Baker’s Tools
Every bread baker needs tools to do the job. They can be as simple as a single bowl, a wooden spoon and a couple of dented measuring cups. You don’t have to have a stand mixer or a fancy baking stone to make great bread, but tools help, for sure. As I said recently, I broke down and bought a kitchen scale to help ensure a more consistent result with my sourdough starter. It has really helped!
That gave me the idea of creating a post about some of the tools that I can’t live without. These include my Kitchen Aid mixer, my bench knife, parchment paper and the like. Buying them all at once would be expensive, but I added them to my kitchen over time. The mixer was a Christmas present 12 or 13 Christmases back. The bench knife, or scraper, I bought about three years ago. Before then, I always used a knife to cut the bread dough and a spatula to scrape up excess flour. It wasn’t pretty, but that spatula worked just fine as a scraper!
KitchenAid K45SS Classic 250-Watt 4-1/2-Quart Stand Mixer, White $159.00 The classic mixer, in my opinion. Powerful and versatile. The mixing bowl is big enough to handle a two-loaf bread recipe. It comes with a dough hook, a wire whisk and a flat paddle-style attachment.
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KitchenAid KP26M1XNP Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixer, Nickel Pearl $338.00 If you are a serious bread baker, and you can afford the price tag, get this beautiful beast! The bigger capacity bowl is great and I’ve seen the new dough hook design in action. Impressive. Who knew you could improve on the classic dough hook design? |
$7.08 The Good Grips scraper is more expensive than some competitors, but if you have any trouble with your hands, you will appreciate the grip. I love having the inches marked off on the bottom. That’s nice for certain recipes where you need to know how much dough you are working on. |
Winware Stainless Steel Dough Scraper with Stainless Steel Handle $2.08 If you are looking for a bargain, grab this simple scraper. No nonsense, dishwasher safe. You’ll never have to buy another one. |
Pyrex Prepware 2-Cup Measuring Cup, Clear with Red Measurements $4.35 Pyrex is durable and the red letters are easy to read. So often in baking you need two cups, so why clutter the kitchen with an extra measuring cup? This is like two-in-one. |
Progressive International 19-Piece Measuring Cup and Spoon Set $7.55 19 pieces in this handy little assortment! An 8th of a cup all the way to 2 cups and three tiny measuring spoons in addition to the standard assortment. |
Trudeau Melamine Mixing Bowls, Set of 3 $14.96 Color coded mixing bowls! The red one is 3-quart, the blue is 2-quart, and the green one is 1-1/2 quart. They come with no-slip bottoms, built-in handles and a little spout. |
Oxo Good Grips 3-Piece Stainless-Steel Mixing Bowl Set $39.99 If you need bigger bowls, how about Good Grips? This set comes in 1.5, 3 and 5 quart sizes. Heavier than some other brands, but you can feel the quality in these stainless steel bowls. |
Farberware Bakeware 9-by-5-Inch Loaf Pan $6.95 I love the over-sized handles. This is a dishwasher safe pan, but since it cleans like a charm, you may not need to use the dishwasher. Produces a nice, even crust. |
Chicago Metallic Professional Nonstick Perforated Baguette Pan $19.95 I love this pan. It comes with a 25-year limited warranty. Dimensions: 9-by-17-inch. Dishwasher safe.
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Norpro 10 Inch Nonstick Bread Pan $9.99 I like the size and shape of this loaf pan. It makes perfect sandwich bread. I have a “lazy sourdough” recipe that I use for sandwich bread and in this pan it turns out beautifully browned. |
Beyond Gourmet Unbleached Parchment Paper, 71-Square Foot Roll $6.15 I know this seems expensive compared to grocery store parchment but this is a jumbo sized roll of “green” parchment. Worth the money. |
Kaiser Bakeware Patisserie Reusable Parchment Paper $11.00 This reusable parchment paper is great. It can be reused 1,000 times — not that I’ve been counting! |
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