Baking tools
Baking tools are designed for baking enthusiasts to achieve better results with less effort.
The right baking dish maybe the difference between a nice cake and a masterpiece, while pastry baking tools are vital to creating perfect pastries.
Once established baking tools are essential elements in any kitchen, we look at the available tools. These include dishes and utensils.
Baking dishes are usually made of thin metal, such as stainless steel, aluminum, tin and copper, often with a non-stick coating. Heat resistant glass or earthenware dishes can also be used, particularly for baking in the microwave oven, which has become an established practice.
In the utensils category, pay attention to the material of which they are made when buying them. When choosing baking utensils, it is also important to consider how they will work with your other bakeware. The sort of baking surface you use will determine which material is most suitable for your baking utensils. If you often use non-stick baking dishes, then you will want to choose utensils that will not scratch the surface.
Baking utensils come usually in wood, stainless steel or plastic. Sometimes they have handles of the same material as the head of the tool, making for a seamless piece.
Wood baking utensils have a nice traditional look that many cooks prefer. The problem with wood baking tools is that they can be harder to clean –wood does not do well in the dishwasher- than stainless steel or plastic utensils, making wood more prone to hold in bacteria than, say, plastic.
Stainless steel kitchen tools come across as both eye-catching and practical, with the advantage of a wide range of handles and tool configurations to choose from. The shortcomings of stainless steel baking tools stem from their hardness; they can scratch non-stick, or cast iron surfaces.
Plastic baking tools will not scratch the surfaces of non-stick, enamel, or cast iron baking pans. The weakness of plastic baking utensils is that they are not as resistant to heat as both stainless steel kitchen utensils and wood baking tools. They may melt if you are not careful, not recommended to use with pans hot from the oven.
The right baking tools produce the best baking, so take a look at the tools successful bakers typically use to make their creations perfect and easy to prepare. The good news is that buying the most expensive baking utensils, whether they are rolling pins, whisks, or mixing bowls, is not always necessary. While having the very best can certainly make life in the kitchen easier, many savvy cooks find they can get very good baking utensils -long lasting and adequate for the needs they face each day in their baking- for a much lower price.
There are many attractive designs, and a large variety of styles of baking tools that can be considered. An option, especially for beginners, is to purchase sets of baking tools instead of individual ones.
A note for design enthusiasts, it is common to find sets of baking utensils that match the bakeware most often used.