Baking

To prepare lasagna, Mac & Cheese, and any other similar meals in the oven, you need a baking dish, which is the most common for that task (the most convenient size for a baking dish is 9 x 13″). Some people like to use a lasagna pan, oval au gratin, or a stainless-steel chafer pan (this one is my personal preferred option), which do an equally great job.

When you are selecting which to use, make sure that it is at least 2″ and preferably 3″ deep to be able to fulfill the purpose of all recipes. The material of the pan doesn’t matter, so select that which is closest to your preference. I like to use a stainless-steel chafer pan since it is hard to break making it way more durable.

A baking sheet is often called a sheet pan or bun pan and is typical for having a large space for baking and low rims around (about 1″).

It is perfect for baking cookies, roll up cakes, buns, bars and more.

On the other hand, it is not suitable for baking products which have excessive liquids (for those select a baking dish, chafer pan, or other options – read more here).

You can buy multiple sizes, shapes, and surfaces (for example, special sheets for cookies), but I recommend that you select the commercial grade version since they are usually cheaper and perform better than those made for home use.

If you go the commercial route, your kitchen will be more organized since they are stackable. You can also purchase useful and perfectly fitting accessories for commercial baking sheets which expand their versatility:

• Cooling rack (which create a great food container) – read more here
• Parchment paper (precut exactly for the size of your baking sheet) – read more here
• Silicone mats (fitted exactly to your baking sheets) – read more here
• Lids – read more here

In commercial baking, you have these three most common sizes of baking sheets:
¼ size (9 ½ x 13″) – buy only if you often prepare very small batches
½ (medium) size (13 x 18″) – best for households too, fits most ovens
Full size (18 x 26″) – great for large batches, but only fits very large home ovens

Note: In our recipes, we often require a ½ baking sheet, but you can use any other kind of sheets you already have too.

I would recommend you buy a few. I have about 30 and sometimes, especially during Christmas baking, I still run out of them since I use them for storage too. In my opinion, 6 should be a decent starting number for all families, and since they are very affordable, it should be manageable.

Lids are available for commercial baking sheets in standardized sizes (note that some household baking sheets may have a lid too, but it will most likely not be a standard size, which is hard to replace if necessary). They are made from see-through plastic and are sometimes also called bun pan covers. They are extremely useful in the kitchen. A lid on a baking sheet upgrades the baking sheet to a flat food container.

You may think that you do not need more food containers, but let me tell you that a nice flat food container will be very practical for:

• Storing Christmas cookies or other baked goods — since you don’t have to stack cookies into high piles, you will better prevent their breaking.
• Serving sandwiches (easy to transport to a party and ready to use after removing lid).
• Marinating meat.
• Freezing single portions of meat, fish, or baked goods before placing them into a freezer bag.
• Covering your baking sheets while proofing your burger buns or baguettes since some recipes call for covering your baked goods for the final proofing process. You will be able to proof them right on the baking sheet while at the same time, preventing the dough from drying out.
• Stacking and saving space by using them with a baking sheet.

Many other similar uses when food containers are just not convenient enough. Make sure that the lids are at least 1 ½” tall or taller. Since they are very inexpensive, I would recommend having at least two of these kinds in any household.

A bowl scraper is one of the most useful tools in the kitchen. It is flexible which lets you perfectly copy the inner part of any bowl and effectively scraps out contents. Thanks to its’ flexible body, it is great for more than that:

1. Useful for baking – easy manipulation of dough, batter, and pastry creams.
2. Assists with cutting dough – can replace a dough cutter for the majority of doughs
3. Useful for bread or buns preparation
4. Enables gathering and manipulating ingredients such as, meat and vegetables

Assists you in keeping countertops clean – more easily scrape up crusty foods

For scraping out of the bowl, you can partially replace a bowl scraper with a spatula, but a spatula will never give you the benefits and productivity of the large blade of the bowl scraper.

Since bowl scrapers are very inexpensive, I would encourage you to purchase a few to have them available anytime you need.

The minimum size that I recommend is 5 ¼” x 3 ½”– smaller are typically not as effective.

The best size is a slightly larger options, about 7 ½” x 4 ¾ “, which will provide you with a flat blade on one side and a nicely round blade on the other side. (The rounded side can perfectly copy the inner part of any mixing bowl).

Since a bowl scraper is very inexpensive, I would encourage you purchase a few to have them available anytime you need.

The selection of material is your choice, but selecting a professional grade will give you higher durability and a longer lifetime.

Bundt cake, sometimes called Babovka (Czech name), is delicious and fun to make, but to make it, you need a real Bundt cake pan. The great news is that you can use it for other kinds of desserts too (for example, pudding with fruit). You will always get this nice round shape with the pattern on top and a hole in the middle that will impress everyone.

It is perfectly enough to have just one in any household. Most convenient is the full size that is usually 4” tall and 8 ½” wide since more recipes are written for this size (including all my recipes). It is good to select a non-stick version to make sure that you will never have a hard time flipping your Bundt cake out. I would recommend professional grade that will provide durability as well as long lifespan (you will not have to worry about the coating peeling away).

You can certainly avoid a buying burger press, but having at least a small compact one will be a great decision for anyone who does burgers at least sometimes. Using a burger press will speed up the process of forming burgers and help you reach better uniformity.

In my recipes I often ask for collapsible cake pan (also called a springform pan or cake pan), since it is very easy to remove cake from them after baking. You can go ahead and use any other kind of cake pan you prefer. I don’t recommend buying non-stick versions since they are usually more expensive, often do not provide good enough non-stickiness, and sometimes the nonstick layer peels off or chips overtime. Aluminum versions would be the way to go since they provide a decent quality for a low price, and with good care, will last forever. I would recommend that you have two collapsible cake pans: one smaller, preferably 9″, and the second larger, preferably 12″ (most of my recipes call for a 12” pan). A cake pan should be preferably 3” deep. If you like to prepare Japanese cheesecake or any other kind of cake baked in a water bath, you can also consider buying one solid (non-collapsible) 9″ cake pan, which is 3″ deep.

This basic cookie cutter is round with a 2 ½” or 3” diameter and should be present in any kitchen.

You can buy basic round cutters, or you can buy a sturdier version that can be held with your whole hand and has a longer lifetime and even better durability than most cookie cutters.

Optionally, you can substitute out round cutter by using a glass, but it may slow your process.

It is good to have other shapes of cutters as well (especially for baking Christmas cookies with kids).

The selection of material is your choice, but selecting a sturdy, commercial grade cutter will give you higher durability and a longer lifetime.

It is great to have at least cooling rack in your kitchen! While the main purpose is for cooling your baked goods, it is also great for:

1. Placing freshly breaded meat before frying
2. Letting excessive oil from your food drip away after frying
3. Chocolate coating (see section “Chocolate Coating” here)
4. Preparation of meat in the oven (to reduce fat) or for preparation of small vegetables or shrimp on a grill
5. Drying washed fruit and vegetables

It is best to buy a commercial grade that perfectly fits to a commercial baking sheet. For any household, I would recommend a ½ size baking sheet for using with a cooling rack (size 12” x 16″) because it fits perfectly to a ½ size baking sheet. By buying both, you will be able to keep things cleaner and more organized in your kitchen since you will be able to use your baking sheet as a drip plate – read more about baking sheets here.

The commercial version costs almost the same as the household versions and are more durable too. I would recommend having one or two in any household.