7 Must Have Kitchen Tools

Whether you're a newbie baker who's just starting out or a seasoned one who's been baking for years, these are MUST HAVE kitchen tools/gadgets in every baker's chest that will make YOUR life so much easier. They aren't only time effective but they also produce a higher quality product which means better goodies for us- win-win!

1. Electric hand beater / Stand mixer

This is my favourite gadgets of all time and an absolute must have if you're an avid baker or planning to be one. You don't need to invest in a stand mixer straight away.
If you're starting out, an electric hand beater will do the job just fine and it is a lot more cost effective. Plus it will save you tons of arm workout and trust me, this is not the kind of workout you want. However, if you've somewhat dipped your toes in the baking pool and are thinking about an upgrade, it might be worth investing in a stand mixer. They are super time effective and 5x more powerful than hand-held beaters.

Where to buy:

Hand-held beater: You can check out a few options here. I recommend KitchenAid or Breville for a more affordable price point.
Stand mixer: Check out options here. KitchenAid is the most popular choice but you can also consider Kenwood or Breville for more affordable price points.

2. Silicone spatulas and whisks

Of course, you need a spatula!! Where else are we gonna lick the batter off of? Spatulas are a godsend gift to the world of baking and it is by far my most used kitchen tool. It is an all rounder kinda tool to mix, fold, combine, lick (who said that) and scrape. It is super cheap and effective, and saves you tons of wastage.
I kinda have a weird spatula collection fetish, don't even ask...
Whisks are absolute essential tools to help aerate, mix and emulsify. Plus if you don't have a hand-beater or a stand mixer yet, these are a MUST have. I usually have an army of spatulas and whisks handy at all times.

Where to buy: The best and most professional sturdy spatula & whisk you can buy is one from Matfer Bourgeat. It's a French company and their tools will last you forever! However, any silicone spatula & whisk will do the job and you can find them in baking supply stores or supermarkets.

3. Digital kitchen weighing scale

Okay, I take back my above comment. THIS is the my most used tool. I will use a weighing scale to measure out even my magnesium supplement powder! I cannot stress just HOW important it is to use a weighing scale in the world of pastry and baking. Sure, cup measurements are easy but they are extremely inconsistent and cannot be scaled appropriately. What do I mean by that? Imagine a recipe asks for 3/4 cup flour that serves 4 people. What if you only want to make it for 2 people? What's half of 3/4 cup? 1/4+1/8 cup. Umm, there is no 1/8 cup measurement. Fine, you'll eyeball it. Every time you do that, you're changing the ratios of the recipe. I'm not saying it won't turn out fine, it might who knows. But do you really wanna go through the hard-work of making something on the possibility of 'who knows' as your end result? Yup, that wouldn't be wise. Whereas, if you were to use the metric system, 3/4 cup flour is about 96g and half that- 48g, boom! See how easy that was?

Where to buy: They are also very cheap and affordable to purchase and will last you for a good while. Just change the batteries every now and then and it's good as new. I have had mine for 3 years and it's still going strong. You can buy them on amazon or any baking supply store.

4. Measuring spoons

Measuring spoons are more important than you might think. Here's a catch with baking- the smaller in quantity your measurements go, the more accurate you have to be with them. Let's say if a recipe calls for 1/2 tsp baking soda and you eyeball it using your regular spoons to 'roughly' 1/2-1 tsp, you could be potentially setting up for an explosion. So have a set of measuring spoons in different sizes (from 1/8 tsp up tp 1 tbsp) handy to avoid all of that and make your life easier.

Where to buy: These are extremely cheap and you can find them in any baking supply store or supermarkets or Kmart. You can also buy them on amazon if you wish.

5. Baking pans/tins

This one seems fairly obvious but I want to mention it anyway. There are SO many different shapes and sizes of baking tins available these days, the choice is unlimited really. But when you're just starting out, it's important to have a few basics ones handy at all times. I started off with literally nothing! I used to use the oven tray that you get complimentary with the oven for everything. And then I started getting all the weird shapes but never thought of getting a simple round baking tin- why?! My younger self probably thinks I was so cool back then lol

A good starting point would be to have 1x 8"/9" round baking tin, 1x8" square baking tin, 1x9" loaf tin and at least 1x baking tray. These four are literally the main ones I use ALL the time and they are super versatile.
Invest in good quality brands and they will last you for a long time. You can opt for more affordable ones if you're just starting out and slowly build from there.

Where to buy: You can buy these from any baking supply store or on amazon. If you have a William Sonoma in your city, I'd recommend checking them out. They have amazing baking tins that are of great quality.

6. Baking/ parchment paper

Is this a tool? I'm not sure. But it is a treasure. Baking paper is literally a blessing and you NEED to have this in your kitchen collection. When I was in college back in India and would travel home to my family for the holidays, I always carried a roll of them with me because I knew they weren't widely available in my hometown. Can you believe that?! That's how much I love baking paper. It makes your life 10x easier, faster, more convenient and just a little more fail proof. The anxiety of un-moulding a cake and praying that it comes out smoothly in one piece was killing me. I don't have to worry about that anymore. So definitely, a must must have 'tool'.

Where to buy: They are easily available in any supermarket or grocery store.

7. Offset palette knife

This is a handy little tool to have in every baker's chest. It is great for frosting cakes, spreading batters, or even use it to lift some delicate things like hot cookies from the tray to a cooling rack. I personally love a good offset palette knife and you only need 1 to last you for ages (unless you lose it and in that case you probably need a second one haha). You can also get them in different sizes or as a pack of 3. A small palette knife is a good starting point.

Where to buy: They are pretty affordable and again you can get them in any baking supply store or order on amazon.

What are some of your favourite baking tools that you use everyday?

Disclaimer: all images are taken from Google images. All the links are my personal recommendations and in no way sponsored.