10 More Essential Baking Tools
Many, many months ago, I shared my top 10 baking tools. The tools I featured in that post were essentials that I baked with all the time and considered mandatory for any baker. And still do. They're still essential. And mandatory. So make sure you have all of them.
And then, about two months ago, I presented my top 10 bakeware essentials. Which encompassed all the "tins, trays, and other items placed in the oven during baking" that I used. And still do. Again. Still essential. And mandatory.
Well, today I bring you 10 more essential baking tools. Many of the tools below I use on a regular basis, and some one might consider specialty items. To be used on occasion.
Take the swivel cake stand. I use it, but only when I'm making a layer cake. Which is not that often. But even once is often enough to require the cake stand.
Or the candy thermometer. I don't actually use it for candy. And I pretty much only use it when frying donuts so I can test the oil temperature. Or when making Swiss meringues and I need to test the temperature of the water-sugar mixture.
But a tool like a wooden rolling pin or a pastry brush or a sifter - those I use all the time. And you will too. If you bake. Ever.
So here they are. 10 more of my essential baking tools. Proceed.
1.
Like I mentioned above, I use this candy thermometer most often when I'm frying donuts or making other fried pastries. The oil temperature has to be between 350-375 degrees Fahrenheit, so a thermometer is mandatory to ensure that it is.
This candy thermometer can also be used when making Swiss meringues, Swiss buttercream frosting, to test the water temperature when dissolving yeast, when tempering chocolate, and when melting sugar for caramelization and other candies and confections.
Bonus: you can also use this thermometer to check for meat and poultry doneness.
2.
I use my lemon zester whenever a recipe includes lemon zest, like my lemon poppy seed cookies or lemon cheesecake. And the box grater I use when grating carrots for a carrot cake, or zucchinis for zucchini bread, or apples for an apple cake.
Bonus: Use the box grater for grating parmesan cheese for a pasta dish, or for shredding beets for a salad, or for mincing onions or garlic.
3.
The small sifter can be used for sifting smaller ingredient quantities, like baking powder and soda, and different spices.
The larger sifters can be used for sifting cocoa to remove lumps, or for sifting flour so your cake or pancakes come out fluffy and lump-free.
Alternatively, these sifters can be used to rinse and strain something like quinoa, or for liquid mixtures that need sieving, like lemon curd.
Parchment paper. An everyday essential. I don't use a cookie sheet without it. I much prefer lining my cookie sheets with baking paper than using a spray oil to grease my sheets. It's easier, cleaner, and leaves me with no greasy cookie sheets to clean up later.
The round parchment papers are used whenever I make a round cake and need to line the bottom of my pan. Or when making a layer cake.
5.
This citrus juicer is a life-saver when a recipe requires lemon juice. You get every last drop out of the lemon, and you don't have to worry about the seeds getting into the batter. It's just so much more quick and efficient to use a juicer than to squeeze a lemon by hand, especially when large quantities of juice are required.
6.
Paddle, Dough Hook, Balloon Whisk
If you're lucky enough to have a KitchenAid Stand Mixer, these are the three attachments your machine comes with. The paddle attachment, or flat beater, is the one I use most often. It's used for all cookie doughs and cake or muffin batters.
The dough hook is used whenever you're making a dough that calls for kneading, like bread or cinnamon rolls.
And the wire whisk is used whenever a recipe requires beating and whipping, like meringues and frostings.
7.
This is the rolling pin I use whenever I have a dough that demands rolling. Pie doughs, donuts, cinnamon rolls, scones - it works for everything.
8.
Square Cookie Cutters, Round Cookie Cutters
Square and round are the two most basic cookie shapes you can make, and hence, square and round cookie cutters are the most commonly used cookie cutter shapes. I use these cutters when making sugar cookies or when shaping scones and donuts.
Tip: Use a large round cutter to cut out a donut and the smallest round cutter to cut out the hole in the center.
9.
Pastry brushes are required for breads that need an egg wash, or when brushing a glaze on fruits, or after you grease a pan and want to coat the area evenly.
Pastry brushes are also used when making savory dishes like meat and chicken or for anything that you brush with butter or oil.
10.
I use this swivel cake stand whenever I'm layering and frosting a cake. The stand allows you to turn and swivel the cake so that you don't have to change your position yourself. The cake stand allows you to conveniently work on whatever area you want to with a simple turn of the stand.
And the large serrated knife, or cake knife, is used when slicing a cake in half horizontally to layer it. The serrated edges work best for soft baked-goods like cake or bread, and the substantial length of the knife enables it to go through the entire cake at once, making for a clean and even cut.
On a completely unrelated note, I only missed one payment:
photo from dump a day dot com
