13 Of My Favorite Baking Tools You’ll Be Glad You Bought.

The following list includes some of the best baking tools money can buy. These same tools help me to achieve perfect results in my own kitchen! From durable kitchen scales and precision measuring spoons to dough whisks and offset spatulas, these top-rated tools are a must-have for any home baker. And don't forget about a versatile kitchen aid mixer, essential for whipping up everything from fluffy cakes to Cookie Chips® and thick bread dough. With these kitchen essentials in your arsenal, you'll be ready to create delicious treats that look and taste like they were made by a professional baker. Shop from the links below and elevate your baking skills to the next level!

I can’t tell you how many times a day I use my digital scale. It’s a critical part of all the baking I do. Sometimes, recipes don’t come in measuring cups. And, a scale is more precise than your ability to know how to precisely measure your ingredients with a cup. It takes a little skill whereas a scale is precise from the get go. A good scale will provide oz’s, fl oz, ml, and grams. Grams are great if you are using a European recipe from a creator or European Pastry Chef. Hands down, it’s the most precise and your baking will be successful every time. Of course, the recipe has to be good. Often recipes will give you both cups and oz. When it does, use your scale. If it doesn’t and you want to use your scale, here’s a good weight chart from King Arthur Baking to convert your ingredients from cups to oz.

I have several types of measuring spoons, but my favorite are the heavy duty stainless steel spoons from U-Taste. I like the way it feels when I use them. Sometimes the cheaper ones can feel flimsy. The version I linked here I actually just purchased. I love the fact that it has ¾ tsp and ⅛ tsp. Not all sets come with this variety. These are also stainless steel.

Every baker needs this. It is critical every time you make any filling that requires precise temperature and is also great for frying. The Polder Stainless Steel Thermometer is one of the best, but you can also use a good digital thermometer. The classic thermometer clips on to your pot so you can watch the temperature as it progresses. What’s great about this thermometer is it shows both Farenheit and Celcius, as well as all the stages of candy making. I’m actually using it right now as I write this for a vanilla cremeux filling that needs to be heated to 82 Celsius.

Love love love this. Whoever invented this is brilliant. What’s a microplane grater? It’s also called a Rasp-Style Grater. Serious Eats rated the Best Microplane Graters of 2023. Check it out and you can find which one you like the best. They will all do the job you would need. Some are a bit better than others. Basically, if you need some lemon zest, use a microplane. You want to grate a piece of garlic? Microplane it. It has a lot of great ability for the zest/grate department of baking and cooking.

No baker is complete with a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer. Of course there are other options, but this is the standard workhorse in many kitchens around the country. I love mine. I’ll be honest though, I have burned out a few over the years. I eventually learned what not to do after calling the service department at Kitchen Aid. Now I’m more careful. 😂 Burning out the motor is easy to do if you run it too fast and hard with bread dough or any heavy dough. If you are kneading dough, setting #2 is the best place to be. I never go beyond this with my weekly Challah baking. I personally love the larger size bowl offered. A 6 or 7 qt. You can get an 8 qt., but I haven’t had a need for this size in my home baking. Professionally is a different story and the brand for an upright in a professional bakery is typically, but not always, Hobart. My bakery used many sizes of Hobarts along with other ginormous non-Hobart branded mixers.

If you plan on cake baking and decorating, you definitely need an offset metal spatula. The one I linked will work just fine and is super cheap at $5. It also comes in very handy for spreading brownie batter or any filling of batter in a pan. Trust me, if you bake, you’ll love this spatula. They do come in different sizes. You can find larger and smaller ones online and on Amazon.

A great cast iron skillet is essential for fruit crisps, cobblers, cornbread, skillet cookies, and more. For the best cast iron skillet money can buy, I turn you to Good Housekeeping's 7 Best Cast Iron Skillets and Pans.

Here’s a culinary butane torch that’s not too expensive. If you want to make restaurant Creme Brulee, you will need a torch. It also comes in handy if you freeze a mousse cake in a metal cake pan and need to warm the sides to help release your cake. Oh, it's also great for torching meringue. I actually use a propane torch from Home Depot. It’s a biggie and overkill for the average person. I do love this one because this is what I used for 25 years professionally in the bakery. We torched our famous Creme Brulee Cheesecake, Lemon Meringue Tarts, along with all the mousse cakes frozen into their pans.

Baking bread? You need a bench scraper. This one from Anmarko is reasonably priced and fits your hands comfortably. But be sure to shop around for another. They're all similar. 

If you plan on baking sourdough, this is a must need piece of equipment to get those perfect decorative slash cuts on top. I like this one from Breadtopia.

Another great tool when making artisan breads is a Danish Dough Whisk. Check out this one from Zatoba. A dough whisk is great to get all your ingredients well incorporated. Much better than your regular wooden spoon. It’s not required, but for a serious bread baker, handy.

Don’t you just love those pretty oblong styles of cream, mousse, or ice cream on top of a dessert? A quenelle will kick up the sophistication of any dessert and it’s not really that hard to make. You just need a simple plain old-fashioned spoon or two. If you don’t have one, here's an inexpensive one to get you started. Not sure how to make a quenelle? Saveur made a short video showing how!

I can’t live without this. I use a lot of parchment paper. I never bake directly on a sheet pan. Parchment paper makes cookie baking, lining a brownie pan, and so much more, better and easier for cleaning up. My favorite paper comes from Katbite.

Let me tell you, using the right baking tools makes life easier. And it makes a world of a difference in your baked goods too. So, grab your apron, get my go-to tools tools out, and bake up a storm! For more essential home baking equipment, check out the list of my favorite tools here.

Happy Baking!