Starter tools for home baking: what to buy first and later

Start with tools that change the result

There are so many baking tools that it is hard to know what to buy first. The rule is simple: ask whether the result changes without the tool, or whether it is just a little less convenient. Tools that make numbers accurate, like a scale and an oven thermometer, change the result directly. Shaped molds and decorating tools barely affect flavor or texture. Start with the tools that change results, then add others one at a time once you have dishes you make often. That saves both money and cupboard space.

First: a digital scale

The first tool to get is a digital scale that reads in 1 g steps. Depending on how you fill a cup, the same cup of flour can weigh very different amounts, and that gap shows up directly as dryness or stickiness. With a scale you can set a bowl on it, zero it, and pour ingredients in one after another, which also means fewer dishes. For tiny amounts like yeast or salt, a 0.1 g scale is more accurate, but measuring spoons will do at first. If a recipe uses cups or ounces, convert them to grams and write them down.

• 1 g steps with a capacity of 2 kg or more covers most recipes
• Use the tare function to subtract the bowl
• Readings drift when the battery is low, so keep a spare

Second: an oven thermometer

The temperature on an oven dial or display is only what the oven is aiming for, and the real temperature inside can differ. A dial or digital thermometer that sits inside the oven is cheap, yet it removes more failures than almost any other tool. It is common for the thermometer to read short of the target even after the oven signals that it is preheated, and some ovens consistently run hot or cool. Check once and you will know roughly how much to adjust recipe temperatures. The oven guide covers this in detail.

Tools for mixing and moving

Two or three bowls of different sizes are enough, since many recipes mix dry and wet ingredients separately. A whisk is for beating eggs and blending dry ingredients evenly, and a silicone spatula is for folding batter and scraping the bowl clean. A sieve breaks up lumps and mixes powders evenly, and one fine-mesh sieve is all you need. If a recipe calls for long beating of butter and sugar, an electric hand mixer saves your arm, but cookies and muffins are easy to make by hand.

• Bowls: two or three in different sizes
• A whisk and a silicone spatula
• One fine sieve
• A hand mixer if you bake cakes often

Tools for baking

You can bake cookies right away on the tray that comes with your oven. Lining it with parchment or a silicone mat stops sticking and makes cleanup easy. Muffins need a muffin tin and pound cake needs a loaf pan, and baking time shifts with the size and material of the pan even for the same recipe. Dark metal absorbs heat well, so bottoms and sides color quickly, while glass and ceramic take longer to heat up. When you switch pans, check earlier than the recipe says the first time.

Cooling and small tools

Leave baked goods on the tray or in the pan too long and steam collects underneath, making the bottom soggy. A wire rack with legs lets air flow underneath so everything cools evenly. Add a timer, measuring spoons, a scraper for cutting dough and a pastry brush, and you can make most basic recipes. A phone works as a timer, but it is easy to miss while doing other things, so one that runs several countdowns at once is handy.

What can wait

Some tools really can wait. A stand mixer, a range of cookie cutters, piping bags and tips, a turntable and cake pans in many sizes can all come later, once you find yourself making a particular dish again and again. Sets look like good value but often include pieces you never use. The approach with the fewest regrets is to make a few recipes with basic tools, note what you missed, and buy that.

Safety and hygiene

Choose thick oven gloves that cover your wrists, and always use them dry, because wet gloves pass heat straight through. Clear a landing spot before you take a tray out so you do not get burned while rushing. Wooden and silicone tools trap batter easily, so wash and dry them right after use. Wash any tool that touched raw egg or flour before using it for other food. If you get burned, cool the area under cool running water for a good while, and see a medical professional if the burn is large or blisters badly.