9 Do the toothpick test; tap the top of the loaf; stick a knife in the pie. Do whatever the recipe tells you, to make sure your whatchamacallit is baked to perfection.
10 Ta-da! Done. Remove your delicious baked item(s) from the oven, carefully remove from the baking pan(s) and let cool on a rack for as long as you can stand.
11 Enjoy. You earned it.
Bare Necessities, Electric Gizmos and Extra Added Widgets
Baking equipment tends to be pretty simple. You’ve got your pans, your bowls, your spatulas. Most of the things you need are inexpensive and easy to find. If you’re on a really tight budget, you can shop at secondhand stores and garage sales. If you recently inherited a fortune, you can blow it all at a fancy kitchenware store. Either way, your muffins will turn out just fine.
Bare Necessities
two 8 or 9-inch (20 or 23 cm) round cake pans
one 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33 cm) rectangular baking pan
one 8 or 9-inch (20 or 23 cm) square baking pan
two 9 x 5-inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf pans
two 10 x 15 inch (25 x 38 cm) cookie sheets with 1-inch (2 cm) sides
one muffin pan with 12 cups (or two with 6 cups each)
one 8-cup (2 liter) bundt or tube pan (approximately 9 inches/23 cm diameter)
one 9 or 10-inch (23 or 25 cm) springform pan with removable sides
one or two wire grid cooling racks
one set of Official Measuring Spoons (imperial or metric or both)
one set of individual steel or plastic measuring cups (in graduated sizes: ¼ cup, ⅓ cup, ½ cup and 1 cup, or metric equivalents)
heatproof glass measuring cups (1 cup/250 ml and 4 cups/1 liter)
mixing bowls — stainless steel or glass — at least 2 really big ones (4 quarts/4 liters) and as many smaller ones as you have room for
a bunch of small glass or plastic bowls for organizing ingredients
whisk
rubber bowl scrapers (spatulas)
wooden spoons
flour sifter
pastry blender (that chopper thingy for making pastry dough)
pastry brush
wooden rolling pin
cookie cutters
baking parchment paper
Electric Gizmos
electric mixer — either handheld or countertop model
blender — traditional or stick type
food processor
Extra Added Widgets (for the seriously motivated baker)
pastry bag and decorating tips
one 10-inch (25 cm) tart pan with removable sides
one 10-inch (25 cm) two-part tube pan (angel cake pan) with removable sides
electronic digital scale (to weigh ingredients)
The Essential Clueless Baking Cupboard
It’s three in the morning. It suddenly occurs to you that you can’t possibly get through the night without chocolate chip cookies. Homemade ones. Warm. Right now. Aren’t you glad you keep ingredients in the house?
Absolute necessities
all-purpose white flour (regular or unbleached)
all-purpose whole wheat flour
granulated white sugar
brown sugar (golden or dark brown)
icing (confectioners’) sugar
baking powder
baking soda
quick-rise instant dry yeast granules
butter
vegetable oil
solid vegetable shortening (preferably trans-fat free)
eggs
milk
semisweet chocolate chips
semisweet baking chocolate
unsweetened baking chocolate
unsweetened cocoa powder
quick-cooking rolled oats (not instant)
pure vanilla extract
peanut butter
cinnamon
raisins
walnuts
nonstick baking spray
Noncompulsory ingredients
cake and pastry flour
cornmeal
cornstarch
graham cracker crumbs
chocolate wafer crumbs
natural bran
honey
corn syrup
molasses
whipping cream
sour cream
buttermilk
yogurt
cream cheese
cream of tartar
ginger
nutmeg
pecans
almonds
hazelnuts
dried cranberries
dates
coconut
lemons
Specialty ingredients
white chocolate chips or chunks
poppy seeds
sesame seeds
instant coffee powder
phyllo pastry
gluten-free flour mixture
brown or white rice flour
Emergency substitutions
Can it be true? You’re out of chocolate? Baking powder? Brown sugar? Don’t panic — help is on the way. Not every ingredient is replaceable, but the following substitutions will allow you to continue baking despite the missing whatever-it-is. In some cases, the finished product will be almost identical. Some subsititutions can produce a slightly different flavor or texture in the finished product. Maybe a better one — you never know.
1 oz. (28 g) unsweetened chocolate
3 tbsp. (45 ml) unsweetened cocoa powder + 1