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Primarily for Baking
The following equipment is used primarily for baking breads, pastries, cookies and other baked goods. Items that are essential for basic baking are under Must Haves; some of my other recommended kitchen “favorites” may be found under Fancy Footwork.
Must Haves
Batter-whisk:This tool, with a twisted metal coil at the end of a long wooden handle, is what I use (and suggest) to mix delicate muffin, pancake and brownie batters.
Biscuit cutters:Nested and fluted, either round or square. Make sure to dry cutters thoroughly after cleaning or they will rust.
Cake pans:These round pans are made from heavy aluminum with straight sides for baking layer cakes. I recommend starting with two 9-inch pans (2 inches deep) and one 10 x 2-inch pan. You should also have a 9-inch flat (not fluted) spring-form pan; these have detachable rims. I prefer one with a non-stick finish for making cheesecake and unmolding ice cream cake. Do not use spring-form pans to bake mixtures in a water bath unless you wrap the bottom seams securely with aluminum foil. (Yes, even those labeled “non-leaking.”)
Canisters:It’s essential that your flour and sugar canisters be wide enough to allow easy access for a loaded 2-cup dry measuring cup. For the basic kitchen, I suggest two airtight canisters, but you will need more if you choose to make your own dry mixes in bulk (and I hope you do!). If you decide to become an active baker, you will need even more canisters to store different types of flour and meal.
Cookie cutters:Collect assorted shapes and sizes with tight seams and strong stainless steel sides. Flimsy cutters lose their shapes quickly and need to be replaced frequently.
Cookie sheets:These baking sheets have no sides. Buy two each of the flat type and the newer cushioned variety; each is better suited for different types of baked goods. The thin, perfectly flat sheets facilitate immediate heat penetration to baked goods like biscuits, encouraging a fast generous rise. The cushioned cookies sheets are made from double sheets of aluminum or stainless steel with an air pocket between them. This protects certain heat-sensitive cookies that might otherwise burn on the bottom before cooking sufficiently throughout. If you only have the thinner sheets, improvise by baking the cookies on the bottom underside of a heavier baking sheet (with 1 inch sides). This way the cookies are elevated from the hot oven rack and will bake more gently.
Cooling racks:You should have at least two (and preferably four) wire racks for cooling breads and other baked goods. Having four racks is especially helpful at holiday time when baking large batches of cookies.
Non-stick Baking Paper (Parchment paper):Available several ways: in separate sheets or in rolls, and in an unbleached (brown) color and a bleached white color. I prefer rolls, to minimize waste. I use both colors of parchment and for different reasons. Unbleached paper, because of its darker hue, is more heat retentive than the white kind, and helps encourage browning. This is especially helpful if your oven runs slow. Conversely, if your oven seems to get overly hot, or if you are baking something heat-sensitive, use the white type, since the brown paper can cause scorching.
Pastry scraper:Although this tool is not vital to every kitchen, it is an essential aid when working with a yeast dough and also helps to scoop up chopped vegetables from your work surface (saving the blades of your knives!) The rectangular metal blade that stems from a sturdy handle enables you to scrape right down to the bare surface of your wooden board while working to build texture in your yeast dough. Some scrapers have flexible blades that are not as versatile as the rigid ones.
Pie plates:These come in metal and glass with sloping sides; I prefer glass. Buy one 10-inch plate and one 9-inch plate. See also Tart Pans.
Fancy Footwork
Baguette pans:2, 3 and 4 baguette capacity. I prefer a dark metal 4-baguette pan, since you can bake all four loaves at one time, using one oven.
Baker’s peel: This large, smooth, wooden board with a long handle is used to transfer free-form loaves and rolls to and from hot baking tiles. It’s also used to remove a hot and crusty pizza from the oven. A flat cookie sheet usually can be used as a substitute, except when lifting weighty pizzas out of the oven. These also come in metal, which I use when cooking in my wood-burning oven (since a wooden peel can easily catch fire).
Baking sheets (black or blue steel):The dark color makes these pans extremely heat retentive and encourages dough to sear quickly on the outside, producing a thicker, crisper and more deeply colored crust on ethnic sheet breads. However, these pans will rust easily if scratched or if not dried thoroughly after being washed. Also acidic or overly salted foods can ruin the surface of these pans. See also cookie sheets, jelly-roll pans and the section on Stovetop & Oven Cookware for other baking pans. I love these dark sheet pans when making crusty, artisan sheet breads like focaccia or a fougasse.
Blow torch:No longer huge and frightening, a small blow torch, fueled by butane, is used to caramelize the exterior of certain desserts.
Brioche mold(s):These fluted round metal pans come in a large size (about 9 1/2 inches in diameter) or in individual sizes (about 3 1/2 inches). For best results, purchase molds without seams. In addition to being used for brioche, these pans can be used to bake cake batter and to mold salads. The capacity of these pans range from about 2 to 8 cups.
Cake cover: A 6-inch, high domed cover is handy for storing (and protecting the finish) on high cakes with soft frostings. If you bake decorative cakes, this is an essential tool.
Cake discs (cardboard): These are placed underneath cakes to lend support when cakes are stored or transported in a box. They’re also a great help when separating thin cake layers before frosting or filling.
Cake stand: A swivel turntable is helpful when decorating cakes or cutting thin cake layers.
Cheese cloth: For straining liquid mixtures and for wrapping herbs and other flavoring ingredients that will be removed after cooking (called a bouquet garni).
Chop sticks: Chop sticks, or a sawed off wooden handle from a wooden spoon, is useful when making large cigar cookies (oversized French tuiles)
Cornmeal sweeper: When baking successive batches of bagels, French rolls, or free-form loaves or pizzas directly on a hot pizza stone or on quarry tiles, this small, short-handled broom will quickly sweep any cornmeal or seeds off the tiles before preheating for your next batch.
Docker: This intimidating baking tool is a long wheel with large spikes protruding outward. It’s used (mostly by professionals) to make many small holes in thin sheets of dough (like matzos) to prevent it from bubbling and puffing up in a hot oven. A docker is also used when preparing napoleons to prick thin sheets of puff pastry before baking to keep the pastry thin and crisp. This tool is not essential but very efficient. Use the prongs of a large serving fork as a substitute.
Icing spatula (long): This has an elbow bend at the end of a long thin strip of stainless steel for easy spreading of icing on cakes.
Icing spatula (short): Use this to spread batter in a pan that’s narrow.
Jelly-roll pan: This 12 x 18 x 1-inch pan may be used for any recipe calling for a baking sheet with sides.
Loaf pans: Buy two to four each of both 9 x 5-inch and 8 x 4-inch pans, either in heatproof glass or metal coated with a non-stick finish. Remember to reduce the oven temperature by 25° F when using glass.
Marble slab: Provides a cool surface, for rolling pastry (nice for serving cheeses, too!). Granite and Corian countertops are all fine, as well.
Muffin tins: Preferably non-stick. For starters, buy one standard-sized, 6-muffin tin and one 12-muffin tin. It’s fun to have mini and maxi muffin tins as well. I also have two mini cheese cake pans, with each cup having its own removable metal disc. Each pan bakes a dozen little gems.
Muffin tin liners: Made of non-stick paper, these eliminate the need to grease the interior of the tins (but be sure to grease the tops of the tins). Although not essential, these do help muffins to stay fresher longer.
Non-stick silicone mats: Although these are helpful when rolling out a sticky dough or when kneading a yeast dough when a wooden surface is not available, I find baking on these mats unsettling (something about baking on rubber…)
Pastry bag with an assortment of tips: If not using a disposable bag, it’s important to clean and dry the bag thoroughly after each use. (Rinse well, wipe dry, invert and slip onto a wine bottle to help the bag dry thoroughly.)
Pastry blender: A hand-held implement used to cut butter and/or solid shortening into a dry mixture before adding liquid. Be sure to buy a sturdy blender with rigid blades, not flimsy wires. This also comes with a non-stick finish on the blades.
Pastry cloth with rolling pin bootie: This strong, canvas cloth is made specifically to prevent pastry dough from sticking when rolling it out. The bootie pulls down over the rolling pin so dough will not stick to the pin. Always rub flour evenly into both the cloth and bootie before rolling out pastry. Purchase the largest cloth that you can find; avoid those smaller than 18 x 18 inches.
Pastry wheel (fluted): This tool is used to cut strips or shapes decoratively from pastry dough.
Pie weights: Commercial weights are available in kitchen shops and some hardware stores. Dried beans or rice may be substituted and reused for this purpose; do not eat rice or beans after using them for weights.
Pizza pans: When making pizza using pre-baked crusts, I prefer perforated pans for the crispest results. But, when making free form pizzas or when serving pizza baked on perforated pans, you’ll need to also have some solid pizza pans, for serving. (Slicing pizza on a perforated pan makes a mess of your tablecloth!)
Pizza wheel: For cutting pizza into slices. The larger the wheel, the better.
Quarry tiles or a large pizza stone: The best way to simulate the intense dry heat of the brick ovens. Used to create breads with a tender and chewy interior and a thick, very crisp crust. If either of these are unavailable, use shallow dark steel baking sheets.
Rolling pin: For best control when rolling out pie crust or other types of dough, use a long smooth wooden pin with tapered ends, without ball bearings. These come in non-stick, too, which are nice to have when rolling out a buttery pastry or cookie dough that has a tendency to stick.
Sifting device: I use an extra-large, triple-mesh (not fine-mesh) wire sieve with a sturdy handle.
Spray bottle (plastic): Spraying bread dough with a light mist of ice water at the beginning of baking is an optional step to help assure a crisp crust. A spray bottle also helps to keep the leaves of fresh cut herbs lightly moistened so they stay supple longer.
Spring-form pans: See Cake pans
Tart pans with removable bottoms: I suggest both a 9-inch and 10-inch fluted pan—the darker in color, the better. You might also consider a 10-inch, deep-dish fluted tart pan and individual tart pans, also dark in color to obtain a deep golden color in your pastry.
