What does a home baker need?
Some people respond to sweets and pastries with delicious purrs, others look on with curiosity and formulate ambitious plans for cooking at home. If you're in the latter group—making beautiful cakes, cupcakes, and other glazed wonders, or know someone like that—check out what an amateur pastry chef might need.
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1. Which oven to choose?
It seems quite obvious that homemade sugar needs an oven. If you prefer chocolate and pralines, this equipment may seem unnecessary. In any other case, a good oven is the basis for successful cooperation. There are many ovens on the market - you can read about the best in this article.
If a pastry lover lives in a rented apartment without an oven, he can invest in a mini-oven - you can really work wonders in it and even successfully blog.
Mini electric oven CAMRY CR 111, 43 l, 2000 W
2. Is a food processor useful?
The food processor is the dream of anyone who has ever watched the program of Nigella Lawson, who, with innate grace, stuck a single egg into a bowl, heating chocolate and looking like a household goddess. Everything seemed easy precisely because a food processor was working in the background, doing some business behind her back. You don't need to hold it in your hand, just set the appropriate speed and we have time to prepare the next thing. The robot itself kneads yeast dough, beats foam or whipped cream, grinds butter and sugar. During this time, we can watch our favorite series or cook new ingredients. There are many robots on the market - some are cheap and reliable, others are classics in many colors, which many novice pastry chefs dream of. I know a few girls who spent 100 zlotys a month in college to buy the blood red robot of their dreams two years later. You can read more about robots, their parameters and what to look for when buying in the previous text.
Food processor KITCHENAID Artisan 5KSM125EER red
3. Which kitchen bowls should I choose?
When you get back down to earth and focus on smaller things, you should start with something absolutely essential - a bowl. The kitchen bowl seems so simple that you shouldn't spend too much time on it. The fact that each bowl is the same, you can make sure until all its contents are poured onto the floor, because it was enough to lightly knock on it. Similar sensations are caused by the contents of the bowl, which, instead of pouring into the mold, evenly spreads along the walls of the bowl. I have been researching bowls for at least 20 years. At that time, I remade fashionable metal bowls of different diameters - until today I have only the smallest one, which I use to dissolve chocolate in a water bath. To date, I believe that the best bowls are not very light, so that they do not easily tip over, they can be inserted into each other, they have a non-slip bottom and a spout that makes it easy to pour their contents into the mold. . Color has always seemed unimportant to me, but when I saw pastel bowls set on the countertop, ready for the “180 cupcakes in 2 hours” promotion, I realized that the aesthetic effect in case of big calls can be key.
Set of bowl Nest 9 and measuring cup Opal JOSEPH JOSEPH, 32x27x14,5 cm
4. Backs and pastry sleeve
I heard the word "Tylka" relatively recently. I liked to make cream cupcakes from time to time, I used plastic cream equipment and felt that everything was as it should be. Then I went to the pastry shop organized by Wilton, and realized that the tip that gives the cream shape is just a butt, and the pastry sleeve that allows you to control the cream is incomparably better than a plastic tube. There are many types of buttocks on the market. Manufacturers also offer basic kits that always include a large star (the most popular), smaller tubes, smaller stars, and sometimes just a grass effect (or monster cookie hair). Sleeves and buttocks will be useful only for those who love pastries with cream. Think carefully about how you will use them and only buy what you need.
Pastry bag with TALA fittings, 10 pcs.
5. Measuring cups and kitchen scales
If a dry kitchen can forgive a lot and does not require absolute precision, then a confectionery is a small laboratory in which every gram of flour, sugar, baking powder is important. Some people are great at measuring ingredients with glasses and spoons. It is worth having a set of measures, especially since many American regulations are based on them. However, nothing replaces weight - sometimes flour is sifted more, sometimes less, sometimes sugar is finer, sometimes thicker. Weight will help you control everything. Thanks to him, we will also achieve the desired effect - the amount of gelatin added to the shiny icing is of great importance and each additional gram of a delicate flash drive will turn into hard jelly.
Kitchen scale SATURN ST-KS7817
6. Spatulas, sieves, sieves, cake knives
A sieve is one of those kitchen gadgets that can be replaced, for example, with a strainer. The sifter, as the name implies, sifts the flour so that it is evenly ventilated. It is enough to move your hand several times for a cloud of flour to fall into the bowl. A strainer is needed in a home confectionery not only for sifting flour, but also for sprinkling with powdered sugar and cocoa. A sieve will come in handy in every kitchen and you don't have to invest in any showy items. Cake shovels and knives are gadgets for those for whom “naked cake” or “black forest cake” sound not like the names of cakes for an aunt's name day, but like challenges. The spatulas have a wide surface, which makes it easier to spread the cream on and around the cake.
ZELLER cake spatula, wooden handle, silicone head, gray
7. What are the best baking books?
The publishing market indulges us from all sides. On the shelves we can find books about cakes and macaroons dedicated to dieters with gluten intolerance. There are several strictly technical books that will help you learn how to apply cream, knead dough, etc. Such a book, however, is the position of Cordon Bleu, the French school of pastry art, in which we can find technical advice and photographs - Cordon bleu pastry school.
Many of the technical aspects and descriptions of baking preparation can often be found on the blogs and YouTube channels hosted by the authors. The undisputed star of the sweet part of the internet is Dorota Swietkowska, author of the blog Moje Wypieki, who has published several books on baking for different occasions. Its vegan counterpart is Vegan Nerd, which encourages sweetness without dairy or eggs. Bakery girls reign supreme on TV and YouTube.
