Now that CBD oil is legal pretty much everywhere, it seems to have infiltrated the food market significantly. You can find delicious new edibles and concoctions in online stores, stop in at a CBD-friendly restaurant or bar, or grab a delicious pastry from a local CBD bakery.
Not only do these tasty treats please the palate, but they’re believed to offer a host of wellness benefits. The CBD ingredient could ease your pain, inflammation, anxiety, and even acne. It could help you sleep better and even promote long-term health and wellness while fighting off serious health problems in your future.
It’s always fun to get a treat from your favorite eatery, but it saves a lot of money when you can do the baking yourself. Plus, it can be fun to experiment with different ingredients and enjoy the fruits of your labors when you make your own CBD baked goods.
Whether you’re an experienced baker already or you’re just getting to know the craft, there are a few things you should know about baking with CBD oil. The wrong move could change the taste or texture significantly. Use these 10 tips to help you get your next CBD bake just right.
1. Choose Quality CBD Oil
Perhaps the most important thing to understand about baking with CBD oil is that quality truly matters. A cheap, poor-quality oil will change the flavor, potency, and texture of your bake significantly.
Some CBD is purer than others. A shifty company might sell you CBD that is less potent than advertised or filled with additives that are simply unnecessary. These additives might also influence your bake.
Go with a trusted CBD brand like Penguin CBD, which is known for quality and good customer service. You can read their third-party lab reports that show they’re selling the real deal, and there’s a good return policy if you decide that it’s not what you’re looking for in a quality oil.
2. Understand Dosage and Serving Size
It’s always a good idea to watch the dosage when baking with CBD; therefore, it often requires some precise math. Identify how many servings are in a recipe and use that to determine your dosage. You might want to start with simple math at first. For instance, if you want 10mg servings and your brownie recipe serves 12, you’ll need 120mg of CBD.
It’s also a good idea to precisely measure your servings so that you know how much CBD is in each. You could use a measuring device to cut pans of brownies, for example, but the most precise way of measuring is with a scale. You can weigh cookie dough or other individual portions before baking or weigh the entire product and divide it equally afterwards.
3. Choose a Basic Recipe First
Baking can be challenging even when you’re not using a tricky ingredient like CBD, so instead of choosing a complex recipe from The Great British Baking Show, choose something with which you’re familiar. CBD is expensive, and you don’t want to waste it by putting it into a bad recipe.
Simple favorites include brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and fruit-based quick breads. These are very difficult to ruin, which will boost your confidence and help you learn more about baking before you try more difficult recipes.
4. Note the Delivery System
While you can make CBD bakes with any form of CBD, it’s important to pay attention to the way CBD is suspended. You can usually get it in the form of powder, crystals, or oils. You could also use other edibles like chocolates or gummies or vape juice as the basis of your bake.
When choosing the delivery system, consider how it will affect your taste and texture. For example, if you use powdered CBD crystals, you might have to alter the amount of liquid in your recipe. Likewise, using CBD oil might require reducing the fat content to avoid an overly oily texture.
5. Watch the Temperature
It might be wise to brush up on food science 101 to fully understand how temperature affects what you bake. CBD is particularly sensitive to temperatures. If it’s cooked at a temperature that’s too high, it can actually break down your CBD enzymes and erase some of the medicinal benefits.
You don’t want to cook CBD bakes any hotter than 350 degrees, but it’s better to keep it at 325 degrees or below. When baking in the oven, don’t set your temperature hotter than 325 degrees, and keep a thermometer handy to check the product regularly.
6. Pay Attention to Flavors
CBD oil can have a very strong flavor, especially if it’s less refined and/or in high doses. If you’re not paying attention to the flavor combinations, you could end up with a very strongly flavored CBD treat that masks the other flavors in your bake.
When baking with more subtle flavors, like chocolate chip cookies, a more refined oil is typically better. If you’re doing something with stronger flavors like double-chocolate brownies or a savory bread brimming with herbs, an unrefined CBD oil should mask the flavors of CBD just fine.
7. Combine CBD with Fat
Ideally, you’ll mix your CBD with the fat that’s already part of the recipe. CBD binds well with fat, allowing it to mix equally into your recipe. This binding agent is also believed to help activate CBD’s medicinal properties.
It doesn’t necessarily matter what type of fat you use—ghee, butter, oil, shortening, lard, or even goose fat can be used to ensure the proper distribution of your CBD. Just don’t make a recipe without a proper portion of fat in the ingredients.
8. Mix Thoroughly
If you want to ensure that you get an even 10mg of CBD (or whatever dosage you choose) throughout your bake, mixing it thoroughly is the key. You should be stirring for a couple of minutes, especially if you’re mixing by hand.
9. Store It Properly
Proper storage is essential because you don’t want to waste this expensive ingredient that can do much good when consumed.
Like any baked goods, whatever you make should be stored in an airtight container to help preserve its life. Depending what’s in your recipe, you might store it at room temperature or in the refrigerator to extend its life. Sometimes, you can freeze your CBD bakes as well to extend the life for a month or more.
10. Be Careful When Sharing with Friends
Although CBD has been removed from the list of Schedule 1 drugs that the DEA and FDA have put out, you should still be cautious when sharing your CBD goods with others. They will likely want to be aware of the pros and cons of taking CBD, especially any potential side effects.
This is especially important because CBD might interact with certain medications. You’ll want to make sure anyone you share your CBD goodies wants to enjoy the health and wellness benefits of your treats before they consume them.
