Just Baking

For the first installment of At the Baker’s Bench (AtBB), I thought I’d start at the very beginning: the baker’s arsenal of essential tools. You might be surprised at some of the items you’ll find in this list, and at some of the items I’ve left out. The key word is essential, and some tools might be extremely useful but not essential.

In the interest of highlighting those tools that you must have on your “baker’s bench” to get started, I’m going to omit those handy-but-not-critical items from this list. We’ll save those for a future installment.

Numbered notes follow the list, to explain preferences and offer suggestions. I’ve left the most obvious piece of equiptment - an oven - off the list, assuming that one’s a given. I generally don’t recommend specific brands, though if I have personal experience, positive or negative, with a product, I might mention that.

Essential Tools

• Hanging oven thermometer (1)
• Stainless steel mixing bowls of various sizes ~ at least small, medium, and large
• Measuring cups and spoons for liquid and dry measurements (2)
• Set of sharp kitchen knives for chopping and paring
• Handheld or stand mixer
• Whisk
• Sturdy wooden spoons
• Rolling pin
• Fine sieve for sifting (3)
• Grater/microplane zester
• Oven mitts or pot holders (4)
• 10- x 15-inch nonstick rimmed jelly roll pan (5)
• Large nonstick cookie sheet
• Medium nonstick cookie sheet
• 9- x 13-inch baking pan
• 9-inch square baking pan
• 2 8- or 9-inch round cake pans
• 8 1/2- x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan
• 9- x 5-inch loaf pan
• 12-cup muffin pan
• 10-cup Bundt pan
• 9-inch deep-dish pie plate (6)
• Footed cooling racks
• Silicone spatulas and pastry brushes (7)

1. A calibrated oven thermometer is a must. It doesn’t matter if your oven is a top-of-the-line late-model AGA or a thirty-year-old Frigidaire . . . there’s no way to know if it’s accurate unless you have a thermometer.
2. I like to have at least two sets of both; that way, if a recipe calls for a lot of measuring, I don’t have to wash cups and spoons midway through. 
3. Using a mechanical sifter is either a great fist workout or a sure way to bring on carpal tunnel syndrome, whichever way you want to look at it. Either way, I dislike it. It’s much easier to put the ingredient to be sifted in a fine sieve, hold the sieve over the mixing bowl, and tap it gently against the heel of your hand.
4. I like the new silicone oven mitts by Orka. They come in petite through large sizes, various colors, and are equally effective wet and dry. They resist heat up to about 450 degrees F.
5. I’ve called for one pan in each of the major sizes here - the barest minimum. A better idea is to invest in two each of the sizes you use most. Gradually build up your collection by purchasing pans as you need them. You can do without a jelly roll pan until you find a recipe that calls for one, but you may find yourself in need of two large cookie sheets from the get-go.
6. I have used all kinds of pie pans - my favorites are those made by Pyrex. Easy to clean and they cook the crust evenly all the way through. A plus for the Pyrex - you can bake a pie or quiche, store it in the same pan (won’t convey a metallic taste, unlike some metal pie pans), then reheat it in the microwave or oven. 
7. As soon as I tried the new silicone pastry brushes, I immediately discarded all my bristle brushes. I always harbored a suspicion that they were never completely clean - all those tightly-packed bristles . . . all that raw egg. But the silicone brushes do a great job of distributing liquid, from egg wash to barbecue sauce, and you can throw them right into the dishwasher. Love them!