Most of the equipment you need for the recipes in this book you probably have in your kitchen cupboards. Use your imagination and improvise when necessary. Here is a list of tools and supplies that will make your baking life easier.
Baking Sheets: Heavy-duty, 11 × 17-inch high-quality baking sheets are best. Cheap, lightweight sheets will warp under high heat and cause you more trouble than they are worth. Look for baking sheets with ½-inch-high edges, sometimes called jelly-roll pans. You’ll be able to make brownies or fruit wedges as well as bake a tray of cookies. Invest in at least two or, even better, four so you’re always prepared.
Bench Scraper or Dough Scraper: You’ll find this tool indispensable when you’re working with the stickier doughs, like the yeasted ones. A scraper is made from a semiflexible or firm piece of sheet metal attached to a handle. It removes the dough from the work surface better than anything else and makes cleanup much easier.
Cake Rings: Also called entrement rings, these circular metal molds have 2-inch-high sides, no bottom, and must be set on a baking sheet. They range from a small 3-inch diameter for small cakes and tarts such as Ginger Cakes and Lemon Cups, or up to 9 inches for the Armenian Coffee Cake. Available at specialty stores (see Sources).
Cutters: A set of graduated round cutters, either plain or fluted, is useful for cutting out round cookies and some individual small tarts. For larger individual tarts, the graduated set of vol-au-vent cutters is great to have. If you don’t have the right size cutter, use a plate or the rim of a glass as a guide.
Electric Mixer: A good heavy-duty freestanding mixer such as a KitchenAid is my favorite. If you like to bake, you’ll find this item earns its price quickly. As the batters and dough mix, your hands are free to do other things, allowing you to make better use of your time.
Flan Rings: For baking tarts, my favorite ring is the French bottomless variety with smooth 1-inch-high sides. However, fluted tart rings with a removable bottom will work too. Most of the larger size tarts in this book are baked in either a 10-inch ring or a 12-inch ring. For the Cheese Bars, you will need a 12 × 4-inch rectangular mold with 2-inch sides. Small 3-inch- to 5-inch-diameter flan rings are perfect for individual tarts. Available at specialty stores or catalogs (see Sources).
Food Processor: Though not essential, a food processor is good for grinding nuts and efficiently combining the butter with the dry ingredients.
Grater: A box-style stainless-steel grater with a wide variety of holes will come in handy. The small holes are used for grating nutmeg, the larger holes for cheese, almond paste, or frozen streusel topping.
Knives: The two knives you’ll end up using the most for these recipes are a 4- to 6-inch paring knife for smaller jobs and an 8- to 10-inch chef knife for chopping and larger jobs. Since you only really need two, invest in high-quality knives. My favorite brands are Wüsthof and Henckels.
Measuring Cups and Spoons: For accuracy, dry ingredients should always be measured in dry measuring cups that come in graduated sizes from ⅛ cup to 2 cups. The scoop-and-level method—scooping into the flour or sugar and using a knife to level—is the most exacting method. For liquids, use a liquid measuring cup, usually made out of glass or plastic with the measure marks printed on the cup. After you pour in the liquid, be sure to read the measure mark at eye level. Use measuring spoons for measurements less than ¼ cup, using the scoop-and-level technique for dry ingredients.
Metal Pie Weights: These small, reusable metal discs add weight to unfilled tart shells or pie crusts while baking to prevent the dough from rising up. If you don’t have them, dried beans work just as well.
Mixing Bowls: A good range of stainless-steel or ceramic mixing bowls will get a lot of mileage when baking. Choose a large, wide, 9-quart bowl and work your way down in size.
Molds: From muffin pans to tartlet tins to cast-iron skillets, a variety of molds are used throughout this book. Some recipes, such as Madeleines and Canellé, require their own specific mold, while others, such as Daisy Cake or Capezzana Tiny Olive Oil Cakes, welcome a multitude of decorative shaped molds. For more details, refer to the individual recipes. See Sources.
Nut Grinder: A manual nut grinder such as the Mouli grater works best. A clean, dry electric coffee grinder will also do the job for both nuts and spices. A food processor also works, as long as you process the nuts with sugar to prevent the nuts from becoming pasty.
Parchment Paper: Most pastry chefs couldn’t live without this. Used to line baking sheets and sometimes molds, it provides a clean, nonstick surface. It is most often sold in sheets or on rolls. Once you get used to baking with it, you’ll never give it up.
Pastry Brush: A paintbrush from the hardware store will work just as well as the fancy gourmet-variety pastry brush. Use for brushing egg wash and washing sugar down the sides of the pan.
Pepper Mill: A good-quality pepper mill is a must for any recipe that calls for freshly ground pepper.
Rolling Pin: I prefer the handleless French wooden version: a long cylinder about 2 × 16 inches.
Ruler: Use for measuring the dimensions of dough as you roll it out.
Saucepans and Sauté Pans: A saucepan is deep, with high, straight sides. Have a 2- and 4-quart heavy-duty, stainless-steel saucepan to use for heating liquids. A sauté pan is shallow, with sloping sides. Add a 12-inch sauté pan to your collection.
Silpat: An excellent alternative to parchment paper, this floppy, reusable nonstick baking mat is not a gimmick. Silpat is a brand name, though many other companies now make their own version. You’ll find them at Dean & DeLuca, Sur La Table, and Williams Sonoma; see Sources.
Spatulas: A heatproof rubber spatula is needed for stirring hot mixtures, scraping bowls, and folding together ingredients.
Strainers, Sifters, Sieves: If I call for ingredients to be sifted, it’s usually just to help combine them more thoroughly. I prefer the drum-style sieves or tamis, a round, flat strainer stretched in a wooden or metal frame that can be set directly over a bowl. If I ask for a fine-mesh strainer, then I prefer the conical strainer with very small holes that allow nothing but liquid to pass through.
Thermometers: For frying doughnuts and cooking sugar, a deep-fat frying or candy thermometer, ranging from 75 to 400 degrees, with a clip to attach to the side of the pan, is essential. An oven thermometer will determine the accuracy of your oven.
Whisks: If you’re going to own only one whisk, the 12-inch stainless-steel sauce whisk is the most practical one.
Wooden Spoons: Though they are harder to find, I prefer the French flat spatula-style spoons for stirring and scraping.
Zester: This great little tool removes the zest or colored part of the peel from citrus fruit. Don’t waste your money on a zester that doesn’t have the blade riveted into the handle. After a few lemons, the blade will pop off.