15 Lazy Girl Baking Hacks To Embrace Your Inner Housewife

As the granddaughter of a certified Old-World Master Baker, you might think that I like to wake up at four in the morning to prepare homemade bread, pastries, and cakes for my family, or that I crave long, complicated recipes with steps that span multiple days’ effort. But, however strange it might be, my mother, the daughter of said baker, rather than passing down the trade secrets of her father, has over time taught me the importance of simplifying, cutting corners, and embracing lazy girl baking hacks. 

Today I'm sharing some of these tried-and-true tips with you to empower you, fellow humble baker, to get out your grass-fed butter, your farm fresh eggs, and your thrift store 9” by 9” pan and get baking.

Hack #1: Keep your measuring spoons and cups all in one big bowl or bin so you’re able to pull them out easily whenever you’re ready to bake, or keep them hanging right by your oven. This way you don’t have to go searching through your utensil drawer each time the recipe introduces a new measurement quantity. You’re also less likely to misplace any of your measuring tools. 

Hack #2: Scan your recipe in advance to see if you’ll be reusing a certain measuring spoon or cup, and start with dry ingredients. There’s nothing more frustrating than adding a tablespoon of olive oil and then seeing “1 tablespoon salt” next on the list and ending up with salt stuck to the spoon. 

Hack #3: When you use a measuring spoon or cup for something like sugar or salt – think dry things that don’t stick to the measuring vessel – rather than wash them or put them in the dishwasher, just wipe them clean to reuse or put away. 

Hack #4: If you’re making something like banana bread, cake, or cookies that you know you’d love to eat again, but maybe not that same week, make an extra and freeze it. If you cut the cake or bread before you freeze it, you’ll be able to take out single slices whenever you want them without thawing the whole cake. Alternatively, make an extra and bring it to a friend or neighbor!

Hack #5: Reuse your baking pans to cook your dinner. For example, roasted potatoes taste delicious in a pan where you made cookies earlier that day, as does meatloaf in the pan you used earlier to make banana bread. Try this trick if you want your husband to remark, “This is so good, what did you put in it this time?”

Hack #6: Read your recipe in advance and take out your butter, eggs, and milk so they can come to almost room temperature before you bake. This will save you the mess of melting butter in a bowl in the microwave and allow them to easily cream together with your mixer. (This will also make your cake fluffier!) You can put the butter in the mixing bowl, so you don’t have to take any packaging off once it’s warmer. Just be sure not to leave the milk and eggs out too long. 

Hack #7: Store your spices in categorized groups according to how you usually use them. You could put your cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ground cloves together, or anything else you regularly use in your baking, so they’ll be easier to find once you’re ready to get down to business. 

Hack #8: Bake when your oven is already warm from making dinner, or bake before you make dinner and then put dinner in right after. This way, you’ll save on preheating and get everything done at once.

Hack #9: Queue up a bunch of baking projects together so you don’t have to look for all of your supplies and ingredients, do prep and clean up, and preheat your oven multiple times. This can be great if you know you need a treat to bring to your girls’ night, biscuits for dinner, and muffins for the morning.

Hack #10: Store a small amount of salt and sugar in a handy place near where you bake so you don’t have to get the whole big bag or box out and open when you only need a teaspoon or two for your recipe. 

Hack #11: Whenever possible, bake in glass pans. That way, you can run them through the dishwasher, which would be too harsh for most metal pans. Who doesn’t want fewer things to hand wash?

Hack #12: Has having a little one made even considering baking a daunting idea? Try this: Clear off a work surface, gather all your supplies and ingredients in one place, then pull up a tower or stool for your child to stand on. As you work together, things might get a little messy, but the proud smiles you see on their faces as they help pour, mix, or mash things will make it well worth your while. If I can do it with my crazy 22 month old, I know you can too.

Hack #13: Invest in a bread maker, which, in addition to making various types of bread, can be used to make dough, including pizza dough, rolls, doughnuts, buns, and pretzels, all at the touch of a finger. Okay, you do have to put the ingredients in the pan too. A bread maker can also save you many last minute trips to the grocery store, but just make sure to keep track of the expiration date on the jar of active dry yeast!

Hack #14: For popovers and muffins, bake them in glass custard cups. More official popover and muffin pans can be pretty but are very hard to clean, and since they’re metal, they generally can’t go in the dishwasher.

Hack #15: Compare recipes over time and rewrite your classics on your own recipe cards to keep everything streamlined and simple in the way that you like to both think and bake. This can help save time scrolling through your favorite food blog’s lengthy posts or having to reread steps over and over again. You’ll also be creating a collection to share with your own family down the line. 

Closing Thoughts

I hope that you’ve found these hacks empowering and that you’ve pulled out some of those recipes you’ve had bookmarked on your browser for months. Take it from me, you don’t have to let your laziness in the kitchen come between you and homemade baked goods. When you make something from scratch, you’ll be offering not only a healthier option for your family and friends but something made with love and intention, no matter how many hacks you might have used along the way. 

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