Snezana Calic reveals the simple cooking hacks she learnt on MasterChef Australia

It’s no secret that everyone loves a good cooking hack. If there’s a way to get dinner ready quicker, more efficiently, and with less effort – we’re here for it.

If you’re a dough master who doesn’t have hours to proof dough, or if you’ve ever wanted a crispy skin on your fillet of barramundi, salmon or chicken but failed… well, MasterChef alum Snezana Calic knows a hack that’ll get it sorted in no time.

1. Prove dough in the oven

Sometimes proofing dough can take hours to execute. But in the MasterChef kitchen, time is of the essence and it ticks down ever so quickly. Much like prepping pizza for dinner with a hungry stomach. You don’t want to wait hours before digging in.

While in the MasterChef kitchen, Snezana learnt a trick to proof dough in not even half the time.

“One of the best tips I used constantly in the MasterChef Australia kitchen was proving dough in a warm oven – it cut the proving time down from hours to just a fraction, and it was a total lifesaver for any yeasted dough,” she said.

So next time you’re in a hurry to proof dough and don’t have all day or night to spare – chuck it in a warm oven.

Snezana Calic reveals the simple cooking hacks she learnt on MasterChef Australia

2. Sandwich press = crispy skin

You may have already seen one of our hacks for making fish skin crispy using baking paper. But this handy trick is a game-changer, and it uses an appliance you likely already have at home.

Snezana said, “I loved the hack of using a sandwich press to crisp up fish or chicken skin,” Snezana said. “I picked up so many clever tricks just by watching my fellow contestants – they’re incredibly skilled.”

To crisp the skin on your fillet of protein using a sandwich press, simply preheat the press to medium-high and lightly oil the skin before pressing and cooking until it’s crispy. We recommend removing the skin and heating it separately, or putting the fillet skin side down as a final step before plating. Just make sure not to overcook your protein.

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