Bakeware

You'll need it for cooking AND gifting.

Chef’n Mixer Spatula• $12• Williams-Sonoma I have a lot of spatulas in my kitchen, but the ones I reach for over and over are the ones that can most effectively scrape out my mixer bowl. Chef’n has a new spatula designed specifically for the curve of a stand mixer bowl, and it gets rave reviews at Williams-Sonoma. It fits around the blades, so you scrape down your mixer bowl without turning off the mixer.

Item: The Baking SteelPrice: $72Overall Impression: Fantastic and durable pizza accessory, one that will help your pizza cook much faster and give it a deliciously chewy, blistered crust. Do you use a pizza stone? Putting a heavy stone in your oven helps stabilize its temperature, retain its heat, and transfer it more efficiently and directly to your pizza. I had a pizza stone a long time ago, but broke it rather promptly, and ever since then I’ve baked my pizzas directly on an oven rack.

Item: OodleTip & Little OodleDoodle Decorating Bags Price: $9.99 Overall Impression: A very convenient and helpful tool for those of us who don’t have aspirations to semi-professional cake decoration. I love pastry bags. No, I don’t decorate cakes — in fact, if you’ve paid attention to the cakes I’ve shared here, you’ve probably noticed their decidedly rustic appearance.

For anyone who’s ever cradled a cake in their lap on a three-hour road trip or struggled to pack a dozen cupcakes without smearing the frosting, these handy carriers are for you.Most impressive to me are the tiered containers for carrying cupcakes. The cupcakes fit into individual wells and then a stiff hood snaps over top to keep those precious treats safe.

Looking for an eco-friendly alternative to parchment paper? Try this reusable parchment from Regency!Similar to Silpat, these sheets of “paper” have a Teflon coating that’s nonstick and oven-safe up to 500-degrees. This reusable parchment is thinner and more flexible than Silpat, making it useful for tasks like lining brownie pans or casserole dishes. You can also cut the sheets down to size so they fit perfectly onto your baking sheets and inside dishes.

Do you use a silpat for your baking? These flexible, reusable sheets jumped from professional kitchens to home kitchens a few years back, and now we can’t imagine baking without one. They’re one of the most useful and versatile products to come around in a long time!Silpats from the company Demarle are made of flexible fiberglass coated in silicone. This creates a flexible, nonstick surface that can be heated up to 480° and used over and over again.

Between the baking bug that got us as soon as the weather turned cool and the holiday baking we see looming on the horizon, we’re thinking it might be about time to invest in a good set of cookie scoops. These sturdy tools are exactly what we need for turning out perfect cookies in record time – and plenty of other things, too!

What better time of year than Valentine’s Day to get a little whimsical in your kitchen? Make heart-shaped pancakes, decorate with tea bag tags, prettify your milk with frozen hearts, or add some lovin’ to your cooking with one of these heart-shaped kitchen products:TOP ROW• 1 Le Creuset Enameled Cast-Iron 2-Quart Heart Casserole, $159.95• 2 Five-of-Hearts WafflePro Waffle Iron, $69.95• 3 Mini Flexible Heart-Shaped Ice Cube Tray / Gelatin Mold, $3.

Making cakes for a crowd can be a little nerve-wracking. Without cutting into the cake and ruining its presentation, how can you make sure it tastes good before serving it? The Nibble Pan is a smart solution for that problem — it’s a cake pan with a little silicone sidecar for baking a small amount of batter alongside the full cake.

Have you heard of CHEFS catalog? I’d venture that you almost certainly have, since the company has been selling upscale, high-quality cookware, bakeware, and all manner of kitchen utensils and tools since 1979 — first by mail-order only via their catalog, and now through their extensive online site and brick-and-mortar store in Colorado Springs. Their tagline pretty much says it all: “The best kitchen starts here.

Have a last-minute hankering for something heart-shaped this Valentine’s Day? Even if you don’t have the right kind of cookie cutter, heart-shaped treats can be yours with this smart tip from Heidi at Food Doodle. Heidi makes a cookie cutter out of a cleaned and recycled can, snipped and dented to make the perfect heart shape. If you don’t have the tools for cutting down a can, a shallow can, like one from tuna fish (very well cleaned!) would work well. So simple and cute!

Every year, I look forward to ushering in autumn with oven-baked dishes, both savory and sweet. Finally, the weather is cool enough to warrant turning on the oven, and my colorful Dutch ovens and stoneware get to come out of sideboard storage. This year, I may have to add one or two more fall-themed dishes to my collection — check out this adorable assortment of cocottes, Dutch ovens, and cake pans. 1 Staub Cast-Iron Pumpkin Cocotte, $149.

Some might find restaurant supply stores unattractive and utilitarian, but I can’t pass by one without going in. Sure, there aren’t any items with pretty packaging or cutesy gadgets vying for my attention, but I just love wandering down the aisles and seeing what restaurants use to efficiently get food out to their guests. There are so many things to choose from in restaurant supply stores, and usually at such great prices.

Dorm life doesn’t normally allow for a lot of great cooking options. You’re pretty much limited to whatever you can make in a microwave or with hot water if you’re allowed to have an electric kettle. Luckily there are tons of new products that make it easier to actually cook in your microwave. It might not be exactly the same as cooking on a stove, but it’s still better than getting every meal from the dining hall.

The kids in New York City went back to school this week. Are kids in your neighborhood also headed back to the books? Well, now that the school year is underway, bake sale season must be around the corner. Whether the bake sale is to raise money for the school carnival, your child’s sports team, or a classroom charity project, you’ll want to bring your A-game. Luckily, these six gadgets will help your treats stand out on even the most crowded dessert table.

In a world of “less is more,” I’d argue that when it comes to whisks, this rule doesn’t apply. I’m sure you’re frowning at this. I mean, who has room for more kitchen utensils in that crock that sits on the counter? Frankly, not most people. But take some of those crummy-looking wooden spoons out and make space for a few extra whisks. Why? Because not all whisks are created equal — each has a specific, important role.

The best thing about fall is that it’s technically pie season. Apple! Pumpkin! Pecan! It’s time to make all the pies! Even if you’ve already been baking and have an existing pie dish in your kitchen, you should still consider this Pyrex two-pack — especially if you don’t have a glass dish. Pyrex Easy Grab Glass Pie Plates, $9.

Do cake pans matter all that much? I learned to bake through sheer necessity — no one in my family would bother to make dessert if I didn’t. I first made do with whatever detritus my parents had collected over 20-odd years of cohabitation, from warped cooking sheets to mismatched cake pans scavenged from grandparents’ houses. And they all got the job done, more or less.

Even though it is snowing in some parts of the country today, it is now officially spring. And although most of us won’t need much help putting winter behind us, Le Creuset has a few new pieces that can get us all thinking spring thoughts. The common theme? Flowers, flowers, and more flowers! Take a look at some of Le Creuset’s newest (and soon-to-be-released) pieces for spring. Perhaps you saw this post, in which we showed off a 4.5-quart Provence applique Dutch oven and a 1.

Keeping your family happy (and fed) at dinnertime is a balancing act. It’s a fine line between making sure everyone’s preferences and dietary restrictions are accommodated while also maintaining your sanity. There may never be one perfect solution, but this pan from Chicago Metallic can at least help with lasagna night.

Amazon Prime Day is just four years old, and it’s already become a full-fledged shopping holiday. And other retailers want in on some of that sweet retail action. So, once again, Sur la Table is running its own sale called Lime Day (any rhyming with the other shopping holiday is purely coincidental, we’re sure.) This one-day event is full of “juicy deals” — as much as 65 percent off top cookware brands like Staub and Le Creuset.

If there’s one tool that we rely on more than most here at Kitchn, it’s a trusty sheet pan. Sadly, though, in a sea of Instant Pots, air fryers, and fancy blenders, the humble sheet pan doesn’t get enough credit. How else would we make all of our miracle sheet pan dinners, two-ingredient chicken bites, and the best roasted veggies Let’s finally give our favorite sheet pan the respect that it deserves.

Every once in a while, a new product line hits stores that is so brilliant that we can’t help but face-palm and wonder why we didn’t come up with the idea or what took someone else so long. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does … man, is it amazing. If you couldn’t tell from the title (or the intro) of this post, there’s a game-changing new line of baking stuff that launched online at Williams Sonoma today.

I’ve been reviewing kitchen equipment for more than 30 years and I’ve seen it all, from potato-peeling mitts (fuhgettabout ’em) to cooking robots (for those who don’t actually like making dinner). It takes a lot to impress me, and yet this month at the Smart Kitchen Summit in Seattle, I saw something that made me think, I want that in my own kitchen!

With their tube-shaped centers and rounded, ridged bodies, there’s no question that Bundt pans make some pretty beautiful cakes. But that’s not all they can do. This classic piece of bakeware is far from a one-trick pony. Here are five more ways to put your Bundt pan to work (and they don’t involve cake). Beyond cakes and loafs, the bundt pan is the magical tool that let’s you reimagine a classic phyllo tart or pie. And the result is downright impressive!

When you take the time to bake a cake at home, you want to be sure that it’s time well spent. You definitely need a good recipe, but you also need a good pan — especially with bundt cakes. The decorative sides create a beautiful presentation, but the crevices are also a prime place for sticking.

Garage sales can be the place to find hidden gems — especially when it comes to equipment for the kitchen. With fall baking in full swing, it’s a great place to look for baking pans, including Bundt pans. If they’re selling pots, pans, or utensils that are in good shape, then they’re likely made of good material that can last. With these tips, you’ll know how to spot the great deals from the duds.

A few years ago in an attempt to perfect my own biscuit recipe, I started experimenting with different baking pans. Starting with a simple baking sheet, I worked through metal and glass baking dishes, a pie pan, and a cake pan before finally landing on a likely candidate: my favorite cast iron skillet. A sturdy cast iron skillet has become my favorite biscuit pan for three reasons.

Summer cooking should be low-key and fuss-free, especially when you’re on vacation, which is why I’m such a fan of the sheet-pan supper. Throw everything on one sheet pan, bake it in the oven, and voila! Dinner is served. Sheet-pan suppers mean less prep and cleanup time, so you can get back to lounging on the deck with a cold beer in hand.

Size matters, and so does shape. This truism is never as true as when you are baking in tube pans. Each has a specific purpose and usage, and they aren’t easily interchangeable. Does that mean that if you want to bake a Bundt and a chiffon cake or an angel food cake that you need different pans? The answer is a firm yes. Tube pans share one distinction: the tube down the center. But some have sloped sides, some drop straight from top to bottom, and some are decoratively fluted.

Baking a lasagna? A pie? A roast? When you are choosing a pan to bake or roast your food, the pan you reach for shouldn’t just be the first one you can grab, regardless of the material, because some materials great for certain situations and terrible for others. Most of us gravitate towards metal baking sheets when we are baking a batch of cookies, but glass dishes for lasagnas and casseroles.

When the Pyrex bug bites, it bites hard. One offhand thrift store purchase turns into a house brimming with Crayola-colored bowls and casserole dishes, as Andrea Lutz knows all too well. Andrea, a reporter for KTVB in Boise, Idaho, spends her off hours hunting down Pyrex in local antique shops and flea markets.

This old 8-inch round pan is the cake pan I reach for above all others for the simple reason that I know whatever cake I make in it will come out neatly and easily. Why? Because of the slider bar, which completely rotates around the pan, neatly separating the bottom and sides of the cake from the pan. Once a more common feature, it’s rare (although not impossible) to find the slider bar feature these days. Have you ever used one?

In every pizza lover’s quest to approximate a fiery-hot brick pizza oven at home, a pizza stone is first on the list of necessary equipment. But of the variety of materials available — stone, cast iron and even steel — which one is the best pick for you?Picking the right pizza stone depends on your personal needs and kitchen habits. Are you looking for a stone that produces an ultra-crispy crust? Does it need to move easily in and out of the oven?

Choosing my favorite baking tool was a difficult challenge. I thought first about the things that I use often like my favorite zester or my Silpat. Then I thought about things with emotional significance like my grandmother’s cookie cutters or my mom’s old sheet trays. But when it comes right down to it, there’s only one favorite. And for me it’s the tool that I find both useful, practical, and beautiful. My french rolling pin is a true champion.

Q: After making a couple of ice cream cakes (including this amazing S’Mores version) this week with a fabulously sturdy borrowed springform pan, I’m realizing that I’m due for an upgrade of my own. I’d love a recommendation of a good brand. My friend’s pan is Wilton, but it looks like her particular model is not being made anymore (and other Wilton ones have mixed reviews on Amazon).

Do you use a pastry cloth? Though little more than a canvas cloth, this old-fashioned kitchen tool is charming in its simplicity and usefulness.Usually made of durable cotton canvas, a pastry cloth makes an excellent work surface for rolling out pie crusts, biscuits, cookies, and other doughs. Rubbing a little flour into the cloth prevents sticking without adding excess flour to the dough, keeping the pastry light and flaky.

That Pyrex baking tubeAside from being perfectly symmetrical, loaves baked in these kinds of pans have a very thin crust and a soft, finely-textured crumb. In fact, these loaves are called pain de mie in French, which literally means “bread of the crumb.” These loaves are perfect for sandwiches.Many pumpernickel bread recipes also call for using a Pullman pan. It helps to get that dense, chewy crumb and to keep the loaf from drying out during the traditionally long baking time.