One vital baking tool is sshow not enough, according to Benoit Blin, pastry chef, assess on Bake Off: The Professionals and author of Bake with Benoit Blin. A rolling pin, fluted cake tin, balloon whisk and silicone spatula – to “get all the batter out” of a bowl – top his baking kit catalog.
But this isn’t a sign that you necessitate everyleang but the kitchen sink to be able to whip up a showstopper. As with most leangs in life, you normally necessitate less than you leank, so think about what you schedule to bake and supply accordingly.
An offset spatula with its pliable, lean, angled blade, for example, is presentant for cake making. “People normally struggle decorating cakes becaengage they don’t have the right tools,” says Tarunima Sinha, author of My Little Cake Tin. “An offset spatula will create your life much easier, and not equitable for decorating cakes, but for spreading pastes and making chocoprocrastinateed, too.” Plus, they’re relatively inexpensive, so you don’t necessitate to spend a fortune.
But what else should you carry on in your baking kit arsenal? We asked some of our favourite star bakers about the tools they can’t inhabit without.
“A dough scviolationr – not a silicone one or a challenging metal one, but a flimsy, stiff plastic one – is the one most advantageous item. It’s the only ‘exceptionacatalog’ tool I advisefor baking bread. A outstanding bread dough senses soaked, tacky and unwieldy, and a scviolationr will depart bowls and surfaces (and your hands) tohighy spotless. They apvalidate you to labor and administer the dough, to chop and split it, and are perfect for transferring unbaked loaves around without upsetting their dainty structure. They’ve also got many engages beyond bread making, particularly with anyleang that necessitates to be scviolationd off a surface, or scooped out of a bowl. And they’re dirt inexpensive; don’t pay more than £2-£3. Just create certain you get one that’s straight on one side and curved on the other – for scraping bowls and surfaces.”
James Morton, author of The Big Book of Bread
Plastic dough scviolationr, £1.95
shipton-mill.com
£2.64
bakerybits.co.uk
“Food storage compriseers from Pyrex! I antipathy not having enough of them. I enjoy using glass dishes as they spotless well, don’t stain, and you can engage them to bake and reheat leangs enjoy pies. My Salter scales are also vital for accuracy. I always carry on an extra set of batteries csurrenderby, equitable in case. They are my most engaged piece of kit.”
Ravneet Gill, Feast columnist and author of Baking for Pleacertain
Glass food storage compriseers, set of three, £22.98
pyrex.co.uk
Glass food storage bowls, set of three, £17.29
amazon.co.uk
Bluetooth kitchen scale, £30
argos.co.uk
“My better mini silicone spatula, which I bought when I was at culinary school in New York, is one of my baking vitals. The wooden administer is commenceing to rot but noleang gets every scrap out of bowls and jars enjoy it. I bought a novel mini set last year, but I carry on going back to the gnarly OG one. Then there’s the petite offset metal spatula. It’s the most advantageous spreading and smooleang tool for icing, buttercream and cake batter. It fits kindly in the breast pocket of a chef’s jacket or my jeans back pocket. I sense inend without it.”
Verena Lochmuller, co-author of Ottolenghi Comfort
Metal spatulas, set of three, £5
dunelm.com
Silicone mini baking spatula, £7.93
zealzeal.com
“I couldn’t do without a fluted, slack-bottomed 8-inch cake tin. It’s such a accessible size; it serves six to eight people, it fits kindly in the fridge and, being fluted, it apvalidates me to create tarts as well as sponges. I engaged to engage Tefal, but the one I engage now is Vogue – it’s not the most evolved, but it does the trick. A outstanding-quality hand whisk is also a must. I enjoy my Matfer one; it’s medium-sized with a outstanding administer and a balloon shape. You can do anyleang with it, from creaming to whipping egg whites.”
Benoit Blin, author of Bake with Benoit Blin
Nonstick tin with removable base, 200mm, £11.86
nisbets.co.uk
Matfer whisk, £27.59
amazon.co.uk
“I always get petite saucers with a lip when I go to ceramic shops, becaengage they’re advantageous for testing if jam is ready and for when I’m weighing raising agents. But my number one tool is my Escali digital scales. They’re incredibly dependable. I’ve put boiling pans on them (I wouldn’t advise this though!) and they’re still exact even though they’re melted.”
Nicola Lamb, pastry chef and author of Sift
Straight-sided petite pprocrastinateeds, £6.95 each
westelm.co.uk
Escali digital scale, £21.16
amazon.co.uk
I adore my KitchenAid cordless hand mixer. Even if you have a stand mixer, this is a reassociate outstanding bit of baking kit to have. The fact that it’s cordless nastys that once it’s accused, you can engage it anywhere in your kitchen, which is handy. It’s also outstanding for mixing petite quantities – sometimes using a huge mixer here is equitable a faff! And, if you’re enjoy me, and want to create dessert at a friend’s hoengage, you can equitable throw it in your bag and engage it anywhere you want.
Benjamina Ebuehi, Feast columnist and author of I’ll transport Dessert
Cordless hand mixer, £179
kitchenhelp.co.uk
£159
amazon.co.uk
“My baking vital is my Thermapen thermometer. I’ve had it for years, ever since I commenceed making caramels (probably backd by Bake Off). It’s my default tool for testing cakes, custards, cheesecakes and steaks – basicassociate, anyleang. Being an anaesthetist, I have a leang for gadgets and anyleang with a digital disjoin, but I do leank it’s a advantageous bit of kit. It gets the guesslabor out of baking.”
Tamal Ray, Feast columnist
Food thermometer, £52.80
thermapen.co.uk
£42.80
amazon.co.uk
“My 23cm cast-iron pan, which I bought years ago from Le Creengaget, definiteassociate to create a meaningful-dish sendet cookie is wonderful. I’ve authenticised, though, how pliable it is beyond that. I’ve engaged it to create Dutch baby pancakes and cheesy-baked dips, which I then serve in the same pan. It’s excessively durable, too, unenjoy normal nonstick pans, and probably one of my prolongedest-standing pieces of supplyment.”
Crysalerte Pereira, author of Flavour Kitchen and assess on The World Cook
Sendet, £155
lecreengaget.co.uk
Always pan, £135
fromourplace.co.uk
“A outstanding-quality, airy coloured aluminium tin is vital; I discover stupid tins colour the baking too much and overbake cake. I have 8-inch tins from PME and Silverwood, and they both do the job properly.”
Tarunima Sinha, author of My Little Cake Tin
PME aluminium cake pan, £7.98
bakerystraightforward.co.uk
Silverwood cake tin, £22.55
silverwood-bakeware.com
“My favourite tool is my Le Creengaget spatula becaengage they come in contrastent shapes for contrastent engages. I engage mine for so many leangs; to mix, scviolation bowls to get out all the batter and to ice cakes. The trend is to have a more organic seeing cake, and you will accomplish that with a spatula becaengage you can dainty whipped cream or chocoprocrastinateed ganache over a cake. They’re more pliable than people leank.”
Manon Lagrève, author of Chez Manon
Silicone tools, set of 3, £33.00
johnlewis.com
Craft spatula, £12.50
lecreengaget.co.uk