Baking competition

[Lizzie_bakes333]

Hiii I am 14 years old and going into high school this August. Every year the SkillsUSA National Baking and Pastry Competition is held for all high school students and in 2026 I’m going to apply and hopefully when I’ve been mapping out the skills I want to master Including:
1. Bread Making
- Yeast doughs (e.g., baguettes, brioche, rolls)
- Sourdough bread
- Laminated dough (croissants, Danish pastries)

2. Pastry Doughs
- Pâte brisée (shortcrust pastry)
- Pâte sucrée (sweet pastry dough)
- Pâte à choux (choux pastry for éclairs, cream puffs)
- Puff pastry
- Phyllo dough

3. Cake Baking
- Sponge cakes (e.g., génoise, chiffon, angel food)
- Butter cakes (e.g., pound cake, vanilla cake)
- Layer cakes and fillings
- Cake decorating techniques (e.g., buttercream, fondant)

4. Cookies
- Drop cookies (e.g., chocolate chip, oatmeal)
- Rolled cookies (e.g., sugar cookies, gingerbread)
- Bar cookies (e.g., brownies, blondies)
- Biscotti

5. Tarts & Pies
- Fruit tarts and custard tarts
- Pies (e.g., apple, lemon meringue)
- Blind baking techniques

6. Chocolates and Confections
- Tempering chocolate
- Truffles and bonbons
- Sugar work (e.g., sugar shards, spun sugar)

7. Pastry Creams & Custards
- Pastry cream (crème pâtissière)
- Crème anglaise
- Bavarian cream
- Meringue techniques (e.g., Italian meringue, Swiss meringue)

8. Sugar & Decoration Work
- Royal icing for decoration
- Chocolate decorations (e.g., curls, shards, flowers)
- Piping techniques
- Edible flowers and garnishes

9. Plating and Presentation
- Presenting desserts attractively
- edible gold leaf, sugar crystals, or fruit garnishes
- color contrast, textures, and overall visual appeal

10. Measuring Ingredients Accurately
11. Working with a Variety of Equipment
- Stand mixers, food processors, rolling pins, pastry bags, etc

12. Temperature Control
- Using a thermometer for precise cooking and baking temperatures (oven, sugar syrups, chocolate tempering).

13. Time Management
14. Flavor Pairing
15. Testing for Doneness
16. Troubleshooting Failures
17. Portion Control and Serving Sizes
18. Presentation Skills
And more but I still feel like I’m missing something does anyone have ideas on how to make sure I ace this? It will start around January 2026 so I have a bit of time but I want to be over prepared
I’ll also have a YouTube channel where I’ll track my progress

 

[retired baker]

you're putting a lot of pressure on yourself, it took me a good 10-20 yrs to master all that stuff and I was doing it regularly in volume.
I would do what you are curious to learn.

 

[Lizzie_bakes333]

you're putting a lot of pressure on yourself, it took me a good 10-20 yrs to master all that stuff and I was doing it regularly in volume.
I would do what you are curious to learn.

True but I work well under pressure and I’m determined to be nothing less than great