Equipment for Bakers

Thinking about starting to take up home baking?  Wonder which kitchen tools you should get?  How about updating your equipment?  Wonder how I go about choosing my kitchen equipment?  Heard rumors of certain equipment being better than others?  Read on below to hear my opinions on common (and sometimes not-so-common) kitchen equipment for baking.  For a list of general kitchen equipment every kitchen should have click here.  If you have an opinion, I’d love to hear it!  Make sure you comment below!

What you might like to have if you’re planning on baking:

• Electric mixer – A must have for the home baker.  This will probably be yourmost expensive investment and the more you spend here the happier you’ll be in the long run.  Now, I’m not saying buy a $1000 mixer but spending a couple hundred on a Kitchen Aid mixer will go a long way.  Kitchen Aids are power house mixers with strong motors and come with three attachments: paddle, whip, and dough hook.  For those of you on a budget, I have friends who are happy with their Sunbeam mixers and they come with beater attachment (for whipping) and spiral beater (for blending) attachments.

 

• Digital kitchen scale – I prefer recipes that go by weights instead of measurements and a digital kitchen scale is the only way to go.  They can effortlessly measure ingredients and switch from ounces and grams.  It’s worth springing for a nice scale that can handle a lot of weigh before reading an error – mine only goes to 5 lbs and I curse the day I decided to be frugal.  11 lbs is great and should cover almost all your recipes.  If you’re making large batches of bread you probably should go even higher than that – but it will get expensive.

• Bench scraper – Get one that’s handle is flush with the blade.  This is absolutely a must for cake decorating and a flush handle makes icing cakes much easier.  You can also chop most fruits and vegetables super quick with a bench scraper and you can also use this with doughs.  Bench scrapers are also great for cleaning tables.  Definitely an all-around useful tool.

 

• Pastry wheel - More commonly called pizza wheel or pizza cutter.  This little round knife makes cutting pizza a breeze that’s for sure, but why have a pizza wheel just for pizza when you can use a knife?  Pizza wheels are much more useful in baking and pastry especially when making sweet breads, croissants, baklava, bar cookies like brownies and blondies, and the like.  Pastry wheels have a smooth even cut that doesn’t require you to stop every few seconds and can make cutting straight lines and same sized pieces a breeze.  If you do invest in a pastry wheel, get one with an over-sized wheel so you can use it with deep dish brownies.  Smaller ones are good for items still in the sheet pan and can help with gum paste work – like cutting strips to make ribbons.

• Metal turntable – If you’re icing cakes this is a must have.  Get a metal one, they’re heavy and expensive, but they are durable and long lasting and easy to lubricate with shortening.  Plastic ones are flimsy and break easily.

 

• Offset spatulas – Get one long one and one tiny one (for touching up) if you’re going to be decorating cakes.  If you’re not decorating cakes, you can skip this kitchen tool – but a tiny
  

  The two spatulas two the top are offset, the bottom one is a straight spatula. They are also called pallet knives

  offset can be a great utility tool for lots of projects.  You might want to get a straight spatula for icing cakes if an offset spatula feels awkward.

 

• A set of round metal biscuit cutters – Metal because they cut better.  Round cutters are good for cutting cookies and circles are one of the most common shapes in food preparation.

 

• Cake pans – If you’re baking cakes, you’re going to need these.  Most recipes make two 9” cakes so you’ll need at least two 9” pans to start off with.  In time, as you get more comfortable you can switch to different sizes and depths.  I find deep wide cake pans pop up more in the middle than shallow cake pans.  You can usually avoid this by using something called magic strips which are oven safe strips that you soak in water and line the edges of your cake pans with.  I’ve never used them but I see them all the time in baking supply stores.
  

  Tips I have include: Straight/round, star, leaf, rose, writing, grass, and border

 

• Piping tips – If you’re really holding back get an 825 star tip and an 805 straight tip and that should handle most of your projects.  Otherwise get the 9 piece set so you’ll be prepared for anything.  Piping tips can also double as cookie cutters for really small uses such as sandwich cookies with an semi-open top or for creating polka dots for your fondant cakes.  If you plan on decorating a lot of cakes double or triple up on your writing tips (especially 2′s and 3′s) and you may want to get doubles of tips up to the 5 size (800-805 and 820-825).  That way you can use multiple colors without having to switch bags because you only have one tip.

• Pastry bags – Some people swear by using ziplock bags as a substitute forpastry bags.  I could never really get them to work for me plus I would imagine using pastry tips in ziplock bags is near impossible.  Get the appropriate style for your project.  You should get larger ones for piping shell borders or basket weaves, smaller ones for decorative work, and small seamless ones for piping chocolate and royal icing.  While canvas ones are more environmentally friendly than disposable plastic ones, they can be unsanitary and smell after a while.  If you use canvas ones, make sure you wash them well and dry them even better.

 

• Cake Rings or Springform Pans – I personally like cake rings more than springform pans.  I’m sure there are others who feel the opposite is true.  Cake rings and springform pans are great for making mousse cakes and ice cream cakes.  They are also helpful in making delicate desserts like cheesecake (springform pans in that case).  I prefer cake rings because they have more uses.  You can use them as a giant cookie cookie cutter and you can use one inside a cake pan to create a space in your cake.  If you plan on getting cake rings, you’ll need to get cake cardboards that fit inside them to get the most out of your cake rings.

 

 

• Cake cardboards – Infinitely useful in transporting and decorating cakes.  You can use them as a guide for icing.  They are a must for use with cake rings.

 

• Wire cooling racks – You can use your stove’s burners to cool baked goods while they are still in the pan but wire cooling racks give you more space and
  

  Your rose nail should complement the size of your rose tip. A rose nail with more work area is more versatile but bulky.

  more options.  You can put your cookies directly on top of the racks (especially important if they are close to being over baked), you can create extra drying racks for your dishes, and for your dining table if you’re running low on trivets.  Try to find racks that have a tighter pattern to it – you don’t want your cookies to slip through.

 

• Rose nail – If you plan on making buttercream roses, you will need this tool.

 

 

• Cake comb – Cake combs help give your cakes a textured finish to your icing on the sides, and sometimes the top.  Metal cake combs work best.

 

• Exacto knife – I used to use mine all the time in school, but I hardly use mine anymore.  That being said, it can be really handy for cutting out stencils for tuile paste and for powdered sugar (to give your cookies and cakes a decorative finish).  You can also use it in gum paste work.
  

  A zester can help garnish your desserts

 

• Zester – Not a microplane but the zester used for garnishing.  I never really use mine but if you have one you can candy citrus zest, shave chocolate, and create decorative strips.

 

• Non-bendy straws – These little guys are the trick to make tiered cakes.  Stick three into your cake, cut them to the height of your cake, and you’ve got inexpensive, easy to use columns.

 

• Ribbon – You might want to have some ribbon on hand for decorating gift bags of treats or for creating a border along cakes.

 

• Ruler – For times when you need to measure your cake layers, cut perfectly identical brownies, and even strips for gum paste work.  Get the flattest ruler you can find that’s smooth on both sides.  Non-slip ones often have a cork back that peels off when you wash it.  Make sure whatever your ruler is marked with won’t wash off when it gets wet.  I recommend getting a metal one.  Wood ones work well.  I don’t recommend getting a plastic one unless it’s see-thru, very stiff, and unbreakable.

 

• Lots of plastic tupperware containers – Tupperware is my general way of saying plastic tubs (kind of like saying Kleenex instead of tissue).  Plastic containers are sanitary and safe for holding ingredients like flour and sugar – plus if they’re clear you can see how much of an ingredient you have left.  Skip glass containers – they’re expensive and breakable.

 

• Transportation containers – I could never live without my cake container,
  

  A cupcake container is invaluable for transporting tons of cupcakes. Check grocery stores, craft stores, and home goods stores like Marshalls for containers.

  pie container, and cupcake container.  Each are specifically designed to carry their respective desserts around in a safe, sanitary, plastic vessel to help prevent damage and keep out dirt when you are transporting your treats outdoors.  Gone are the days where your cake was ruined by the plastic wrap you used.  Cake containers keep your icing safe and are typically tall enough to carry just about any cake.  Pie containers keep your cream pies especially safe and are great for carrying cookies and petits fours in.  Cupcake containers are almost essential for safely transporting cupcakes.  Always look for a container that will store more cupcakes than you anticipate making.  They are tiered so you can always store less, but you don’t really want to be in a situation where you wish you had more space.  Cupcake containers are also good for transporting small sheet cakes if you don’t use any tiers.  You should also buy a couple cardboard cake boxes, in case you just want to leave the cake without having to worry about getting your container back.

 

 

• Sauce bottles – Sauce bottles are great, especially for plating desserts.  They are also useful for simple syrup whether for moistening your cakes or as a portable sweetener for your tea and coffee.  They can also double as a replacement container for most condiments in case your bottles break.  Despite all these pluses, you may hardly end up using them but having one or two on hand couldn’t hurt.

 

• Ramekins – I just love ramekins.  I think they are so neat looking and so simple
  

  Don't spend a lot of money for ramekins. Go to outlets stores for Crate & Barrel (for example) to save money.

  at the same time.  You can use them as measuring cups (when you want to keep small ingredients separated), for warming things up in the microwave, for serving condiments in, and of course for baking!  These multi-purpose ramekins are a staple in my life but their main purpose is to be used for desserts like flan, crème brulee, bread pudding, apple crisps, and apple cobblers.

 

• Hand electric mixer – I hardly use mine and hand electric mixers are hardly powerful enough to mix cookie doughs.  However, they are infinitely useful in their portability for use on the stove and in bowls on your work surface.  The most common use for hand electric mixers are for icings made over double boilers and sabayon custards (also made over a double boiler).  Even though I don’t use mine often, when I need it I’m glad I got it.  You may not need one, but if you see a decent one on sale you might want to consider getting it.

 

 

• Baume scale – You use this to measure the density of a liquid.  Back in the old days they would use an egg for this purpose.  I only use mine for use with sorbets.  If you plan on making lots of sorbet, this could be a handy tool.

 

• Disposable vinyl gloves – These are handy when serving a large group of people so your hands aren’t coming into contact with the food you’re serving.  You can also use these to keep your hands clean when icing cakes and working with sticky foods.  Get vinyl since lots of people are allergic to latex.  The environmentally responsible option would be to not use them at all.

Tools you’ll need for fondant or gum paste work:

A simple set like these gum paste tools are all you need for most of your gum paste work.

• Gum paste tools – You can usually find a pack of 5 or 6 plastic tools.  They are long thin tools that you use like a pencil and have names like “bone tool” and “ball tool.”  They each have a specialized use.  Ball tools are used to give your petals a cupped shape (on soft foam) or thinned edges (on stiff foam).  Bone tools can also cup your petals.  Veining tools can help cup your petals but also draw lifeline veins into your petals and leaves.

 

• Vinyl Placemat - You want to have a soft surface that’s non-stick in a sense but
  

  A soft foam (pink in picture) should give a lot. A stiff foam (orange in picture) should be soft but should not give hardly at all.

  more importantly easy to clean.  A cheap vinyl placemat is great and easy to store – you can usually find one at stores like Kmart.  You can use thick plastic sheets and you should be able to find that at craft stores or hardware stores.

 

• Soft foam – Soft foam allows you to give your petals and leaves a lifelike cupped look.  You don’t need a big piece of foam.

 

• Stiff foam – Stiff foam allows you to give your petals and leaves a thin delicate look – and can help make them ruffled.  Make sure the foam is smooth – don’t get a textured one.  I use the kneeling pads you can get from craft stores for like a
  

  Remember that metal cutters cut cleaner than plastic cutters. Also pictured are plunger cutters.

  dollar.

 

• Gum paste cutters – You can buy a big set of plastic ones that cover just about any flower you can imagine making.  Metal ones always cut cleaner than plastic ones but are more expensive.  Depending on how often you plan on making gum paste flowers depends on which cutters you should get.

 

• Plunger cutters – Plunger cutters are a huge time saver for flowers like daisies
  

  You may want to invest in molds as well. This is a mold I use for the center of flowers such as daisies.

  that have tons of petals.  Plunger cutters cut on the desired shape and imprint them with some veining – two steps in one.

 

• Styrofoam blocks – If you plan on making wired gum paste flowers you’ll need something to hold on to your floral wire while your flowers dry.

 

• Floral Wire – I use 18 gauge wire for my flowers and they work pretty well.
  

  Always check the packaging of floral wire to make sure there are no tears in the bottom - floral wire may have fallen out.

  Consider how heavy your gum paste will be when picking out your wire – gum paste is a lot heavier than you think it is.  You might also want to consider getting green wire.

 

• Floral tape – if you don’t have access to green floral wire, you can use floral tape to give your gum paste flowers a lifelike green stem.

 

• Wire cutter – Get the same kind that your florist uses to make artificial
  

  You may need more intricate tools later if you decide to do intricate flowers like gum paste orchids.

  arrangements since you’ll be using floral wire.

 

• Wire pliers – You might not think you need these since your fingers work well.  They are most handy when your flowers are sticking inside your cake and your hands are pushing your arrangement all over the place.

 

• Plastic (PVC) pipe – A small little piece is all you may want.  Sallee at Fran’s Cake and Candy uses it to place her wired flowers in so they aren’t touching the rest of the cake tier.  Floral wire is not considered food safe, so this in a sense isolates it.  You can also use a tall narrow cake ring for this.  You can also use a hollow plastic cake dowel (normally used for stacking cakes).
  

  You can usually find Wilton rolling pins easily. A large pin is used for fondant for cakes, a small one for gum paste work.

 

• Plastic seamless rolling pins – A large one for fondant and a tiny one for gum paste.  Wilton makes these and they are pretty accessible. Do not use them for anything other than fondant and gum paste, just so you can keep them clean and knick free.

 

• Paint brushes of various sizes and stiffness – paint brushes serve multiple purposes.  For one they can dust off your flowers if you have too much powdered sugar on them.  Two they are used to apply gum paste glue.  Three, you use them to color and finish your dry flowers with powdered food coloring and shimmer.  Try to find good paint brushes – you don’t want the little hairs coming off on your flowers and you don’t the handles’ paint peeling off after one wash.

 

 

• Apple/Peach crates – You can normally get these for free from your grocery store.  They are the cardboard or foam containers that fruits are shipped in and most grocery stores toss them or recycle them.  You use these by dusting them lightly with powdered sugar and placing your non-wired flowers in them to dry to give them a slightly cupped look.

 

• You may want to have a separate pair of scissors, offset spatula, and paring knife just for use with gum paste work.