Ready to take your baking to the next level? Make sure you have all the following tools.
Kitchen Scale
If you are serious with your baking and want to take more advanced recipes, you absolutely need a scale. My recipes are always based in grams, so forget about your cups and go get yourself a nice scale.
Silicon baking mat
Stop wasting parchment paper and say goodbye to pastries getting stuck on your paper. Baking mat is the way to go. It works well for cooking as well although I wouldn’t advise using the same mat you use to bake onions than to bake your macarons (unless you want to do onion flavored macarons, then go for it)!
Rolling pin
I am sure you have one at home, who doesn’t have a rolling pin? But just in case, throwing it out there
Sifter/Fine-Mesh Sieve
You will need to sift your flour, almond flour etc in some recipes to get the best results. You can use a pastry sifter or just a kitchen strainer. I have both at home. I use the sifter mostly for tiny amount or to take pictures. When I need to sift a bigger amount of flour, sugar etc I use the strainer
Stand Mixer with paddle and whisk attachment
I use Kitchen Aid because the quality is great (I had it for 10 years now) but you can also find stand mixer for a way better price if you don’t plan on using on a regular basis. In case you wonder what, a paddle is, see picture below:
You can mix the dough by hand if you don’t want to invest at the moment. I still recommend at least a hand mixer to whip the cream.
Dough Scraper and Chopper
The dough scrapper is a must have when baking. You will use it in a lot of recipes, and they cost literally nothing. When it comes to the chopper, I use it mostly when doing bread, pizza, brioche etc. Anything you will need to divide. It makes your life easier but you can live without it
Silicon Spatula
Another must have without doubts. You will find various colors and shapes. The Rubbermaid 13.5 inch is similar to what I have.
Pipping Bag
If you are starting you journey and don’t want to invest, you can keep on using Ziploc bag for now, but pastry bags are also one of the must have for cake decoration.
Pipping tip
Start with a few regular ones and then build your collection. I recommend at a few different sizes of round ones and star tips to start.
Cooling rack
Most of the time, you want to remove your pastries from the oven tray and let them cool down on a rack. This will stop the cooking and you will get the perfect pastries and cookies.
Stainless steel mixing bowls
Go crazy, buy a lot, you will never have enough. This should have been the number one on the list actually as this is the first thing I take out when starting a recipe. Buy different sizes for all preparation needs
Thermometer
When you start playing with bit more advanced recipes that includes sugar work (Italian meringue, caramel, etc), you will absolutely need a thermometer. You can find any type of thermometers out there, from cheap to crazy expensive. I’d start with a simple one and then with time upgrade to a better one, if needed.
Zester/Microplane
I personally use it all the time. Whether it is to actually zest lemon or orange but also to finish my tarts and give them a perfect look. What do I mean by finishing off my tart? I mean when I bake the crust, it doesn’t come perfect out of the oven, so I lightly grate it to make it look even and perfect.
Torch
This is kind of optional. But if you do crème brulée, lemon meringue tart etc you will quickly need one.
There are plenty of other tools you will need but I advise you to buy little by little. I built my pastry toolbox over the years and keep on adding more. I actually have a whole shelf in the garage with 3 big boxes filles with tart rings, molds and tools.
Every time I go to France, I bring back a ton of utensils I can’t find here.
Now that you have all your tools ready, why not try a new recipe?
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