start. In spite of the additional "wash" load, measuring out all of your ingredients before you start, assures that you actually do have all of the ingredients you need on hand. It provides an orderly use of your ingredients, as well as avoiding confusion and "double" down of ingredients during a "distract-ful" process. .Line up ingredients in the order they will be used. Many baking recipes call for dry ingredients to be mixed together separately from the wet ingredients, so group ingredients together by how they are added into the recipe.

Happy baking!