17 Things You Need to Become a Home Baker

Baking is a time-honored tradition that’s been shown to improve your overall well-being. During the activity, you can practice mindfulness while creating a delicious treat to share with others. But whether you’re ready to enter The Great British Bake Off or want to start becoming a baker, there are some tools and gadgets that can help hone your skills. Here are 17 things you’ll need in the kitchen to become a home baker in no time.

1. KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-Quart Stand Mixer; $429

Much of baking has to do with combining ingredients. This is especially true for bread that requires kneading to build up the protein gluten, which makes the dough more elastic. A stand mixer like this one from KitchenAid can save you time and an arm workout. It features a 5-quart mixing bowl, a 10-speed slide control, and comes with a dough hook, flat beater, and wire whip attachments.

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2. Pinafore Square Apron; $16

Baking can be messy, so you’ll want an apron to protect your clothing from flour flying all over and batter splattering against the walls. This square pinafore apron is made from a cotton and linen blend, has two large front pockets, and crisscross back straps instead of a waist tie that might fall. It’s also available in eight sizes and 20 colors for a customized kitchen look.

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3. Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls, Set of 5; $22

Standard mixing bowls are an essential tool to have at your side if you need to whisk eggs, make a sauce, or store some dough. This set of five mixing bowls comes in 0.75-, 1.5-, 3-, 4-, and 5-quart sizes, so you can simultaneously mix as many things as you want. In addition, because of their tiered sizes, they can nest into each other for easier storage in your cupboard and save space.

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4. Silicone Cooking Utensils, Set of 17; $27

Baking requires many different tools, especially utensils such as whisks, spatulas, oven mitts, and more. This set has 16 instruments that are made of professional-grade silicone and resistant to heat up to 482℉. They even come with a holder that will keep them organized and sit nicely on your countertop.

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5. Silicone Baking Mats, Set of 2; $13

Silicone mats are one of the most versatile tools in the home baker's arsenal. As they’re oven-safe and made of food-grade silicone, they’re great as work surfaces before baking, or as replacements for parchment paper. In addition, they can withstand heat up to 480℉ and are nonstick, so anything baked on the mats will come off easily.

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6. NonStick Bakeware Baking Pans, 7-Piece Set; $34

This seven-piece bakeware set is perfect if you don’t have any pans, muffin tins, or trays in your kitchen or you want to spruce up your collection. In the set, you’ll find it has a muffin pan, two cookie sheets, a loaf pan, and three pans in shapes such as round, oblong, and square. As a bonus, the pieces are also nonstick and safe to toss in a dishwasher.

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7. Springform Pan; $13

Those who watch The Great British Bake Off will know that getting a cake out of a pan can be a tricky task. A springform pan can take away some of that stress. Unlike other pans, this 9-inch one has a removable bottom and a springform latch to lock the cake into the pan and prevent leaking. The pan is also nonstick and oven-safe up to 450℉. It even comes with 50 pieces of circular parchment paper, so your desserts won’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

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8. Nordic Ware Platinum Collection Anniversary Bundt Pan; $35

If you’re looking to create uniquely styled bakes, use a well-designed Bundt pan as a mold instead of doing the sculpting yourself. This Nordic Ware Bundt pan is from the brand’s platinum anniversary collection and has over 5000 reviews and a 4.8-star rating. The nonstick, cast aluminum pan can hold 10 to 15 cups of mix.

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9. Rolling Pin with Adjustable Thickness Rings; $18

Rolling pins are an excellent tool to flatten out cookie dough and pie crusts. Unlike traditional rolling pins, this one comes with four adjustable thickness rings that can help ensure your dough is at an even thickness as you’re rolling. This feature will help make sure your cookies and crusts bake consistently when the time comes. It also has a ruler etched into the pin, so you can better measure your dough.

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10. Cooling Racks, Set of 2; $13

Whether you’re baking cookies, a cake, or muffins, nearly everything that’s baked needs to be cooled before you can eat or decorate it, and a wire rack is a great way to bring airflow around these edible treats. This set has two racks featuring a mesh grid pattern, so nothing will slide through the cracks. Also, if needed, you can use the racks in the oven up to 575℉.

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11. OXO Good Grips 4-Cup Angled Measuring Cup; $11

Unlike cooking, baking is a science, which means following the recipe and ingredient measurements is critical. This liquid measuring cup has over 22,000 reviews and a 4.8-star rating. It’s become a fan-favorite because of its angled standard and metric marking design on the inside, which lets you keep track of your measurements without looking at the sides. It also has a silicone handle and is compatible to use in most dishwashers.

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12. Stainless Steel Measuring Cups and Spoons, Set of 16; $31

For dry measurements, this set of 16 cups and spoons will help get you started. The collection features seven cups and seven tablespoons and teaspoons of varying sizes. It even comes with two D-rings, so you can collect all the spoons on one ring and all the cups on the other to stay organized and save drawer space. In addition, the set comes with a magnetic conversion chart, so you can complete any recipes with standard or metric measurements.

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13. Digital Food Kitchen Scale; $13

Many recipes that use the metric system tend to measure ingredients using grams, which is by weight. To complete these recipes, you’ll need a scale, specifically a kitchen one that can measure smaller amounts of weight. This best-selling scale on Amazon has over 126,000 reviews and has a 4.6-star rating. It also reveals four units of measurement and comes in nine colors.

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14. Silicone Cupcake Muffin Baking Cups, Pack of 36; $15

When baking cupcakes or muffins, it's a good idea to have baking cups to keep the batter from sticking to the sides of the pan. However, why use traditional paper baking cups when you can be kinder to the planet and opt for a silicone alternative instead? This pack includes baking cups in three shapes—rectangle, circle, and square—and all of them are made from food-grade silicone that’s oven safe for up to 446℉.

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15. Wilton Dessert Decorator Plus Cake Decorating Tool; $12

Once you’ve baked and cooled your cakes, cookies, and other creations, it’s time to decorate them. This plunger-style icing tool lets you have more precision and versatility than a traditional plastic piping bag. The device comes with two couplers to keep the icing from leaking out, along with a fill tip, and four decorating tips that make stars, rosettes, leaves, and dots.

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16. Cuisinart Fine Mesh Stainless Steel Strainers, Set of 3; $13

A strainer, or as the British would call it, a sive, is helpful for dry ingredients to make sure there aren’t any lumps that get folded into your mix. However, you can also use this tool for dusting your cakes with icing sugar. This set of three comes in varying sizes, so you can sift through large amounts of flour or be precise with a light coat of powdered sugar on top of a dessert. The Cuisinart strainers also have over 19,000 reviews and a 4.8-star rating on Amazon.

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17. Cake Carrier; $24

After baking, cooling, and decorating your baked treats, you’ll need a place to store them. This cake carrier is the ultimate multifunctional storage unit. It can hold cakes up to 10 inches in diameter, or 11 cupcakes or muffins with its special holding tray. There’s also a compartment tray to house all your confections. The best part is the lid, which is five inches tall, has a handle, and has three locking clips on the side so nothing will spill out.

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