equipment

For many of us, walking into a kitchenware store is a therapeutic retail experience (for some of us a habit!) and it is impossible to escape without buying another ‘must have’ product. To be a good baker, you do not need to have every piece of kitchen equipment ever invented — it will just end up cluttering your kitchen. However, we can recommend the following items to help you in the kitchen and make the baking process, and ultimately the pleasure of eating, better all round.

scales

A good set of electronic scales is the most important piece of equipment a home baker can own. You can get reliable small scales from any decent kitchenware or specialty store. An electronic scale with a 5 kilogram (11 lb) maximum and increments of no more than 2 grams is a good option. For the best results always weigh each ingredient. We use grams as the prime source of measurement in the bakery as it provides the most consistent and accurate outcome. A gram is a gram anywhere in the world, which cannot be said for cups. Also, the way you fill or pack a cup or spoon will vary from person to person. We now live in a digital world, so we recommend using scales for a superior measure.

electric mixer

An electric mixer is a worthwhile investment if you are a regular baker. The most important thing to check is that it has a strong motor. The motor drives the cog that drives the dough hook or paddle attachment. If you overheat the motor and it burns out, you will generally need to replace the whole mixer. This can happen if you are often mixing dough with a low water content, as the dough will be stiff and cause the motor to work extra hard to move the dough hook around. This is not worth burning out the motor for. If you see the mixer struggling, and the dough hook is stopping and starting, take the dough out and finish it by hand.

temperature probe

A temperature probe is a metal spike that has a temperature gauge on the end. It is a great tool to have when baking to determine the temperature of a dough. At Bourke Street Bakery the dough comes out of the mixer at approximately 25°C–27°C (77°F–81°F). Yeast, natural or not, needs warmth to allow the reaction of sugars converting to carbon dioxide, so it is important to have an accurate gauge of temperature.

timer

A timer can also be invaluable in the kitchen. Baking is a game of ‘seconds’ and it is worth keeping track of these, especially at the mixing or baking stage. Most probably, your mixer and oven will not have great timing mechanisms so it is good to have an accurate timer that is dedicated solely to the purpose of baking.

notebook

A little baking notebook is a great resource as you can only learn from your mistakes if you can remember them. Writing down anything about what you have achieved from a mix, prove or bake, or even what you had hoped for or expected, is an important learning tool. Looking back at the notebook the next time you attempt the same recipe should help you eradicate any possible problems.

other kitchen tools

There are also a handful of smaller tools, which can make life a lot easier, especially if you bake regularly. Some of the more common items that you may find handy are:

•    a serrated knife or scalpel for scoring

•    a scraper for cleaning the flour off your bench

•    a divider for dividing the dough into loaves

•    an oven temperature dial for double-checking that your oven thermostat is reading correctly

•    a solid pair of oven mitts

•    a hearth or pizza stone (always place in the oven before baking so that the stone is hot). The aim of baking on the hearth is to supply
the loaf with an initial burst of bottom heat, which will make the loaf spring upwards more than if baked on a tray

•    a spray bottle for spraying water into the oven

•    oil spray for greasing trays and tins

•    a heat-resistant spatula

•    a natural (not nylon) bristle pastry brush

•    a piping (icing) bag — a couple of medium-sized piping bags for savoury and one for sweet recipes is ideal, with a few different-sized nozzle attachments

•    two plastic 2–3 litre (70–105 fl oz) buckets for starter cultivation.