Essential Baking Tools Every Chef Must Have!
Baking is a favorite pastime of both professional and home chefs, but do you have the right tools to bake all the delicious items that tempt your (and your guests’) taste buds? Whether shopping for a restaurant, bakery, or a home kitchen, there are several pieces of equipment every baker simply must have in their collection.
Keeping a well-stocked baking section in your kitchen will expand your repertoire and allow you to whip up a wide variety of creations, from staples like fresh bread to decadent treats such as cookies, muffins, cakes, and beyond. Even if baking is not your primary focus, many of these culinary tools are highly versatile and will provide plenty of use around the kitchen.
This guide offers an overview of the key tools needed for baking. Beginners can use it to build out their collection with all the essentials, while experts might find an item they’ve missed over the years or something worth replacing.
Kitchen Scale
Kitchen scales are important to just about any chef, but they’re even more critical when baking. How many baked concoctions have been ruined due to measuring the ingredients incorrectly? A high-quality scale allows you to accurately measure the precise amount of flour and other ingredients required by your recipe. There is a large selection of kitchen scales with easy-to-read digital displays. Many are small and portable enough to take on the go. Depending on the typical size of your baking projects, you can choose from scales with a range of capacities, including 6 lbs., 11 lbs., 13 lbs., and even a 33 lb. capacity.
Some scales can be switched to read in ounces or grams based on how the ingredients are listed in your recipe. We also recommend finding a scale with a tare function that allows you to set it back to zero after placing an empty container on it.
Measuring Cups and Spoons
Of course, you’ll need a good set of measuring cups and measuring spoons to accurately portion out your ingredients. Make sure you have a set that includes all the different measurements you need for recipes. For instance, you may consider a stainless steel measuring spoon set with ¼ teaspoon, ½ teaspoon, 1 teaspoon, and 1 tablespoon options. You’ll also want to look for cups and spoons that can handle both dry and liquid ingredients. A measuring cup with a spout, such as a 1-quart Rubbermaid measuring cup, is a great choice for liquid ingredients. It’s made of impact-resistant plastic (meaning no shattered messes to clean up) measures in cups, ounces, and millilitres.
Whisks
Many baked goods call for eggs, and if you need to beat several eggs at once, a whisk is the right tool for the job. There are a variety of professional whisks available, including standard wire whisks, balloon whisks, French whips, coil whips, skillet whips, piano whips, and rigid whisks. Whisks are ideal for quickly mixing lots of ingredients together, as well as getting liquid ingredients nice and frothy. You can choose from a range of sizes depending on your needs, with lengths of 8 inches, 10 inches, 12 inches, 14 inches, 16 inches, 18 inches, and more.
Wooden Spoons
You may have memories of mom or grandma wielding a big wooden spoon in the kitchen, and with good reason. A wooden spoon is one of the workhorses of any baker’s array of tools. It’s durable and sturdy enough to stir even the toughest ingredients, which is great news when you’re dealing with very thick dough. Another appealing benefit is that one quality wooden spoon is sufficient for pretty much any kitchen task, so you likely don’t need to invest in multiple.
Rolling Pins
Another kitchen classic, rolling pins are synonymous with baking. No other tool is better at flattening and shaping dough, pie crusts, biscuits, and more. They’re also great if you need to crush ingredients and don’t have a food processor. While a standard wooden rolling pin will be able to handle just about any task, a tapered rolling pin is easier to maneuver and pivot. There are even adjustable rolling pins that can stretch out to different thicknesses.
Mixing Bowls
When combining all the delicious ingredients for your next creation, you need a good bowl in which to mix them. Mixing bowls are available in a range of sizes for different types of ingredients. You can choose from bowls made of materials like glass and stainless steel, though you should avoid aluminum bowls since they may alter the flavor of acidic ingredients. If you’re an avid baker, it’s a good idea to build a collection of different mixing bowls so you’re always prepared for any recipe.
Sheet Pans
Every baker should have at least two sheet pans or cookie sheets in their kitchen. Aside from providing a surface for laying out cookies before baking, these pans can be used in preparing many other items as well, such as sheet cakes and yeast breads. They’re available in multiple sizes, but you’ll want to focus on a three-quarter sheet pan (21” x 15”) and half-sheet pan (18” x 13”). Larger sizes, like a full-sheet pan, and pan extenders are also available if you have more ambitious baking needs.
Non-Stick Baking Mats
These flexible silicone mats feature non-stick surfaces for preparing ingredients for baking. Non-stick silicone baking mats can be used in an oven, and they’re very easy to clean in the event of messy ingredients like spilt chocolate or jelly. You can choose from a range of sizes based on your baking needs, such as quarter-size, half-size, and full-size. Non-stick baking mats are also great long-term replacements for parchment, wax paper, or foil since you don’t need to dispose of them after each use.
Muffin Tins
Muffins and cupcakes are among the most popular baked goods, so you’re likely to find muffin pans in any kitchen. Despite their name, these tins are quite versatile and can be used to make a variety of other treats like cornbread, tarts, mini pies, meatballs, mini cheesecakes, pizza cups, mini quiches, Yorkshire pudding, and much more. Pans are available with a range of individual muffin forms, with 12 and 24 forms being among the most common. You may also consider getting a smaller pan if you want to make use of leftover batter.
Electric Mixers
If you do a lot of mixing and would like to save some strain on your arm, take a look at available electric stand mixers. An electric stand mixer can mix ingredients much more thoroughly and quickly than you can by hand, and you won’t tire yourself out amid all the other tasks requiring attention in your busy kitchen. Several models are also compatible with specialized attachments like paddles, whips, and hooks for dough. Mixers are available in different capacities depending on your needs. They can be expensive, but the benefits are well worth the investment if you’re a frequent baker.
Spatulas and Scrapers
Spatulas and scrapers are extremely useful tools for baking. A flexible rubber scraper is ideal for getting any stubborn bits of dough out of a bowl, pan, or jar, as well as folding together wet and dry foods. We recommend a silicone scraper, as it will better withstand high temperatures. There are also larger metal scrapers that allow you to more easily manage sticky doughs, such as dividing and cutting off portions before transferring to a pan.
Pastry Brushes
If cookies, pies, and other baked treats are your speciality, you’ll need pastry brushes close at hand. These brushes are used to coat (or “paint”) the tops of pastry items and pie crusts with milk or egg wash. You can also use them to grease your baking pans with melted butter or shortening. Pastry brushes are available in multiple sizes, shapes, and brush materials. These include natural boar bristles and nylon, though we recommend silicone bristles since they’re more resistant to heat and bacteria.
Stock Up On All the Baking Tools You Need
There are many other baking tools you may find useful depending on the items you like to prepare, but these are several of the most important for chefs of all experience levels. JB Prince offers a wide variety of professional baking supplies for restaurants, amateur pastry chefs, and other types of users. Browse our full selection, and feel free to contact us with any questions. Our team of experts is always happy to help you find the right culinary tools!
