Baking 101: Baking Tools and Equipment

Baking is one of the most enjoyable and fulfilling activities you can take up as a hobby or as a career.

Types of Baking Tools

– Cooling Racks

You can usually leave your baked goods to cool in the pans. There are some baked goods, however, that require cooling on wire or cooling racks, to avoid condensation.

Cooling racks are commonly square or rectangular, and are made of metal.

– Pans

After mixing the ingredients, you commonly place the dough or batter into a baking pan, before putting them in the oven.

There are some baked goods, however, that may need the use of special pans, which you can use for shaping or better heat conduction management. Baking pans are usually made of metal, glass, ceramics, and silicone.

– Mixing Bowls

Mixing bowls can come in many types, such as microwave-safe, stainless steel, copper, and crockery bowls. You can use each of these bowl types for specific ingredients and baking techniques.

You can use microwave-safe bowls for melting butter or chocolate, and can serve as containers for baked stews or casseroles. Stainless steel and copper bowls are ideal for whipping egg whites more easily. Crockery bowls, on the other hand, are perfect for bread baking, for they can stay warm for longer periods.

– Measuring Tools

Your baked goods need the right proportions for them to turn out successfully. Use measuring tools to produce dependable results.

There are three main classifications of measuring tools: measuring cups, spoons, and scales.

Measuring cups can come in glass, plastic, or metal. They can measure both liquid and solid ingredients, which is why there are separate measuring cups for liquid and solid ingredients.

Measuring cups for liquid ingredients have spouts for pouring, and are the largest common measuring tools. Glass measuring cups are ideal for liquid ingredients. They have volume markers on either side, for accurate determination of the correct amount of liquid required by the recipe.

Plastic and metal measuring cups are perfect for solid or dry ingredients, as you can level off the top of dry ingredients more easily when using them. Measuring spoons, on the other hand, can measure fractions of liquid or solid ingredients.

Measuring scales are the most traditional type of measuring tool. They can measure ingredients in ounces and pounds, instead of in fractional amounts or in cups. Sugar and flour are the most common types of ingredients you can measure using measuring scales.

– Rolling Pins

Use rolling pins to flatten, smoothen, and thin your dough, pastry, and other baking ingredients. You can do this by pressing and rolling the rolling pin along your ingredients’ surface.

Rolling pins are a type of shaper tool, characterized by their solid and hard cylindrical shape. Their measurements can range from 10 to 18 inches in length, and two to three inches in diameter.

You can produce many great tasting creations using different unbranded and branded baking tools, like PME Sugarcraft. Before you buy your baking needs and fire up your oven, however, you first need to know what these baking tools are.