Baking with your Budding Bakers

Our mums and grannies seem to have the magic touch when it comes to baking, whether it’s bread, scones, tarts etc, they seem to have a signature bake. This all comes down to baking at a young age.

Baking is an excellent way to spend time with your kids but there are so many other benefits. Here are some great reasons why it is good to bake with your kids!

1. Recipe reading

Before baking it’s essential to read any recipe. This is an excellent way to encourage children to read and allows them to have a better understanding of the recipe before baking. If you decide to bake with your kids, a good tip is to replace their bedtime story with a recipe; this will give them a great sense of achievement and will get them excited about the activity of baking.

2. Kiddy Q&A

Reading through a recipe allows kids to ask questions on certain cooking terms that they may not have heard of such as whipping, creaming, sieving etc. This is a great way to build on their vocabulary. During baking, ask about the new words they have learned and give them the opportunity to put them into practice.

3. Stirring in some safety

One of the most important things when cooking at any age is knowing about food safety. Before baking with kids it’s a good way of teaching them about basic hygiene practices such as washing their hands before and after handling food. The most dangerous part of baking is of course the oven so it’s good to show them how to proceed with caution. For any parent, I’m sure the “clean as you go” policy would be an excellent skill for the kids to know, for the first while let them get messy and then show them the basics of cleaning up after each task.

4. Mixing in Maths

Baking is all about measurements which gives kids an opportunity to learn a variety of mathematical concepts. The basics of counting the number of spoonfuls going in the mix or the number of biscuits, muffins etc made. Using measuring spoons will teach about fractions which will give them a grasp on the subject for school. Give them the responsibility of weighing out the ingredients and teach them the different weights as they go.

5. Crafty Kids

The main reason to bake with your kids is just for fun. Allowing your kids to be creative in a new way is an excellent way for them to express themselves. Bakes that require icing is one of my favourite ways to be creative. Making biscuits and decorating with a variety of cutters, sprinkles and food colourings allows the kids the opportunity to let their imagination run wild. Warning, this may get messy!

5. Fondant Fun

If your kids like play dough, fondant is a great alternative as it will set hard and allow them to keep their creations. This is another excellent way to for kids to get creative with food.

Top Tip! If there isn’t enough time to bake and decorate, buying plain biscuits or cupcakes is a handy way to still give them the opportunity to experiment!

What are you favourite things to bake with your kids? Comment bellow and send in photos of your bakes! Check out my favourite biscuit recipe ‘Aunty Eileens Biscuits’