23 Essential Pieces of Baking Equipment
You need to know what pieces of baking equipment you need for your kitchen. This is a good gadget checklist with handy product reviews.
1. Baking tins
There so many on the market which come in all shapes and sizes and materials. Make sure you choose heavy duty, silver colored tins. The dark-colored silicone bake ware absorbs heat and makes the size of the cake dark. Choose the size and shape stated in the recipe or you will need to adjust the cooking times.
2. Cooling rack
The Cooling rack is for cooling freshly baked bread and other baking allows you to pass through the cooling process after cooking and taking out of the oven in the most necessary conditions for this.
3. Cutters
If you want to be able to create unique sweets a variety of desserts, cookies and beautifully decorated gingerbread, then you will help cutters for cookies. This device is specially designed for these confectionery products and is in great demand among professionals and ordinary housewives, because absolutely anyone can buy it. With a cutters, you will be able to get just perfect cookies and gingerbread, with even edges or, on the contrary, embossed, if desired.
4. Dredger/ Shaker
Use a dredger to lightly dust surfaces with flour or icing sugar when you roll out any doughs or icing. A tea strainer or sieve can also perform the same function.
5. Icing smoother
Make sure you use a smoother for cake decorating which will give you a professional finish. It smooths down your marzipan or sugar paste after you've applied it to the cake. You will find it at specialist cake-decorating shops.
6. Food mixer
A food mixer is not essential for cake making but it saves time and minimizes effort.
7. Greaseproof paper
You need this type of paper for wrapping food especially if they are greasy or fatty. You can also use this for wrapping a fruitcake before you place it in the tin. You can also use it in the freezer and the microwave. Then use it for lining a cake tin but make sure you lightly grease the paper before you spoon in the cake mix.
8. Food processor
These are very useful and have many functions especially when it comes to cake recipes, as it is good for rubbing fat into flour when making pastry.
9. Marzipan spacers
If you like to decorate your cake with either marzipan or sugar paste then these spacers help you achieve an even thickness and they can be bought from a specialist supplier.
10. Measuring spoons
11. Measuring jug
Most baking recipes include oil, milk or another liquid ingredient and you use this measuring jug to get the quantities rate. They are very useful and should be on hand.
12. Mixing bowls
You will need at least two large mixing bowls, as many recipes require more than one. They come in glass, metal or plastic and you need one that is heatproof season put in the microwave or similar water when you're melting chocolate.
13. Palette knife
A palette knife is a long implement with a rounded end. It can be used in a wide variety including smoothing icing or cake fillings, scraping bowls and cutting butter into flour.
14. Pastry brush
A pastry brush is used to glaze pastry with egg wash or milk or you can brush your phyllo pastry with melted butter. You can also brush off excess icing sugar one cake decorating.
15. Sieve
A fine sieve from metal or plastic is used for sifting flour and icing sugar and is much recommended when you are cake making. You may want to use a small tea strainer to dust surfaces and decorate desserts with icing sugar or cocoa.
16. Rolling pin
There are many rolling pins to choose from and some include a fixed handle at either hand or just one sided. You just need to make sure the pen is wide enough to fully cover the width of the dough or icing that you are rolling. If you do a lot of cake decorating and you sugar paste or ready to roll icing you need to have a wide pin made from smooth plastic and then a mini pin for intricate work.
17. Skewer
You will need a metal skewer to determine when your cake is cooked. When you inserted into the cake and it comes out clean your cake is ready.
18. Scales
In baking the key is accuracy and a good set of scales are needed to measure out ingredients. You can choose from digital or manual by digital will accurately measure down to a gram.
19. Zester
You need this to fine grate or micro plane and many baking recipes require citrus zest.
20. Spatula
You should avoid leaving cake mix or melted chocolate in the bowl by using a bendy spatula that easily skims around the sides.
21. Spoons
Wooden spoons are needed in every kitchen. Without a food mixer you need to use a large metal spoon to fold in flour or whist egg whites in any of your cake mixes.
22. Whisk
Whisks are designed to give volume and aerate food so they are very important for cake making. There are balloon whisks, which are handheld tools with metal loops that form a bulb shape at the end of a long handle. You will always need one of these in your kitchen to whip cream, whisk egg whites or gently fold in flour. You can also use it to remove lumps from sauces. There are electric whisks or food mixers, which also do whisking and creaming. Food mixers have different attachments but they are also more expensive.
23. Baking parchment
Nonstick paper is ideal for lining a cake 10 and is known as silicone paper. Baking parchment is greaseproof and moisture proof. Using it to line your cake tin or tray makes for no additional greasing. It also can be used in the oven in freezer.