One of the best ways to make your home feel cozy and inviting is to do some baking. When the house fills with the scent of sweet cakes and cookies, nothing can beat it. One thing to keep in mind is that baking requires careful measurement and attention to detail. The success of your baking depends a lot on how precisely you measure your ingredients and the quality of the tools you use.
Having the right tools is crucial for baking because they help you measure, mix, and cook more effectively. With the right equipment, you’re more likely to get the results you want, making baking more enjoyable and less frustrating. In this article, we will go over several of the tools that you should invest in to be a better home baker.
1) Mixing tools
Having the right mixing tools is key for baking. They help you combine ingredients properly and can make baking easier and more successful.
Stand mixers, like ones from KitchenAid, are powerful and can handle thick doughs and heavy batters without effort. They come with various attachments that can do everything from kneading bread dough to mixing cake batter.
Hand mixers, on the other hand, are smaller and good for quick tasks like making whipped cream or a simple batter. They are also easy to clean and store.
You should have bowls of different sizes and materials. Large bowls are great for mixing several ingredients together, while small bowls are good for mixing spices or tiny amounts. Glass and metal bowls are best for cold ingredients, and plastic bowls are light and easy to use.
2) Specialty tools
Besides basic mixing tools, there are specialty tools that can enhance your baking, especially when working with doughs and pastries.
A pastry cutter is a simple tool, but comes in handy when making pie crusts. It allows you to cut cold butter or shortening into the flour without melting it, which is key to achieving flaky layers. The pastry cutter’s blades quickly blend the fats into the flour, helping to distribute them evenly without overworking the dough.
A bench scraper is a versatile tool that every baker should have. Not only is it great for scraping dough off your work surface without sticking, but it can also be used to cut dough into portions, measure ingredients, or even chop nuts.
3) Presentation Tools
The right presentation tools not only improve the look of your baked goods but can also improve their texture.
Cooling racks are a must-have in baking. When you take cookies, cakes, or bread out of the oven, they need to cool down properly to maintain their texture. Cooling racks allow air to circulate all around the baked items, which helps prevent sogginess.
If you want to add beautiful, intricate details to your cakes, a cake decorating kit is a good idea. These kits typically include various tips for different patterns, piping bags for icing, and a turntable that makes it easier to decorate all sides of your cake evenly.
