Baking Equipment

Pastry Brush

A baking tool that looks similar to a small paintbrush, about 1 to 1 1/2-inches thick. Common liquids used with a pastry brush are milk, water and egg whites. Use a pastry brush to brush marinades over meats too.

Double Boiler

A double-pan arrangement that features two pots formed to fit together, with one sitting partway inside the other. A single lid fits both pans. The lower pot is used to hold simmering water, which gently heats the mixture in the upper pot. Double boilers are used to warm or cook heat-sensitive food such as custards, delicate sauces and chocolate.

Bundt/Tube Pan

Also known as an angel food cake pan, this deep pan has a hollow tube in the center that promotes even baking. Most tube pans have removable bottoms.

Disposable Aluminum Pans

Readily available in supermarkets, these are perfect for baked goods which will be given away as gifts.

Dark nonstick

These pans help keep your baked goods from sticking. However, they tend to brown their contents quickly, particularly on the edges and the bottom. Many nonstick baking pan manufacturers recommend reducing the oven temperature by 25ºF.

Candy Thermometer

used to test the temperature during the cooking of candy, jams and jellies. It often has an adjustable clip so that it can rest against the sides of a heavy-gauge saucepan.

Parchment Paper

A heavy, grease- and moisture-resistant paper with a number of culinary uses including lining baking pans and wrapping foods that are to be baked. Parchment paper is available in gourmet kitchenware stores and many supermarkets.

Baking Stone

A heavy, thick plate of beige or brown stone that can be placed in the oven to replicate the baking qualities of a brick-floored bread oven. Baking stones can be round or rectangular.

Kitchen Shears

A heavy-duty strong scissors with one serrated blade. Used for cutting fish, poultry, meats and produce. They can even be used to crack nuts or trim herbs into a dish. Some kitchen shears have additional tools as part of the handle, such as a can opener or screwdriver.

Whisk

A kitchen utensil made of a group of looped wires held together by a long handle. Whisks are used in baking for whipping ingredients such as eggs and cream to incorporate air into them. The more wires a whisk contains, the more effectively it will incorporate air into a mixture. Whisks are available in a variety of different sizes for different tasks.

Sifter

A mesh-bottomed kitchen utensil used to sift ingredients such as flour or confectioners' sugar. Sifters are usually made of stainless steel or heavy-weight plastic.

Loaf Pan

Aluminum loaf pans can turn out tender cakes, while dark, nonstick or glass pans will produce a crunchy-chewy crust. You can make quick breads, brioche and meatloaf in a loaf pan.

Aluminum Foil

Aluminum that has been rolled into a thin, pliable sheet. It's an excellent barrier to moisture, air and odors and can withstand flaming heat and freezing cold. It comes in regular weight (for wrapping food and covering containers) and heavy-duty weight (for freezer storage and lining pans and grills).

Ramekin

An individual baking dish (3 to 4 inches in diameter) that resembles a miniature soufflé dish. Ramekins are usually made of porcelain or earthenware and can be used for both sweet and savory dishes - either baked or chilled. A tiny baked pastry filled with a creamy cheese custard is also referred to as a "Ramekin".

Mini Muffin Pans

Available in 12- and 24-cup pans, the mini muffin cup is approximately 1-3/4 inches in diameter and 7/8-inch deep. Each muffin cup holds approximately 2 tablespoons batter.

Muffin Pans

Available in 12-and 6-cup pans, the standard muffin cup is about 2-3/4 inches in diameter and 1-1/8 inches deep and holds a scant 1/2 cup batter.

Jumbo Muffin Pans

Available in 6-cup pans, the jumbo muffin cups are at least 3 inches in diameter and 1-1/2 inches deep. Each jumbo muffin cup holds approximately 1 cup batter.

Measuring Spoons

Available in metal or plastic, measuring spoons are used to measure small quantities of liquid and dry ingredients.

Dry Measuring Cups

Dry measuring cups allow you to fill the cup to the top and then "level off" or remove any extra with a straight edge knife or metal spatula. Available in nested sets of 4 to 8 cups. Made of metal or plastic, these cups do not have a pouring spout.

Pie Tins/Pans

Generally, pies are baked in a relatively deep pan with sloped sides that can hold a large amount of filling. Materials for pie plates range from ovenproof glass, glazed ceramic, heavy foil, aluminum, tinned steel, stainless steel and nonstick coated steel.

Liquid Measuring Cups

Made of glass or plastic, these cups have a lip for pouring. Measuring cups made of glass or clear plastic are easiest to use and most accurate.

Ovenproof Glass

Ovenproof glass loaf pans and baking dishes are sometimes used to bake quick breads, loaves and coffeecakes. Baked goods baked in glass brown well and you can see the coloring all around. When substituting a glass baking dish for a metal baking pan, reduce the oven temperature by 25°F.

Baking/Cookie Sheets

Perhaps one of the most essential pieces of bakeware, these flat, rigid sheets of metal are where such comforting confections as cookies, breads and biscuits are baked. There are a variety of kinds of baking sheets, the three most common are aluminum, dark nonstick and insulated sheets.

Wax Paper

Semitransparent paper with a thin coating of wax on both sides. Because of its moisture-proof and nonstick characteristics, wax paper plays a major role in the kitchen for duties such as covering food and lining baking pans.

Pie Weights

Small ceramic or aluminum pellet-like weights used to keep an unfilled pie or tart crust from shrinking during baking. Pie weights can be found in gourmet stores and in the baking section of some supermarkets.

Soufflé Dish

Soufflés are customarily baked in a classic soufflé dish, which is round and has straight sides to facilitate the soufflé's rising. These special dishes are ovenproof and come in a variety of sizes ranging from 3 1/2-ounce (individual) to 2-quart. Foil or parchment "collars" are sometimes wrapped around the outside of a soufflé dish so that the top of the foil or paper rises about 2 inches above the rim of the dish. Such collars are used for cold dessert soufflés so that the sides of the frozen or molded mixture are supported until they set.

Fluted Tube Pan

The fluted sides bring a decorative look to the finished product. It comes in various sizes; a 12-cup pan is the most common.

Tart Pan

Their removable bottom makes it easy to neatly transfer a tart to a serving plate. Tart pans come in both dark-colored and shiny pan varieties, and can also have varying depths with deeper tart pans used for quiche, and shallower pans used for delicate dessert tarts.

Spring form Pan

This round pan, used for making cheesecakes and other desserts that are tricky to remove from their pans, has a bottom that is separate from the side. A clamp holds the pan together and opens to allow the side to easily be pulled away from the baked dessert.

Rolling Pin

Though this kitchen tool is used mainly to roll out dough, it's also handy for a number of other culinary tasks including crushing crackers and bread crumbs, and shaping cookies. Rolling pins can be made of almost any material including brass, ceramic, copper, glass, marble, plastic and porcelain. The favored material, however, is hardwood. The heavier pins deliver the best results because their weight and balance produce smoother doughs with less effort.

Oven Thermometers

designed to either stand or hang on an oven rack. Since oven temperatures can vary from one part of an oven to another, position the thermometer on the oven rack where the baking sheet or pan will be placed. If there's room, keep the thermometer positioned next to the baking sheet during baking, so that you can determine if the temperature is changing too much during baking or when cookie sheets are switched.

Wooden Spoon

do not scratch non-stick pans. The bowl end of a wooden spoon is thicker in size than a metal spoon of the same size. Therefore it is easier to mix batter because it does not cut into the batter, but rather, stirs or mixes it. Keep a variety of wooden spoons available for baking projects. Always wash and dry wooden spoons after use. Allow them to air dry.

Rubber Scraper

has a wooden or plastic handle with a flexible rubber paddle-shaped end. Used in baking, the rubber end can scrape batter from the sides of a bowl or pan and helps remove all the batter or dough from a bowl.

Pastry Cloth

is a large canvas cloth on which pastry or dough can be rolled.

Cheesecloth

is a lightweight natural cotton cloth that does not fall apart when wet and will not flavor the food it touches. Cheesecloth has a multitude of culinary uses including straining liquids, forming a packet for herbs and spices that can be dropped into a soup or stock pot and lining molds. It comes in both fine and coarse weaves and is available in gourmet shops, supermarkets and the kitchen section of many department stores.

Pastry Crimping Wheel

is a rolling-bladed tool with a fluted design. It is used to cut dough and add a decorative edge treatment to pie crusts.

Pastry Blender

is made of five or six parallel U-shaped steel wires attached at both ends to a handle. It is used to cut cold butter into a flour mixture to distribute the fat without melting it, often for making pie crusts or biscuits.

Cookie Cutter

is used to cut decorative shapes from dough that has been rolled out. Cookie cutters are made from aluminum, copper or plastic. Common sizes are 2-inch to 3-inch; however, cutters are available in 1/2-inch up to 12-inches.

Turner

sometimes referred to as a metal spatula, particularly when it is smaller in size. This utensil is wide at the base which picks up the food, and it has an easy-to-grip handle. It is used to remove baked foods from baking sheets (i.e., cookies) or foods from skillets and griddles (i.e., pancakes, eggs). The sharp edge of the metal literally "cuts" the cookie from the cookie sheet. Plastic spatulas are too thick to remove delicate, warm cookies from cookie sheets.