All Things Must Crumb to an End…

Let me start off by saying that one of my favourite parts of this learning project was coming up with these titles:)

and…just like that, it’s already the end of the semester. It’s crazy to think about how much progress I have made in my learning project during this short period of time. For my learning project, I chose baking. This was something that I have always wanted to learn how to do but would get discouraged when things went wrong. To my surprise, I don’t think I had any failed attempts during my process. There were things that needed to be adjusted in recipes, but I soon learned how to manage that. I have used a ton of different online sources and tools to find out what works best for me.

Now, let’s take a look at a quick overview of my journey!

Week One: Baking is Whisk-y Business

For my first week, I started by explaining any experience I had in terms of baking. This showed my failed attempts, as well as some no-bake desserts I have previously made. I talked about what I wanted to make during this journey. I decided on how much I wanted to bake each week. Of course, life gets in the way, so I aimed for about 1-3 times a week. I also listed some sources and tools that I wanted to try using!

Week Two: Chip Chip, Hooray!

This week I made two things:

  1. Graham Wafer Bars: I created a Video of me making this dessert. This was the first week that I used the Recipe Box app. This was my Grandma’s recipe, so I converted it to the app and shared it with everyone: Graham Wafer Bars Recipe.

2. Since I made a no-bake dessert to start, I wanted to make something else. I thought I needed to start my journey with something simple that I couldn’t mess up…and that was chocolate chip cookies. I decided to just google a recipe and see what comes up. I found this Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe and Video on a website called Allrecipes. This was where I had my realization that following along with a video is not for me! I would much rather work at my own pace and not have to worry about pausing the video. I had to add extra flour because the dough was a bit runny. I was worried this was going to ruin the cookies, but they turned out great! I wasn’t sure what else I could use to thicken the dough a little bit. Does anyone have any tips? I chilled the dough because that is what my mom does. Now that I have made them a couple of times, I realize that chilling the dough doesn’t really seem to make a difference. 

Week Three: Things Can Only Get Batter From Here…

For my third week, I thought I would take things up a notch and bake a cake. To my surprise, nothing went wrong! This was actually super easy to make. I followed this Banana Pudding Poke Cake Recipe that I found on a website. I of course later converted it to Recipe Box. I came to the conclusion that websites are so much easier than following along with a video. They have pictures, instructions, tips, and reviews. I used a vanilla cake box mix, as that is what the recipe called for, but I stated that I am going to make it again and make the cake part from scratch, and I am holding myself to that! I changed a big part of this recipe…but I did not regret it one bit. It said to mix the milk and dry pudding mix together and pour that over the cake, but it was too liquidy. So I decided to make the actual pudding, let it cool, and then put that over the cake. I again made a video of me making this cake and linked it to my post.

Week Four: The Best is Yet to Crumb

I went in a COMPLETELY different direction this week and decided to try this Olive Garden Breadstick recipe. This was out of my comfort zone for sure. I have never even bought yeast before and was overwhelmed by all the different kinds. I bought instant yeast and then realized the recipe called for active dry yeast. Not sure what the difference is but the website gave some tips that made it work. I actually found this recipe on Instagram from an account of a girl who goes by the account name “@moribyan”. This girl is very talented. I couldn’t believe the things she was making. I watched the video that she made on Instagram before making these breadsticks myself. This was very helpful. Again, I added this recipe to Recipe Box and also created this video of a slideshow of the steps I went through. 

Week Five: Do I get Brownie Points for Trying?

This week was basically a breakthrough for me. I let a Buzzfeed quiz decide what to bake. Of course, it chose the thing I dreaded baking the most…brownies. This time I used Recipe Box to search for brownie recipes. I found one on a website called Together as Family. The baking process went really well but I confessed that this was the first time I baked something that I didn’t like. It was the cakey texture that I wasn’t a fan of. I again made a video of my process. This week I made an impulsive decision and baked a cake for my sister after she finished 1st in track and field races. Since I was in a rush, I didn’t do any research and I just clicked on the first recipe I saw. Let’s just say…this was a mistake. The complexity of this recipe shocked me and I definitely ended up putting all the ingredients together at once and mixing. I will admit…it didn’t turn out too bad!

Week Six: History in the Baking

This week I had my sister help me make Banana Chocolate Chip Bars! I followed this video that I found on TikTok. I learned that TikTok is an amazing platform to find recipes. So many people post recipes! My sister and I created this YouTube video to show our process. These turned out amazing! Since then, I have been on TikTok watching baking and cooking recipes! I also made a no-bake recipe for fun. I made these Ruffles Krispie Treats. I was skeptical of course, but I have learned to trust the internet when they say something weird is actually really good. You have to try this sweet and salty treat!

My online tool recommendations:

So…I think I have a newfound hobby! I did not make nearly as many mistakes as I thought I would. My family loved this learning project just as much as I did. I was bringing them making every week. I have no choice but to continue baking because my mom actually got me a mix-master for my birthday! 

After seeing all the different tools my classmates have been using for their learning projects, I realize how all of these different tools can be incorporated into many aspects of learning and different topics. My primary takeaway is that different tools work better for certain things. I did not like watching video recipes, but for classmates who were doing something else for their learning project, videos worked really well for them!

3 thoughts on “All Things Must Crumb to an End…

  1. I can’t believe the semester is coming to an end, and with it all of our learning projects. I would have to agree with you, your titles were always one of the highlights of each post! Since you mentioned the Recipe Box resource in week two, I have incorporated it into my life whenever I try out a new supper or dessert recipe… and I have been loving it! I’m glad you’ve found a new hobby as a result of this learning project. Thanks for sharing your learning with all of us!

    1. I’m so glad that others have been making use of the tools I found! I’m so happy someone else enjoyed my titles too haha!

  2. Hey Taylor,
    I’ve got to say your puns are so good!! I am pleased to see how much you enjoyed your learning project. It is really cool to see how these learning projects and the tools we have found throughout them extend beyond this class. Like you, I had good experiences with TikTok, Youtube and iMovie when completing my learning project, and I plan on checking out Recipe Box.
    Wishing you the best moving forward.
    – Delaney

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