Top 10 Tools to Upgrade Your Home Bakery

My staff at AMIE Bakery would be the first to tell you how much I love kitchen gadgets. Going into a restaurant supply store or NY Cake Supply gives me the same rush as a DIYer gets walking into Home Depot. Upgrading your kitchen for baking may seem like an ordeal, however, the reality is that you really only need a handful of tools. These are also the ones I also share during our classes at AMIE Academie.

Bench Scraper: The workhorse of the kitchen, this tool makes fast work of portioning dough and cutting butter into cubes as well as picking up ingredients and scraping off your surface.

Offset Spatula: The bent portion of this tool makes it easy to reach all the tight spots so you can spread batter in a pan or frost a cake with ease in no time. It is available in many sizes and is used daily— once you have it you will wonder how you lived without it. We’re in love with Ateco (plastic handle versus wood).

Immersion Blender: This is the magic wand that makes blending and creating emulsions fast and easy. Salad dressings are a cinch and sticking it in your pot of soup to blend can save time, cleanup, and make it safe by not having to transfer liquids to a blender.

Heat-proof Silicon Spatulas: This tool makes mixing ingredients and scraping the bowl fast and easy! The handle never gets hot and a quick run through the dishwasher makes cleanup a snap.

Microplane: This is your citrus fruit’s partner in crime. Getting some zest is a snap with a microplane, and this handy tool is great for shaving chocolate and cheese too. Our preferred brand is OXO.

Bowl Scraper: After kneading dough or making batter, there’s always some that likes to stick to the bowl. This neat tool cleans off the bowl and ensures you get every delicious drop, which also ensures less waste and proper recipe yields—and in the bakery, that’s important.

Ice Cream Scoop: Who says ice cream scoops are just for ice cream? For accurately measuring batter, the best tool for the job may be found at your local ice cream parlor. Available in different portions, using the ice cream scoop ensures consistency in your sizes so everything bakes evenly.

Mixing Bowls: Simple and simply practical. The metal mixing bowl acts as the foundation of baking by literally bringing everything together.

Sheet Pan: Whether you bake or cook, you’ll use this every day whether you’re roasting a chicken or baking a dozen cookies. We prefer stainless steel and our favorite brand is Chicago Metallic.

Mixer: KitchenAid is the most prevalent brand, but any electric mixer can take the load off of stirring by hand. Arguably, the best tool is your hands so even if you don’t have a mixer you’re already starting with the most essential tool. So what are you waiting for? Get kneading!