Hi everyone! Today, we’re bringing you a new blog post exploring a new topic. We have loved sharing a new side to ourselves and our blog through these blog posts, with topics ranging from Scandinavian culture to how you can thrive as a beginner home baker. We will continue posting one of these blog posts each week and if you have any topic ideas or recommendations, we would love for you to share that with us! Skandibaking is an open space and we want to talk about all kinds of different things, so please feel free to get in touch with us and let us know what you want to read about.
Today’s post explores what we have deemed the five most important tools and gadgets to have in the kitchen. Limiting ourselves to only choosing five is very difficult, of course, as there are a lot of different tools you need depending on what you are baking. However, we have tried to justify each choice and also included a link to an Amazon product under each item! Therefore, if you are missing any of these tools, you can very quickly buy one for your kitchen. Without further ado, here are our top five must-have tools for baking!
1. Scale
The first and probably most essential item is a scale*. Baking is a very exact science, so it is important to be as accurate as possible when measuring out your ingredients. While some recipes are more forgiving than others, there are some baked goods that will turn out completely wrong if you screw up a measurement (French macarons, for example). We also know that in the US, people like to use measuring cups. While our recipes do include cup measurements, we would suggest investing in a scale instead. It is much more accurate and honestly, easier to use and clean! If you plan to bake a fair amount or practice and improve your baking skills, a scale is a must-have item.
2. Whisk
Another absolutely key item for baking is a whisk*. Whether it’s handheld, electric*, or attached to a stand mixer*, a whisk will make your life a thousand times easier. I can tell you from personal experience that while a fork can be used instead of a whisk, it will not whip up your mix in the same way! We have a lot of cake recipes that rely on eggs and sugar being whipped together to give the cake its fluffiness. So without a whisk, you will struggle to get the proper texture. Therefore, it’s definitely essential if you want to bake with ease and accuracy!
3. Rubber Spatula
When you are baking, you are constantly using different bowls and containers to mix batter and prepare ingredients before baking your final product. It is imperative that you have a tool that can easily scrape a bowl clean so you are wasting as few ingredients as possible. This is where a rubber spatula* comes in incredibly handy! You can reach all the tiniest bits of batter in a bowl or cake tin. Plus, it also comes in handy for mixing baked goods, especially when you are trying to keep air in an egg mixture and don’t want to use a whisk! Finally, if you buy a heat-proof rubber spatula, it’s also super useful to mix things on the stove. For example, I always use a rubber spatula to cook scrambled eggs because they always turn out perfect and nothing sticks to the pan.
4. Baking Tins (loaf, round, square, rectangular)
Our fourth must-have item is pretty straightforward. How are you going to bake something without a baking tin to put it in? However, the type of baking tins you want to invest in depends on what you are baking. We think that a loaf tin*, round cake tin*, square pan*, and rectangular pan* are all necessary to bake differently shaped cakes, bread, as well as brownies or pastries. But, if you’re an avid bundt cake fan, make sure you also have a bundt cake pan! That rhymed and may have to be our new motto 🙂 Either way, you need pans to bake, so make sure you invest in some.
5. Cooling Rack
Finally, a cooling rack* is a non-negotiable item when it comes to baking. If you allow your baked goods to cool in the tins they were baked in, they may go a bit soggy or weird because of the condensation that is created as they cool. A cooling rack makes sure that there is air circulating all around the baked good and you will end up with a much better texture. This is especially true if you are baking cookies or something that should end up a bit crispy around the edges. A cooling rack also just saves you time, as it cools baked goods much faster than if you leave them in the tin or put them somewhere else.
We hope you enjoyed today’s blog post! Leave us a comment if you have any questions or ideas.
