One essential baking tool is simply not enough, according to Benoit Blin, pastry chef, judge on Bake Off: The Professionals and author of Bake with Benoit Blin. A rolling pin, fluted cake tin, balloon whisk and silicone spatula – to “get all the batter out” of a bowl – top his baking kit list.
But this isn’t a sign that you need everything but the kitchen sink to be able to whip up a showstopper. As with most things in life, you often need less than you think, so consider what you plan to bake and equip accordingly.
An offset spatula with its flexible, thin, angled blade, for example, is crucial for cake making. “People often struggle decorating cakes because they don’t have the right tools,” says Tarunima Sinha, author of My Little Cake Tin. “An offset spatula will make your life much easier, and not just for decorating cakes, but for spreading pastes and making chocolate, too.” Plus, they’re relatively cheap, so you don’t need to spend a fortune.
But what else should you keep in your baking kit arsenal? We asked some of our favourite star bakers about the tools they can’t live without.
Dough scraper
“A dough scraper – not a silicone one or a hard metal one, but a flimsy, rigid plastic one – is the single most useful item. It’s the only ‘specialist’ tool I recommendfor baking bread. A good bread dough feels wet, sticky and unwieldy, and a scraper will leave bowls and surfaces (and your hands) totally clean. They allow you to work and handle the dough, to chop and divide it, and are ideal for transferring unbaked loaves around without disturbing their delicate structure. They’ve also got many uses beyond bread making, particularly with anything that needs to be scraped off a surface, or scooped out of a bowl. And they’re dirt cheap; don’t pay more than £2-£3. Just make sure you get one that’s straight on one side and curved on the other – for scraping bowls and surfaces.”
James Morton, author of The Big Book of Bread
Plastic dough scraper, £1.95
shipton-mill.com
£2.64
bakerybits.co.uk
Food containers and kitchen scales
“Food storage containers from Pyrex! I hate not having enough of them. I like using glass dishes as they clean well, don’t stain, and you can use them to bake and reheat things like pies. My Salter scales are also essential for accuracy. I always keep an extra set of batteries nearby, just in case. They are my most used piece of kit.”
Ravneet Gill, Feast columnist and author of Baking for Pleasure
Glass food storage containers, set of three, £22.98
pyrex.co.uk
Glass food storage bowls, set of three, £17.29
amazon.co.uk
Bluetooth kitchen scale, £30
argos.co.uk
Metal and mini spatulas
“My old mini silicone spatula, which I bought when I was at culinary school in New York, is one of my baking essentials. The wooden handle is starting to rot but nothing gets every scrap out of bowls and jars like it. I bought a new mini set last year, but I keep going back to the gnarly OG one. Then there’s the small offset metal spatula. It’s the most useful spreading and smoothing tool for icing, buttercream and cake batter. It fits nicely in the breast pocket of a chef’s jacket or my jeans back pocket. I feel incomplete without it.”
Verena Lochmuller, co-author of Ottolenghi Comfort
Metal spatulas, set of three, £5
dunelm.com
Silicone mini baking spatula, £7.93
zealzeal.com
Fluted cake tin and hand whisk
“I couldn’t do without a fluted, loose-bottomed 8-inch cake tin. It’s such a convenient size; it serves six to eight people, it fits nicely in the fridge and, being fluted, it allows me to make tarts as well as sponges. I used to use Tefal, but the one I use now is Vogue – it’s not the most advanced, but it does the trick. A good-quality hand whisk is also a must. I like my Matfer one; it’s medium-sized with a good handle and a balloon shape. You can do anything with it, from creaming to whipping egg whites.”
Benoit Blin, author of Bake with Benoit Blin
Nonstick tin with removable base, 200mm, £11.86
nisbets.co.uk
Matfer whisk, £27.59
amazon.co.uk
Saucers and digital scales
“I always get small saucers with a lip when I go to ceramic shops, because they’re useful for testing if jam is ready and for when I’m weighing raising agents. But my number one tool is my Escali digital scales. They’re incredibly reliable. I’ve put boiling pans on them (I wouldn’t recommend this though!) and they’re still accurate even though they’re melted.”
Nicola Lamb, pastry chef and author of Sift
Straight-sided small plates, £6.95 each
westelm.co.uk
Escali digital scale, £21.16
amazon.co.uk
Cordless hand mixer
I love my KitchenAid cordless hand mixer. Even if you have a stand mixer, this is a really good bit of baking kit to have. The fact that it’s cordless means that once it’s charged, you can use it anywhere in your kitchen, which is handy. It’s also good for mixing small quantities – sometimes using a big mixer here is just a faff! And, if you’re like me, and want to make dessert at a friend’s house, you can just throw it in your bag and use it anywhere you want.
Benjamina Ebuehi, Feast columnist and author of I’ll bring Dessert
Cordless hand mixer, £179
kitchenaid.co.uk
£159
amazon.co.uk
Food thermometer
“My baking essential is my Thermapen thermometer. I’ve had it for years, ever since I started making caramels (probably inspired by Bake Off). It’s my default tool for testing cakes, custards, cheesecakes and steaks – basically, anything. Being an anaesthetist, I have a thing for gadgets and anything with a digital display, but I do think it’s a useful bit of kit. It takes the guesswork out of baking.”
Tamal Ray, Feast columnist
Food thermometer, £52.80
thermapen.co.uk
£42.80
amazon.co.uk
Cast-iron pan
“My 23cm cast-iron pan, which I bought years ago from Le Creuset, specifically to make a deep-dish skillet cookie is fabulous. I’ve realised, though, how versatile it is beyond that. I’ve used it to make Dutch baby pancakes and cheesy-baked dips, which I then serve in the same pan. It’s extremely durable, too, unlike regular nonstick pans, and probably one of my longest-standing pieces of equipment.”
Crystelle Pereira, author of Flavour Kitchen and judge on The World Cook
Skillet, £155
lecreuset.co.uk
Always pan, £135
fromourplace.co.uk
Aluminium cake tins
“A good-quality, light coloured aluminium tin is essential; I find dark tins colour the baking too much and overbake cake. I have 8-inch tins from PME and Silverwood, and they both do the job properly.”
Tarunima Sinha, author of My Little Cake Tin
PME aluminium cake pan, £7.98
bakerydirect.co.uk
Silverwood cake tin, £22.55
silverwood-bakeware.com
Silicone tools
“My favourite tool is my Le Creuset spatula because they come in different shapes for different uses. I use mine for so many things; to mix, scrape bowls to get out all the batter and to ice cakes. The trend is to have a more natural looking cake, and you will achieve that with a spatula because you can smooth whipped cream or chocolate ganache over a cake. They’re more versatile than people think.”
Manon Lagrève, author of Chez Manon
Silicone tools, set of 3, £33.00
johnlewis.com
Craft spatula, £12.50
lecreuset.co.uk
