15 Best Essential Baking Tools according to a Food Scientist

As a professional Food Scientist, Baker and published cookbook author, I use a LOT of different baking tools every day. Here I share my top must-have baking tools that I recommend for bakers to have at any skill level. Below are 15 Essential Baking Tools for baking at home and which I use all the time for my recipe development.

1. DIGITAL KITCHEN SCALE

A digital food scale is my number one tool and, as a professional Food Scientist, I could not bake without it. They are small and inexpensive, they take up very little space and so I think it is absolutely essential for every baker and cook alike. You will notice your baking results become more consistent and replicable once you start using a scale since it is far more accurate than using cup measures. I develop all of my recipes using weight measurements.

What I use at home: Escali Primo Digital Food Scale

2. ELECTRIC HAND MIXER

An electric mixer is very helpful if you are an avid baker. I use both my electric hand mixer and my stand mixer often. You can make most recipes with a hand mixer, and a stand mixer is only necessary for making things like Buttercream (especially Swiss Meringue Buttercream), Vanilla Whipped Ganache Frosting and for whipping eggs to make sponge cakes like Swiss Roll.

If you like to live a cordless life, I use this cordless hand mixer to record all of my baking videos.

What I use at home: KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Mixer

3. COOKIE SCOOPS

Cookie scoops are so handy for dishing out cookie dough for equal portions which makes for more uniform baking. I use these ones with a cog-and-ratchet mechanism which is stronger than the ones with the hand trigger mechanism that tends to break easily. I find that the hand My preference for drop cookies is the 1.5 oz size that I use for most recipes, including my popular Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies. I also always use the larger 2 oz size to dish out muffin batter and cupcake batter. Smaller sizes are great for thumbprint cookies and if you prefer smaller cookies in general.

What I use at home most often: 1.5 oz Cookie Scoop

4. FINE MESH SIEVE OR SIFTER

Some recipes require sifting dry ingredients including flour and cocoa powder to remove lumps and distribute the particles evenly such as when making butter cakes like my Funfetti Cake, delicate sponge cakes like my Vanilla Swiss Roll and Chocolate Swiss Roll cakes. It is also useful to strain fruit curds and custard, or to ensure a silky smooth batter when making Basque Cheesecake.

What I use at home: Cuisinart Mesh Strainers

5. WIRE COOLING RACKS

It's important to let cookies, pies and cakes cool on racks so that the air can flow all around. This helps to ensure cookies stay crisp on the bottom and edges, and lets cakes cool evenly so that condensation doesn't build up which can make then soggy.

What I use at home: Stainless Steel Cooling and Baking Rack

6. BAKING PANS

It's impossible to bake without pans! I only use light-colored aluminum cake pans and these ones with high sides are great to hold tall cakes. Aluminum allows for rapid heat transfer for even baking and the light color prevents cakes from browning too much. I also use light colored cookie sheets for the same reason - to prevent the bottom from browning too fast.

This is my absolute favorite brownie pan and I also love this one. It is heavy duty and durable, and my brownies always bake so evenly.

The sizes I use most often in my kitchen are:

7. OFFSET SPATULAS

I use offset spatulas for almost everything and they are a must-have if you like to decorate cakes. I use the large size to spread frosting onto layer cakes and make swoops and swirls on single layer cakes and sheet cakes. I use this small offset spatula to spread batter evenly into cake pans to smooth the top so they bake evenly. They are especially handy when spreading thick batters like my best homemade brownie batter or thick blondie batter into square baking pans to make evenly layers for even baking. I also use them to spread cookie dough when making cookie bars.

What I use at home: Ateco 4.5-inch Small Offset Spatula and Ateco 9.75-inch Large Offset Spatula

8. COOKIE SHEETS

Rimmed baking sheets are essential as every baker needs to know how to make the BEST Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies among other things. These half sheet pans are the perfect size to bake a dozen shortbread cookies, or space out drop cookies so they have room to spread. I also use the 12x17-inch pan to make thin layers for Swiss Roll Cake.

What I have at home: Aluminum Half Sheet Pans, Calphalon Premium Nonstick Baking Pans

9. SILICONE SPATULAS

Spatulas are essential for creaming butter and sugar by hand when making cakes and cookie dough, for gently folding ingredients together and scraping every last bit of batter out of the bowl. They are heat resistant so you can also use them to make caramel sauce and lemon curd. I also like that these are one piece so they won't bread on you when you are mixing stiff doughs.

What I have at home: High Heat Resistant Silicone Spatula, Rubbermaid Silicone Spatula, U-Taste Silicone Spatula Set

10. WHISKS

I have several sizes of wire whisks that I use to combine dry ingredients when I'm not sifting, to mix and aerate eggs and sugar to make Shiny Crust Fudge Brownies and to mix loose cake batters when I am baking by hand such as for my quintessential Best Moist Chocolate Cake recipe.

I also use this silicone whisk when I am mixing custards in coated saucepans over the stove.

What I use at home: Stainless Steel Whisks

11. MIXING BOWLS

I use both glass mixing bowls and metal bowls for baking. Metal is great because it is lightweight and makes it easy to transfer heavy batters into baking pans. Glass is heavier and more stable so it's great for when I'm using a hand mixer and I don't want the bowl moving around too much. These metal bowls have silicone bottoms so they're great for this too.

What I have at home: Anchor Hocking 4-Quart Glass Mixing Bowls, Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls

12. MEASURING CUPS AND SPOONS

Although I always use a kitchen scale, measuring cups are handy for measuring chopped nuts, dried fruit and chocolate chips/chunks where accuracy is a bit less critical. I use stainless steel measuring cups and spoons. Measuring small amounts of liquid ingredients with spoons is quite accurate and I do this often. I always weight baking powder, baking soda and salt with spoons since home kitchen scales are not accurate enough with very small quantities.

What I have at home: Pyrex Volumetric Measuring Cups, Stainless Steel Measuring Cups, Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons

13. ROLLING PIN

If you like to make pies and tarts, then I recommend getting a nice durable rolling pin. They are also necessary to roll out cookie dough to make cut-outs for sugar cookies. I love this French style rolling pin with tapered edges so that I don't worry about my knuckles hitting the counter top like with those ones that have handles on the ends.

What I have at home: French Rolling Pin (17 Inches)

14. POURING SAUCEPAN

This is one of the tools I get asked about the most! I love this pouring saucepan (also called a "saucier") that I use to gently melt chocolate together with butter over the stove when making brownies. I use it to warm cream, to make caramel sauce and especially for making custards like my go-to one pot vanilla pastry cream and chocolate pastry cream.

15. PARCHMENT PAPER

I go through so much parchment paper! I use it for everything! Once you bake with parchment you will never go back and I can't recommend it enough. It makes baking cleaner and more consistent. You can by large rolls, and you can also get these pre-cut sheets that are so convenient.

16. BONUS: HIGH QUALITY CHOCOLATE

Ok, so chocolate is not a tool, but you know I love my chocolate and I wouldn't be the baker I am without it! There are so many chocolate recipes on this site and my favorite brand for semi-sweet chocolate and bittersweet chocolate is Barry Callebaut. It is couverture chocolate that has a higher cocoa butter content which means it melts beautifully for little puddles of chocolate in cookies and is great for enrobing, coating and drizzling to make homemade truffles. If you are a purist, you must try this single origin bittersweet chocolate. The flavor profile is so unique with hints of spice. It will change your life! High quality cocoa powder is also essential, and my go-to is from Cacao Barry.

What I use at home: Barry Callebaut Semi-Sweet Chocolate, Cacao Barry Extra Brute Cocoa Powder