Baking is one of the most enjoyable and profitable hobbies you can have. You get to enjoy baking and earn some money if you decide to sell your baked goods. If you are new to baking, there are some basic ingredients, equipment, and tools you should know. These items can get quite pricey, but thanks to KitchenAid Black Friday deals, you can get good quality baking supplies at a discounted price. So if you want to save money, buy your supplies during the Christmas season or when there are a lot of sales to get the best deals possible. Here is a short list of the basic things you need when baking.
Measuring cups and spoons
The most important thing you have to know is baking involves precise measurements. Unlike cooking, you cannot estimate, guess, or just adjusts the ingredients in the middle of the process. All the measurements should be exact. That’s why you would need some measuring cups and spoons. Both can be used for dry and liquid ingredients; they just differ in the amount they can hold.
Stand mixer
In baking, there are also different methods of mixing. You cannot just put everything in a bowl and stir them. Certain recipes call for certain mixing techniques. These mixing techniques can also get quite tricky if you are not used to them yet. Another thing you must remember when baking is that you cannot overmix or undermix your ingredients. Incorrect technique and overmixing of your ingredients can ruin your mixture. Having a trusty stand mixer can make your job easier, faster, and more accurate. So do not hesitate to invest in stand mixers because they can definitely greatly help you.
Wooden spoon
Baking involves a lot of mixing. However, you cannot rely on the stand mixer to mix everything at all times. There are procedures where you have to manually mix the ingredients. And you will need a wooden spoon for that. Wooden spoons are usually used to mix thick, viscous, and heavy mixtures vigorously. A wooden spoon is thicker, more durable, and bigger than ordinary spoons, which is best for mixing.
Mixing bowls
Since Baking requires a lot of mixing, you will need a mixing bowl. Using regular owls in your house can be disadvantageous since they come in different sizes and are not designed for mixing. Mixing bowls that are used for baking are also built to withstand harsh mixing by different equipment like mixers. Mixing bowls may be underrated, but they can greatly help you in the kitchen by helping keep the area organized, clean and uniform.
Baking pans
If you decide to bake cakes or any dessert that is in a runny liquid batter form before cooking, you will need baking pans. Baking pans are designed to hold the batter and come in different sizes and shapes. There are circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles; They even come in hearts and stars. If you are making cupcakes or muffins, use muffin trays or cupcake pans. These molds are built in small but large quantities for your cupcakes and muffins. Since these baked goods are smaller than your cakes but come in large quantities, you can not use your usual cake pans.
Cooling rack
Once your cookies and other baked goods are baked, you are to let them cool first. This is not just to keep you from getting burned but also to keep its quality. Freshly baked pastries must be placed in a cooling rack before serving or storing. Immediately storing them will make them soggy. Immediately eating them will make the pastries brittle and crumble.
Here are some of the most used ingredients in baking:
- Flour
- Salt
- Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- Baking powder
- Eggs