Home baking is rubbish

[AmperoBlue]

Full of the joys of spring I decided on a whim to make Belgian Buns for the kids to eat at half term.
I have had to buy ; strong flour, yeast, sultanas, icing sugar and lemon curd. From the pound shop mostly but that’s still a fiver.

Then I used from my supplies of caster sugar, milk and egg. So they’ll need replacing now.
I have literally spent all day waiting for dough to rise (twice),kneading for 10 minutes, cooking time, cooling time and then icing.

And they are shit. Dry, not sweet enough, not enough lemon curd or fruit in them.I could have picked up a packet of 2 for £1.20.
Now I have 12 lumps of slightly sweet bread in icing to (throw out) do something with.

Make bread and butter pudding

I think you mean you are shit at home baking (sorry)

Anything that needs proving is a no go for me. Meringue is worth it, Nigella's Christmas chocolate log, and also tablet and Christmas cake, but those last two only because I live abroad and can't just get them down the shops. For a Christmas cake that would have cost about 8 quid in Tesco's I spent 10 euros on fruit, marzipan and brandy, and it was a massive job.

I'd suggest taking the icing off and making bread pudding.

If you don't normally bake then yes, it can be expensive. If you always bake and learn to do some tasty things well, it can save you a lot. One of my DDs is gluten free so for us baking is a huge money saver. £3 for a pack of 8 biscuits vs £ 2-3 in total costs including running the oven for a batch of 24 much bigger biscuits which aren't stuffed full of additives, salt and preservatives either.

Your baking obviously shit, mine on the other hand is always good and never takes all day. Face it OP, you're doing it wrong

Yanbu.
I feel the same way about my fucking allotment. Spend my life weeding, pay £50 in rent for the year, buy all the seeds and whatnot, end up with veg I could have bought for about a 5er in Aldi.

Well if you are one of those who buy stuff as a whim and don’t usually bother then yes it can expensive. But if you bake regularly then no it is not.

Plus you need to go to a cheaper supermarket.

I would not attempt those! Stick to what your good at (about 5 sorts of cake in my case) then people think you're great at baking. I can bake 16 chocolate muffins for about £1.50.

I agree I’m such a bad baker 👩‍🍳
I’d love to be able to make nice buns or brownies something like that

I love home baking.

It's time consuming and a labour of love but I adore it.

stick to cake, you can whip that up on just a few minutes with the all in one method!

Oh I agree, not worth it at all unless you enjoy the process (which I don't). I made Belgian buns once years ago, took all bloomin day mixing and kneading and proving and kneading again and proving again and filling and rolling and baking and glazing and icing and omg that's what bakers are for. After all that work they were eaten by DP and his mates in about 3 minutes. Never again.

I think you mean you are shit at home baking grin (sorry)

OP, try something simple next time. There are plenty of recipes online. Try a lemon drizzle cake or a chocolate marble cake from BBCGoogFood.

well, I find anything with yeast in it requires expertise.

I don;t have that expertise, and Tescos does

But for loads of other stuff it is 100% nicer.
chocolate cake, victoria sponge, rock cakes, decent cup cakes (without tons of revolting icing) flapjack (mine is amazing), and I do an amazing line in real American Chocolate chip cookies which are very very easy.

so, hmm, YABU!

Some things are a total waste of time when the ingredients cost far more than just buying from the shop and the shop bought ones taste great. Belgian buns are a fine example of that. Other things are definitely best homemade like blueberry muffins.

I had a friend who used to make cinnamon rolls for breakfast, they were just AMAZING, soft, fluffy, fresh, cinnamony, like nothing I have ever bought.

I am a decent baker, but she gave me her recipe and talked my through it loads of times.
I have never even come close to hers. yeast and I just have a love hate relationship. I love it, and it hates me

Make a banana loaf, they’re easy which suits me! My baking also pretty rubbish so buy from a bakery. (Just nicer than supermarket stuff IMO)

I think you chose wrong. There are easier quicker cheaper options

Sorry to hear that, OP. Baking is my superpower. I am rubbish at all sorts of things but, man, can I bake.

Belgian buns are shite. Make cookies instead. Quick, easy, cheap, and you can freeze half the dough for a cookie emergency.

I've never made Belgian buns but I use my breadmaker which mixes dough and does a first prove. Then I knock back the dough, place it in a tin in my airing cupboard which is warm when I have the heating on to let it rise then put it in the oven when I'm using it to cook something else.

YABU. What you mean is YOUR home baking is rubbish! Unfortunately, it's like everything else. A good result takes practice.

Try making something you really, really like. And keep practicing. Believe me, you'll eventually make something that is head and shoulders above what you can buy in the shops.

Ditto the BBC Good Food website - the recipes never go wrong for me.

It takes me five minutes to make a chocolate cake ( not including baking) all for a couple of quid. I use Aldi flour, margarine, sugar and cocoa, eggs from egg man. I do love baking though.

Baking is an expensive hobby.