You spend your Sunday afternoon making your favorite chocolate chip cookie, but all the while your dough is resisting you. You struggle with the proportions, with the mixing, even the baking time. You find that your experience has turned out meagre. This has happened to all of us at some point.
Chances are, this is a very familiar scene for the baker. Baking is a delicate art, and everything needs to be in its precise place if you want to produce consistent results. It takes patience, time and the right tools. The right gadgets can help make everything easier. And make your home-baking experience fabulous instead of frustrating. So here are our top 10 must-have gadgets for home-bakers: they are not just for fancy professional pastry chefs; every home baker needs them.
1. Digital Kitchen Scale
Why You Need It?
With baking, knowing your numbers is of paramount importance, and measuring by weight on a digital kitchen scale becomes essential to get consistent results. Measuring by weight or volume Bridgescale kitchen weight digital scale Measured by weight.
You might think your measuring cups and spoons are fine, and that a pinch or dab here and there doesn’t really matter, but whether you’re adding flour or sugar, a slight deviation can make all the difference. A scale removes all that guesswork.
2. Stand Mixer
Why You Need It?
And a stand mixer can really be a life saver. If you find yourself having to mix ingredients heavily, as in bread dough or large batches of cookies or anything that requires serious elbow grease, you’ll make quicker work of the task if your mixer can bear the brunt of it so you can go about other tasks.
After all, aren’t they rather expensive — isn’t that why such a contraption is still somewhat obscure? Here’s the equation in my mind: the amount of time and physical energy you save offsets the cost, and then some, over time, and at least for us with one of those century-old houses, greatly enhances the likelihood that it will survive to see another year. Busy cooks have no time to beat egg whites for three minutes; by the time they’re done, the sugar will already be ready in the saucepan, or the cake will need opening.
3. Silicone Baking Mats
Why You Need It?
You can forget about parchment paper and cooking sprays. Made of silicone, a natural substance found in sand, similar to the rubber in a rubber glove, these baking mats are non-stick, allowing you to get food out of the tin each time, and they are reusable.
You may say that parchment work just fine but is more eco-friendly and less expensive. Silicone mats have become a better product for bakers.
Because sometimes trying to get the cookies off the sheet without breaking them is a real pain in the butt — literally. Let’s investigate how the mats work next.
4. Oven Thermometer
Why You Need It?
Most domestic ovens are not calibrated correctly. There is only one way to make sure that your food will be baked properly. You need an oven thermometer to check how high the temperature is in your oven.
You might think that your oven’s built-in thermostat is up to the task, but a few degrees difference in temperature could result in a batch of half-cooked or burnt baked goods.
5. Cooling Racks
Why You Need It?
Proper cooling preserves the texture and the taste of your baked products. Cooling racks help to dry the bottom of your baked things by allowing air to circulate all around them.
Others presume that something such as a plate or a countertop will serve. But without the right air circulation, your baked item can retain too much moisture.
6. Pastry Brush
Why You Need It?
A pastry brush is a must-have for glazing pastries, buttering pans or applying egg washes — it will distribute your essential liquids evenly for the best shine on your tarts or croissants.
You may think a spoon, or your fingers are up to the task. Unfortunately (for you) your fingers and a meeting spoon are powerful tools for spreading icing. While they work, they will be imprecise compared to a pastry brush and will leave far less attractive results.
7. Rolling Pin with Adjustable Rings
Why You Need It?
Flattening out dough to a consistent thickness is very important for even baking. A rolling pin that allows you to adjust the rings will ensure your dough is rolled out evenly, and you will get better results.
A traditional rolling pin with adjustable rings has a humbler background, but the precision of its rings can be the difference between melt-in-your-mouth pastries, and a burnt crust.
8. Dough Scraper
Why You Need It?
There’s almost nothing a dough scraper doesn’t do. Cutting dough \”into equal portions for braiding into a lovely wreath\”; shaping it by \”pulling the dough up and tucking it underneath itself\”; cleaning work surfaces; and transferring chopped ingredients, it’s the multipurpose tool of the kitchen.
Some people might not consider it a necessity, but its versatility makes it an indispensable piece of paraphernalia for efficient baking.
9. Digital Instant-Read Thermometer
Why You Need It?
Nothing will tell you more and better than an instant-read thermometer to assure yourself that the cake, bread or custard you’ve baked is cooked but not overdone.
Relying on visual cues can be misleading. A thermometer gives you precise, reliable measurements.
10. Sifter/Sieve
Why You Need It?
Sifting your dry ingredients like flour, sugar and cocoa powder will eliminate any lumps, lighten your mixture and make your cake fluffy.
You might be tempted to skip sifting, but it makes more of a difference in texture — especially when it comes to delicate bakes such as cakes and pastries.
Elevate Your Baking Experience
These tools will help your baking become more exacting, more pleasurable and more satisfying, from your ability to have confidence that your measurements are accurate to your ability to determine doneness at a glance. Each one is an answer to a common baking problem.
After all, sometimes, only quality baking tools can help you to make mouth-watering, professional-looking baked goods at home. Are you a beginner or experienced baker who’s looking for baking gadgets that can elevate the quality of your baking?