Beginning bakers and seasoned pros, gather around. This list of supplies will help you pros to organize your baking equipment once and for all. If you’re a new baker, start setting up your kitchen with our list of must-have equipment, along with pastry tools to get you through any kind of sweet recipe. And if you have a cake recipe or trickier pastry recipe you’re trying to perfect, make sure to take a peek at our list of nonessential tools that are nice to have and will make your process faster, easier, and more impressive.
BHG / Niki Cutchall
Must-Have Baking Tools
Baking is all about precision, so having a full set of measuring cups and spoons on hand is a must. Don’t think you can get by with just one type of measuring cup, you’ll need both dry and wet measuring cups to accurately measure all your ingredients. Keep these tools in a spot that’s easy to reach, because you’ll use them all the time.
Most measuring spoon sets include a tablespoon, teaspoon, ½ teaspoon, and ¼ teaspoon, while most measuring cups come in sets with one cup, ½ cup, ⅓ cup, and ¼ cup. For liquid measuring cups, you can get by with a 1-cup size, but it can be handy to have 2-cup and 4-cup ones in your cupboard, too.
Wooden Spoon(s)
One wooden spoon is enough, but this tool is so handy, it can sometimes be helpful to have a couple around. Wooden spoons are so sturdy they’re great for all kinds of stirring. You’ll be able to use them with even the thickest, heaviest doughs. Just remember to handwash them when you’re done, so they don’t end up cracked.
Rubber Spatula/Scraper
We’re willing to bet you reach for your rubber spatula more often than you think. This tool is ideal for scraping the last bit of batter or dough out of a pan or for scraping all the nooks and crannies out of your jam jar. They’re also super handy for folding together wet and dry ingredients. Note that silicone scrapers will stand up to high heat better than rubber ones.
Spatula/Metal Turner
When you need to transfer fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies to a cooling rack or serve a piece of cake from a 9×13 pan, there’s no tool better than a good old spatula. Having one with a thin metal blade can be especially handy, and it’ll be flexible enough to easily slide under anything you’re moving without squishing the dough or crumbling your cookies.
Pastry Brush
This handy tool has more uses than you may realize. It can be used to grease a pan before pouring in cake batter, to coat the dough with melted butter or egg wash, or to “paint” milk on top of a pie crust. Especially if you’re a frequent baker, this is a must-have!
Yes, you can use a wire whisk to beat together a few eggs, but it’s handy for other things too. In particular, it’s one of the best ways to thoroughly mix together dry ingredients. It’s also great for stirring together a homemade custard.
Kitchen Scissors
Whenever we’re making a recipe, baking or otherwise, we always have our kitchen shears handy. They can be useful in so many ways, including snipping fresh herbs, cutting parchment to fit a pan, or even just opening stubborn packages and containers.
Rolling Pin
Rolling pins are definitely most useful for rolling out pie crusts, cookie dough, and puff pastry, but there are other ways you can put this tool to work in your kitchen. For example, if you don’t have a food processor and need to crush cookies, chips, or crackers for a recipe, just put them in a sealable bag, then use your rolling pin to smash them to pieces.
Fine-Mesh Sieve
You can put a sieve to work in a lot of different ways. For bakers, it’s probably the most useful for sifting dry ingredients or adding a dusting of powdered sugar to a finished pan of brownies or cookies. This piece of baking equipment also comes in handy for draining wet ingredients (especially small items, like quinoa, that would slip through a regular colander) and removing seeds from raspberry sauces.
Chef’s Knife
If you have only one knife in your whole kitchen, make it this one. A chef’s knife is great for slicing, dicing, chopping, and mincing just about any ingredient your recipe calls for.
Paring Knife
A regular baking pan (13x9x2 inches) is a definite must-have. You can use it for so many sweet things—cakes, brownies, cookie bars—and, of course, it has savory uses as well. If you pick only one baking pan to stock your kitchen with, make it this one.
Round Cake Pan
You should have two of these baking essentials on hand, since you’ll need more than one to make a layer cake. Round cake pans come in 8-inch and 9-inch diameters, but either size will work with most layer cake recipes—just be sure you have two pans in the same size.
Loaf Pan
Banana bread, pumpkin bread, zucchini bread—all of our favorite homemade bread recipes call for a loaf pan. If you also want to bake your own yeast bread, it’ll pay to have two of these pans in your cupboard.
Pie Plate
Yes, the most obvious use for a pie plate is baking your own homemade pies, but there are other desserts that make this baking item useful to have around. You also can make savory pies for dinner, like meatball pie and taco pie, along with some frozen icebox pies. They work well as shallow dishes for dredging and breading meats, too.
Square Baking Pan
You don’t always need to make a huge pan of brownies, and when you just want a small batch, you’ll need a square baking pan. Cookie bars, cakes, brownies, and corn bread are just a few of the baked goods you can create using this baking essential.
Wire Rack
No one wants soggy, overbaked cookies and cakes for dessert, so make sure you’ve got a wire rack on hand. This handy tool allows air to circulate around baked goods as they cool, so they’ll taste just as great at room temperature as they did fresh from the oven.
Muffin Pan
Use this pan to create a tray of freshly-baked muffins for a brunch, or to make cupcakes for your next birthday celebration. You can also use a muffin pan for many savory recipes, like meatballs, pizza cups, and mini meat loaves.
Baking Sheet/Cookie Sheet/Sheet Pan
You definitely need at least one cookie sheet in your kitchen, and you’ll probably benefit from having two. If you do opt for two, we recommend having one with a raised side to bake your cookies, which allows proper air circulation and even baking. This pan is essential for baking almost any kind of cookie, but baking sheets and sheet pans with raised sides are also useful for cookies and work best for sheet pan dinner recipes.
Hand Mixer/Stand Mixer
While you don’t need to go all-out on a fancy stand mixer, you do need at least a hand mixer in your arsenal of baking essentials. It will make mixing doughs and batters faster and easier, and it’s by far the best way to mix ingredients into a thick, stiff cookie dough without tiring out your arm.
Parchment Paper
If you haven’t been baking with parchment paper, start now. Spreading a sheet over your pan before you start baking will make cleanup much easier and prevent your baked goods from sticking to the pan. Avid bakers might consider investing in a reusable silicone baking mat to be more eco-friendly.
Nice-to-Have Baking Equipment
Once you’ve made sure you have enough space in your kitchen for the baking essentials, you can start adding a few tools from this nice-to-have list. While not crucial to most baking recipes, these additional baking supplies will make your most tried and true recipes quicker and easier.
Pastry Blender
If you’re big on baking pies and flaky biscuits, this is a handy tool to have. It’ll make cutting cold butter or shortening into flour much easier. However, if you don’t have one, you can use two butter knives instead. Just move the knives in a crisscross motion to cut the butter into the flour.
Offset Spatula/Spreader
While this tool is great for putting the finishing touches on cakes or a pan of brownies, it’s probably not one you’ll use every day. But if you want the frosting on your baked goods to look almost perfectly smooth, it’s hard to beat an offset spatula for the job.
Zester/Rasp Grater
If you think using a special grater is the only possible way to zest a lemon, think again. While having this tool on hand will certainly make zesting easier, it’s not strictly necessary. If you don’t have one, you can use a sharp knife to slice off thin slices of the peel, then finely chop them. Voilà, lemon zest.
Pastry Wheel
You might use a slotted spoon more often while cooking dinner, but it can also come in handy for baking. If you’re making a custard or sauce, a slotted spoon will be the quickest and easiest way to spoon out large spices like a cinnamon stick or vanilla bean.
Citrus Juicer
You can just as easily use your hands or a fork to help squeeze out the juice of a lemon for your citrus desserts, but if you want to get every last drop, invest in a juicer. The sieve will also strain out pulp and seeds, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally mixing them into your batter or dough.
Other Knives
A serrated bread knife might come in handy for some baked recipes, but you can usually get by with just your chef’s or paring knives. But if you do have serrated knives in your kitchen, use your tomato knife for cutting fruits and vegetables and your bread knife for slicing into your homemade bread without squashing your loaf.
Tart Pan
This pastry tool certainly comes in handy if you are a big fan of fruit tarts. You’ll definitely want to invest in this specialty pan, although there aren’t many uses for it outside tarts.
Springform Pan
This pan has a latch that opens, allowing you to remove the sides, making it great for authentic cheesecakes and deep-dish pizza. But if you’re not dead-set on making a traditional New York-style cheesecake, there are other recipes (like bars and no-bake recipes) you can make without this pan that are equally delicious.
Fluted Tube Pan
You’ll definitely need this pan if you want to make a traditional bundt (like the beautiful blueberry one pictured) or angel food cake, but you probably won’t pull it out of your cupboard as often as you think. For most cake recipes, just a round or rectangular baking pan is all you need.
Pizza Pan
Yes, if you want to make a perfectly round pizza, you’ll need this pan in your kitchen. But if your heart isn’t completely set on a circular pizza, you can just easily bake your pie on a regular baking sheet.
Jelly Roll Pan
Jelly rolls, cake rolls, and pumpkin bars all make the case for having this pan in your pantry, but most cake, brownie, and bar recipes can also be made in a rectangular baking pan. If you do have a jelly roll pan, it’s also useful for toasting nuts and roasting veggies, but a sheet pan will usually accomplish the same tasks.
Soufflé Dish
This dish can certainly turn out a sky-high soufflé, which might make it worth it for master bakers to keep in their kitchens. But if you’re not a frequent soufflé maker, you can easily skip this item.
Ramekins are nice to have for making individual portions of desserts, such as crème brûlée, but you don’t necessarily need them in your kitchen. Of course, if you do have a set, they’ll also come in handy for serving desserts to a crowd.
A blender will definitely make some recipes quicker, but it doesn’t have a ton of uses for bakers beyond pureeing fruit sauces or soups. Of course, if you love a morning smoothie on your way out the door, you’ll want a blender on hand in your kitchen.
Food Processor
While having this kitchen appliance can certainly speed some recipes along, you can get by without one. You can crush cookies and crackers for crusts with a rolling pin, and you can mix up pie crusts in a good old-fashioned bowl with a pastry cutter (or two knives). Don’t get us wrong, though. Having a food processor will definitely come in handy if you’re a frequent baker.
If you’re new to working with some of these tools, be sure to check out the best tips and tricks as well as essential cooking basics for working in the kitchen by our Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen.
Having the right bakery equipment is crucial to running a successful bakery and restaurant business. Like other restaurant supplies and equipment, it is important to invest in high quality bakery tools and equipment when starting a bakery or baking subscription box business.
A number of things go into opening a bakery. These include choosing the right bakery design and interior décor, making great recipes of baked goods to sell, and having a solid eCommerce marketing plan.
Key Takeaway – Using the right bakery tools and equipment will save you time and help you make more money. High quality bakery equipment will help you create the perfect desserts, cakes, breads, and other baked goods.
So, what equipment do you need for your bakery? Let’s look at the essential bakery equipment list for every baker.
What Equipment is Needed to Start a Bakery?
As a bakery owner, it is important you have specialized equipment for your bakery. Bread and pastry shops, cake shops, and ice-cream shops require different types of tools and machines.
For instance, bakeries that specialize in making cakes, having the right tools and equipment is important. Although basic cake modeling can be done by hand, It is easier to use cake making and decorating equipment to make cakes professionally.
There are a number of things to consider before buying bakery equipment. We’ll get to that part in a bit.
First, let’s review the ultimate equipment list for a bakery business.
Ultimate Equipment List for a Bakery
This category of bakery equipment and tools includes the basic kitchen equipment every baker needs to get started with their bakery business. Basic kitchen tools are usually affordable and you don’t have to worry about the high maintenance costs, unlike heavy equipment.
Let’s check some basic bakery equipment out:
Measuring tools come in all shapes and sizes. Like the name suggests, they are used for taking accurate measurements of dry and wet ingredients like flour, sugar, milk.
Uses: You can use dry measuring cups to weigh dry ingredients such as spices, salt, flour, sugar, or baking powder.
Size: Comes in four standard sizes – ¼ cups, ⅓ cups, ½ cups, and 1 cup.
Types: Measuring cups are available as plastic, stainless steel, and porcelain.
Uses: You can use a liquid measuring cup to measure wet ingredients like milk, yogurt, or water.
Size: Usually comes with graduated measurement lines and in liters, centiliters, and milliliters.
Types: Liquid measuring cups are usually made of transparent plastic or glass.
Uses: You can use measuring spoons to measure small quantities of wet or dry baking ingredients.
Size: Measuring spoons typically come in sets of four and six spoons with different measurements and sizes.
Types: Measuring spoons some in plastic, metal, and other materials.
Uses: Baking scales and spoon scales can accurately measure food ingredients conveniently.
Size: Baking scales and spoon scales are digital scales and come in grams and ounces. Depending on the type of scale you buy, baking scales have different measuring capacities.
Types: Baking scales are either digital with automatic measurement features, or analog.
Uses: You can use a timer to time the preparation of ingredients and cooking of the food.
Size: A timer typically has a countdown of up to 60 minutes.
Types: Digital timers, Egg times, and so on.
Uses: An oven thermometer is used to measure the temperature of oil, water, and food when using the oven. It can also be used to measure the temperature when melting chocolate.
Size: The temperature range is usually between 60 degrees and 580 degrees Fahrenheit.
Types: Digital instant-read, dial oven-safe thermometer, digital fork thermometer, and dial instant-read thermometer.
Mixing tools are used for mixing ingredients, either wet or dry. Some can also be used to store and knead doughs. There are both manual and automatic mixing tools available.
Uses: Electric mixers are automatic mixing tools that can automate the mixing process. They can be used to whisk eggs and other wet ingredients. When a dough hook is attached, you can also use an electric mixer to knead dough.
Types: Handheld electric mixers and stand mixers.
Uses: Mixing spoons come in different lengths and are used for mixing ingredients in containers. They are easy to use and can make life easy for any baker.
Types: Metal mixing spoons, wood mixing spoons, porcelain mixing spoons, and plastic mixing spoons.
Uses: You can use mixing bowls to prepare and mix dry and wet baking ingredients. Mixing bowls are also used to store and knead doughs.
Types: Glass mixing bowls, stainless steel mixing bowls, plastic mixing bowls, and porcelain mixing bowls.
Uses: Similar to electric mixers, whisks are used to mix ingredients smoothly.
Types: French whisks, balloon whisks, flat whisks, spring whisks, and ball whisks.
Uses: Spatulas are flat and flexible mixing tools used for mixing and scraping mixing bowls and plates.
Types: Silicone spatula, stainless steel spatula, rubber spatula, and plastic spatula.
Preparatory tools and equipment in the bakery are used for the initial preparation of baking ingredients. They are essential parts of your bakery kitchen that you need to open your bakery business.
Uses: Bakers use flour sifters to sieve or separate clumps from flour, baking powder, and other powder-like ingredients. A flour sifter ensures that your ingredients are an even consistency.
Types: Battery-operated flour sifters, electric flour sifters, and stainless steel flour sifters.
Uses: Pastry brushes are used to spread butter, egg wash, or oil on food.
Types: Silicone bristles pastry brush and natural bristles pastry brush
Uses: A cake tester needle helps bakers to check if the cake is baked well without causing damage to the cake. They can also be used as cake decorations and exhaust needles. Although you can simply use a long toothpick to check for the doneness of cakes.
Types: Stainless steel cake tester
Uses: Baking paper is usually lined in baking pans so food can bake better and to prevent the food from touching the pan directly. Using baking paper will also save you a lot of cleaning troubles.
Types: Silicone mat. Parchment paper, wax paper, aluminum foil, and plastic wrap.
Uses: Pastry mats are non-stick surfaces that bakers use for kneading, forming, and cutting dough.
Types: Silicone pastry mat, marble pastry mat, and granite pastry mat.
Uses: Egg separators help to separate egg yolks from egg whites.
Types: Easy squeeze silicone egg separators.
Uses: A cooling rack allows air to flow and circulate around baked food. This ensures that the food is cooled when out of the oven.
Types: Stainless steel cooling racks, chrome-coated cooling racks, and aluminum cooling racks
Cutting tools are essential items you need to start your bakery business.
Uses: Graters are used for shredding food ingredients, such as lemon, cheese, carrots, and other items, into smaller sizes.
Types: Box grater, rasp grater, rotary grater, spice grater, hand grater, and electric grater.
Uses: A pastry blender or dough blender is used for blending solid ingredients like butter, or lard, into flour or other powder-like ingredients to create a dough.
Types: Stainless steel pastry blender.
Uses: Cookie cutters are molds with sharp edges that are used for cutting dough into different shapes.
Types: Plastic cookie cutters, aluminum cookie cutters, stainless steel cookie cutters, and copper cookie cutters.
Uses: Dough cutters are used for slicing and portioning out dough.
Types: Thin plastic dough cutters, rubber dough cutters, and stainless steel dough cutters.
Uses: Pastry cutting wheels are used for cutting dough and making patterned edges.
Types: Manual pastry cutting wheel, multiple wheel pastry cutter.
Uses: A knife is used for cutting and chopping large food items into smaller pieces. You can also use knives for peeling and coring fruits and vegetables.
Types: Paring knife, carving knife, Boning knife, and bread knife.
No bakery equipment list is complete without cake making and decorating tools.
Uses: A cake turntable stand is used for smoothing sheets of icing, applying buttercream, pipe frosting, and decorating cake.
Uses: A cake board is a flat and thick board used for supporting and carrying cakes.
Types: Corrugated cardboard, marble cake board
Uses: A cake leveler is used for cutting and leveling cakes in order to ensure stability.
Types: Ring cutter with knife and ring cutter with single or more thin blades.
Uses: Cake spatulas are used for smoothing out icing and buttercream on the surface and sides of cakes.
Bakery Machine Equipment
This category reviews the heavy machinery and equipment you need in your bakery. Let’s check out what they are.
Refrigerators and Freezers
Uses: Freezers and refrigerators are used to chill and preserve foods and baked goods.
Types: Chest freezers, drawer freezers, upright freezers, portable freezers, walk-in freezers, and cube freezers.
Uses: Ovens are the soul and life of every bakery. They are used to bake and cook pastries, cakes, pies, breads, cookies, and other baked goods.
Types: Combination ovens, convection ovens, conventional gas ovens, conventional electric ovens, toaster ovens, and microwave ovens.
Uses: Display cases are used to show ready-to-eat, ready-to-buy, and freshly baked goods.
Types: Bread case, display bin, cake stand, and bulk bin.
Uses: A bakery or restaurant POS platform streamlines your bakery management processes. With a POS system, you can easily integrate restaurant inventory management software, invoice management software, and order management solutions to run your business.
Bakery Safety Equipment
Complying with food safety regulations is a must, if you want to stay in business. Besides consumer food safety, it is important to keep your employees safe from bakery accidents as well. Here’s a list of safety equipment to purchase for your bakery:
- Gloves
- First aid kit
- Aprons
- Bar rags
- Food grade chemical supplies
- Chemical safety data sheets
- Date labels
- Sani-buckets
3 Things to Consider Before Buying Equipment for Bakery
So, what should you do before buying bakery equipment and tools? Let’s see.
It is important to draw out your budget and plan. As a new business owner, it is easy to get carried away by all the expenses that comes with opening your business. Drawing out your business process flow and plan will help you know exactly what you want to do and how you want to do it.
With a financial plan in hand, you can deduce if your business will survive with the money you have at hand or if you need to get a loan. Your budget will also determine the type of bakery equipment you’ll purchase at first.
Most basic bakery equipment are not too expensive. However, heavy machines and commercial bakery equipment will definitely cost a lot of money.
So, lay it all down and review carefully. You can research equipment prices and consider buying second-hand equipment from wholesale distribution companies that sell bakery equipment.
There are a lot of baking equipment suppliers. However, it is important to work with a supplier that sells high quality tools and equipment. It is also crucial that your supplier can balance affordability and quality without compromising.
The best place to find suppliers is using a wholesale marketplace online like BlueCart. You can also reach out to wholesale dropshipping suppliers and vendors that work directly with baking equipment manufacturers.
Before making a purchase, check if the equipment as a warranty. When working with international suppliers, ask beforehand about the shipping and handling fee.
Another important thing to consider before purchasing bakery equipment is the cost of maintenance. Every machine breaks down after a while, but, the cost of maintaining it should not send you out of business.
Be prepared to do regular servicing and maintenance of the machinery. You can also read about the care of the equipment.
Frequently Asked Questions About Bakery Equipment
The bakery equipment you get for your business will determine your work output and the general productivity of your business. Here are some frequently asked questions about bakery equipment and tools.
How Much Does Bakery Equipment Cost?
The cost of bakery equipment depends on the cookware and category of equipment you want to purchase. Basic bakery equipment like spatulas and mixing bowls can cost between $12 – $50. Heavy bakery equipment like baking ovens and refrigerators runs between $350 – $15,000. To minimize costs, you can buy used bakery equipment from trusted suppliers.
What Is the Most Important Equipment in a Bakery?
There are a lot of bakery equipment. However, here’s a list of the most important baking tools:
- Measuring cups
- Mixers
- Rolling pin
- Oven
- Refrigerator
- Knives
- Mixing bowls
- Safety equipment
How Much Money Does it Take to Start a Bakery?
To start a bakery business, you need between $10,000 and $50,000. However, this amount depends on your other overhead expenses, equipment costs, rent, and, labor costs.
Now For the Final Touches
With this essential bakery equipment list you can create a full proof plan and draw a budget. The equipment you purchase will determine how much you can make from your bakery business – get the best ones!
Streamline order management, grow your bottom line, and get back hours of your time with BlueCart. Schedule a demo now:
So, you’ve come up with the perfect bakery idea, but in order to launch, you need a good business name.
And not just a name, but a creative and descriptive name that will make your bakery stand out.
The name of your business will forever play a role in:
- Your customers first impression
- Your businesses identity
- The power behind the type of customer your brand attracts
- If you’re memorable or not
We’ve put together a list of the best bakery ideas, provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to name your business and give real-world examples of how other founders came up with the name of their business.
Additionally, we provide you with a free business name generator with an instant domain availability check to help you find a custom name for your bakery.
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Bakery Name Generator
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