Baking Supplies for the Home

Having the right baking supplies in your home kitchen is essential for any baker.

Every serious home baker realizes the importance of having a well stocked kitchen. Access to the right baking tools, pans, equipment and pantry items are essential to the success of any baker. Whether you're an experienced baker or simply looking for a good starting point to build your collection of home baking supplies, there are a few key elements for every baker's kitchen.

Baking Tools

The starting points for any collection of baking supplies are baker's tools. These handy items help measure, weigh and sift ingredients for your favorite recipes. A few of the top tools are:

• Measuring cups for dry and liquid ingredients

• Set of measuring spoons

• Set of different size mixing bowls

• Set of whisks, including a "balloon" whisk

• A pair of good kitchen scissors and a set of good kitchen knives

• Aluminum foil, parchment baking paper, waxed paper and plastic cling wrap

• Oven mitts

• Rolling pin

• Kitchen timer

• Rubber spatulas

Baking Pans

The next important essentials are baking pans. Quality pans and baking dishes are necessary for creating perfect baked goods. The best cake pans are medium weight aluminum pans or those made of tinned steel. Stainless steel should be avoided as it does not conduct heat evenly. If you use a glass pan, non-stick or dark colored pan, bake at 25 degrees lower to avoid dark crusts. A few essential baking pans are:

• Two or three 9-inch round cake pans

• One 3-quart (9-by-13-inch) rectangular glass baking dish

• One 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan

• One 11-by-7-inch brownie pan

• One or two 12-cup muffin pans

• At least two cookie sheets

• Set of different size loaf pans

• 9-inch, 10-inch and 11-inch springform pans

• Set of different size Bundt cake pans

• Set of different size pie pans

Electric Equipment

As almost any baker will attest, having the right electric equipment can make or break a recipe. In fact, many modern recipes call specifically for the use of certain electric kitchen tools. The top five electric kitchen tools are:

• Stand alone mixer

• Food processor

• Electric hand-held mixer

• Electric blender

• Deep fryer

Pantry Items

Your pantry is the place to store all your non-perishable food items. It should ideally be a cool, dark room or closet within easy reach of the kitchen. Here are some standard pantry items:

• Assortment of flour (self-rising, cake flour, bread flour, all-purpose)

• Assortment of sugar (white, brown, powdered)

• Salt, baking powder and baking soda

• Active dry yeast

• Solid vegetable shortening such as Crisco

• Vegetable oils

• Cooking spray

• Assortment of spices and different flavorings (most importantly pure vanilla extract)

• Variety of cake mixes

• Powdered milk and buttermilk

References

• Kitchen and Baking Essentials