39 Baking Equipment Essentials and Their Uses
When you start looking at trying your hand at baking, you need to ask yourself, what baking equipment do I need?
You don’t need to be a professional baker to make cakes and slices, and I sure am not. But I still love it and pushing my limits and trying new things.
To me, baking is about challenging myself and taking my knowledge to the next level. But most of all, it’s about my kid’s excitement when they come home from school and mum has baked a new kind of dessert that they can have after dinner or something for them to snack on or even add to their lunchbox.
But you need to start somewhere. And having the essential baking equipment, even if you are a beginner is a must.
How Much Does Baking Equipment Cost?
The baking equipment you need does not have to cost the earth, especially if you are just starting and do not have the budget to buy well-known brands.
Hunt around stores for the baking equipment you need, such as Walmart, Big W, Kmart, Target and even Amazon and eBay. Check out discount stores and also raid your mother’s cupboards for things she hasn’t used in years and that you can either have or borrow.
What Are The Types Of Baking Equipment And Their Uses?
There are so many different types of baking utensils and other tools to choose from, but if you are just starting, you only need the basic baking equipment. And if you are more advanced in the baking department then, maybe looking to upgrade or add to your baking equipment collection.
Essential Baking Tools For Beginners.
1. Mixing Bowls.
This is one of the first pieces of baking equipment you need to purchase. You can not bake anything if you do not have a bowl to put all the ingredients in. Plastic ones are a great place to start if you are one on a budget.
But once you’re ready to upgrade look at getting stainless steel or even glass ones. They are a lot better to work with and much easier to clean.
Three bowls of different sizes are great to have. A large one for when you are making a larger quantity or the type of recipe may require you to mix your wet and dry ingredients separately at first.
So a medium-sized bowl may be required here, or you may just need that size for more uncomplicated recipes.
A small-sized mixing bowl is great for mixing icing or sauces, anything really that you only requires the smaller size.
2. Sieve or a Small Holed Wire Strainer.
Both are good to have, but when you need to sift flour either works just as well. Just be careful what kind of strainer you get as you need it to have a wire netting to sift your flour through, and the holes need to be small otherwise it won’t sift properly, and you may as well just put the flour in as-is, lumpy.
3. Measuring Cups.
These are a must for measuring wet and dry ingredients that are in larger quantities. The measuring cups usually come in a set including 1 cup, 3/4 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/3 cup and 1/4 cup.
You can get others that have the 2/3 cup and the 1/8 cup as well.
There is also one other type of measuring cup that is great to have on hand, and that is the measuring jug. The jug allows you to measure large quantities of liquid. These come in different sizes too, but most of the time you will only need the 2 cup jug. The bonus is that it will also give you mls or pints depending on the country you live in, as well as the cup measurements.
4. Measuring Spoons.
Just like the measuring cups, the spoons usually come in a set that contains the 1 tablespoon, 1/2 tablespoon, 1 teaspoon, 1/2 teaspoon, 1/4 teaspoon, and if you are lucky, the 1/8 teaspoon and pinch teaspoon.
5. Rolling Pin.
The rolling pin is a must-have for rolling out pastry and dough. A wooden one will do just fine if you are just starting. I have had a wooden one right from the start, and it has lasted over 20 years and still looks brand new. But you can, however, get silicon and marble ones.
6. Round Cake Tin.
At least one round cake tin is a must-have piece of baking equipment. A 20 cm or 8 inches in diameter one is a great size to have. And if you are able, get a spring-loaded one, it will make it much easier to get the cake out if you are not confident using a non-spring loaded or a loose bottom one.
7. Cupcake Tray.
Along with a cake tin, getting yourself a cupcake or patty cake tray is good to have as well. There is a cupcake tray that will do six and twelve normal-sized cupcakes and one that will do twenty-four mini cupcakes.
8. Baking Tray.
Baking trays or even a sheet pan is great for cookies or other cooking needs such as sausage rolls or pinwheels. Try to go for a non-stick one, but you should always use baking paper or baking parchment on them anyways.
9. Basting Brush.
You will need a basting brush, otherwise known as a pastry brush to baste your scones or other pastries that you cook in the oven. There are silicone one’s which are great, but I prefer the nylon ones. These look just like a paintbrush, and I feel they hold a lot more of the egg wash than the silicone ones.
10. Cookie Cutters.
If you plan on making cookies, then the cookie cutters are a must. You can get all kinds of cool shapes. The most common are your circles, stars and gingerbread man ones. But keep an eye out, especially during the seasonal times. The kids will love making Christmas tree cookies for Santa.
11. Egg Flip.
You use this for more than flipping eggs. Also known as the turner, this handy utensil will help you lift your cookies off your try.
12. Cooling Rank.
Another piece of baking equipment you should buy is a cooling rack.
You can not bake cakes, cookies etc. without one of these. They are great to put your hot cake tin, or baking tray on, and when ready to take the cake out of the tin, you put it on the rack to cool completely.
13. Spatula.
There are a few different types of spatulas, but if you are just starting a standard silicone one which is excellent for scraping down your bowl while you are pouring your cake batter into the tin.
Along with many other uses, you will be surprised what you end up using a spatula for.
14. Wooden Spoon.
The wooden spoon is a must for baking, especially when you are mixing something that you are unable to use a hand or stand mixer for such as chocolate chip cookies.
The best thing about the wooden spoon is that you can use it in your saucepans or frying pans and it will not scratch them.
15. Whisk.
Do you know how many times a recipe will ask you to whisk something together? I think I have lost count of how many times I have read this over the years.
There are both metal and silicone ones available, and when you need to make sauces or custard whisks are great for avoiding lumpy misses.
16. Electric Hand Mixer.
When you are just beginning to build up your baking equipment, you may not be in the position to get a stand mixer. So a hand mixer is great to have.
These are a lot more budget-friendly and do the same thing. You just have to stand there holding it and manually turn the bowl.
Some mixers will only come with the beater, and others will come with dough hooks and whisks.
I have never used those attachments with my hand mixer, so I can not say if they are any good or not, I think the main reason is that I do not want to stand there holding a bowl to knead the dough.
I would prefer to use my stand mixer or do it the old-fashioned way with a bit of wrist and elbow grease.
17. Kitchen Scales.
Digital or analog, it is really up to you which you prefer, but kitchen scales of some kind are a must for measuring out those grams or pounds and mls or ounces when a recipe asks for those awkward amounts.
18. Egg Separator.
When you make things such as lemon meringue pie, you are going to be required to separate your egg white from your yolk. If you do not feel confident using the shell to do this then an egg separator is going to be your best friend when a recipe requires you to separate the egg whites and yolks.
What Are The Other Types Of Baking Equipment?
There is so much more, and if you are progressing in your baking, you may feel you need to amp up your equipment and either upgrade your old tools or invest in buying more to add to your collection.
Essential Baking Tools For Beginners and Advanced.
Even beginners can get these tools if you have the budget to get these on top of the first 19 items I have mentioned.
19. Stand Mixer.
The stand mixer is genuinely a godsend. You will be able to do so much with it, and it will make baking your favourite cakes or desserts a breeze.
And if you get yourself a KitchenAid Stand mixer, as I have in my kitchen, you will be able to use it for more than just baking needs.
Once you get yourself a stand mixer, your poor old hand mixer will sit in the cupboard collecting dust. Occasionally you may pull it out to use it if you are only doing something small or you just feel like using your hand mixer for a change.
20. Food Processor.
These are great for when you want to include veggies in your baking or you need to crush up biscuits for that yummy Jelly slice you have always wanted to try.
21. Blender.
A blender is a must if you are looking to make sauces or you need to puree fruit for a recipe. It is not just for making smoothies and juices, although a yummy banana smoothie with those pancakes you just made might be a good idea.
22. Pastry Mat.
A pastry mat is a great thing to have to stop your dough or pastry from sticking to your bench, and some even have circles which helps when you are rolling out your pastry in a circle and cutting it to shape.
26. Pastry Cutters and Rollers.
These make for an excellent tool for when you are needing to cut not just pastry, but dough into equal portions and sizes or wanting to add decorative touches to your pasties.
27. Cupcake Corer.
This handy tool is by far, one of my favourites. If you are required to scoop out the centre of your cupcake to fill with a filling of some kind before decorating, the cupcake corer makes life so much easier. I was forever using a spoon until I discovered this beauty.
28. Dough Scraper.
The dough scraper, also called the bench scraper, is a handy tool great for picking up the mixture from your benchtop or mat and collecting all of it as you can scrap it across your workspace. It is also suitable for cutting the dough into pieces and picking up diced veggies or fruit in larger quantities than having to try and do it with your hands or a knife.
29. Cranked Spatula.
Ever watched a cake decorating show and they use this weirdly shaped spatula that is long and thin to spread the icing or ganache over a cake. Well, that is called a cranked spatula, and that is just one of its uses. It’s also great for helping you pick up a cake to put on a turntable or a cake base.
The handy thing about this tool, other than being longer than a regular spatula, the handle is higher than the rest of it. It avoids knuckles scraping the benchtop and the ability to keep the blade utterly flat while you slide it under a cake. Or your hands brushing against the cake while you are icing it.
But ever baked cookies and you want to be able to pick up more than one at a time. With this spatula, you can pick up two or three at a time. But be careful not to drop them.
30. Cake leveller.
No matter how experienced you are, a cake will always rise more in the centre, so you end up with a slight dome on the top. It is not easy to put anything on top of it, if it is not flat.
You can use a long knife to cut the top off and make it level. But to make your life much easier a cake leveller is a brilliant tool to use to make sure you cut straight and you can even get ones that help you slice your cake into layers, so they are all the same size.
31. More Round Cake Tins.
Yes, I mentioned round cake tins earlier, but how about more. There are many sizes you can get so you can make small little cakes to big ones. And maybe you are looking at getting into cake making, for peoples birthdays or even weddings. So you are going to need quite a few different sizes to make the tier layer cakes.
Having a few cake tins that are the same size, is also handy for when you are wanting to make a few cakes all at once or looking to put a couple of different flavours together in one cake.
32. Square Cake Tins.
Nice to try a different shape and pretty much just like your round cakes the sky’s the limit to what you can create when you have a few different sizes.
33. Loaf Pan.
Suppose you want to try your hand at something like banana bread or even just a loaf of bread. Then a loaf tin will need to be added to your baking equipment collection. It’s also handy to make carrot cake or other types of cakes that you want as a loaf style cake more than just a standard round or square shape.
34. Pie Pan.
A pie pan is needed if you are going to be baking pies. No matter if it is fruit or meat-based, you are going to need one of these to do it.
You can get these are non-stick pans or even glass ones, which I find are better for if you are needing to cut the pie before taking it out of the pan.
35. Flan Tins.
Tarts and even quiches need flan tins. Just like cake tins, there are quite a few different sizes so you can cook something big and cut it into slices or smaller bite-sized ones for entertaining.
36. Souffle Cups.
Baking a souffle may be something you have always wanted to try but haven’t yet. Well, when you feel you are ready to get yourself some souffle cups to bake them in.
These are also great for making Lava Cakes.
37. Other Shaped Cake Pans.
What something different for a cake. Nowadays you can buy so many different shaped cake tins for all different occasions. From numbers to domes so you can make a ball or a doll cake. Cake making will never be dull again.
38. Bundt Pan.
The bundt cake tin is for making ring-shaped cakes. You can even make an upside-down cake in these. Or use it to make a choc ripple cake.
39. Oven Thermometer.
The oven thermometer is actually quite cheap to buy, so if you are just starting you may consider getting yourself one if you need it.
This handy gadget will help you to know if your oven is heating to the right temperature or not. Very handy if you have an old oven and it has not been calibrated.
Hang the thermometer on your middle rack in the centre and preheat your oven for about 20 minutes at your desired temperature. A good temperature to do it is 350°F or 180°C if you just want to check your oven.
Or set it to the required temperature and adjust as needed before baking.
Wow! Thirty-nine different types of baking equipment that you can use, ranging from beginner to the more advanced and there is so much more out there. So I am going to stop. But look out for my cake decorating tools post that is soon to come, for those interested in getting into cake decorating.
And before you know it, you are going to be the at-home bakery for the whole family.
Hope this has helped you get an idea of what sort of baking equipment you need to buy for the type of baking to plan on doing. And if there is anything I have left off that you feel should be added to the list of baking equipment then please share it in the comments section below.
Happy baking!
