Learn About Equipment

Having the right baking equipment will enable you to turn out your favorite baked goods with ease. Having heavy-duty baking pans, dishes, baking sheets, and mixing tools will go a long way to helping you turn out better quality baked goods and prevent uneven baking. Better still, quality tools will last longer and are a great investment. Here, we’ll share with you the tools we find essential in the baker’s kitchen, as well as how to properly prepare pans for baking, how to substitute different sizes of pans, and how to calculate baking times based on pans.

If you ever have a question, come talk to us and other members in the CraftyBaking Community. We would love to help!

Baking Pan Substitutions Chart

How to Prepare Baking Pans for Baking

Baking Time and Batter Amounts – Two Inch Deep Pans
Baking Time and Batter Amounts – Three Inch Deep Pans

The Baker’s Dozen Essential Equipment for Baking

Measuring cups for liquid ingredients
Measuring cups for dry ingredients or a kitchen scale
Measuring spoons
Basic cake pans and rimmed baking sheets
Food processor
Heavy-duty Stand Mixer and Heavy-duty Hand-held Mixer, with one extra mixer bowl for the stand mixer
Instant Read Thermometer; Chocolate and Candy Thermometer (if using)
Spatulas: large and small in straight and offset metal, and large and small in silicone or rubber
Fine mesh strainers in different sizes
Wire cake racks – about 4
Microplane graters in large and small
Miscellaneous: Pizza dough cutter, metal ruler, parchment paper, waxed paper, aluminum foil, hot pads and oven mitts, kitchen timer

QUESTION: What is a heavy-bottomed saucepan?
SARAH SAYS: Heavy-bottomed pots and pans are thicker at the base than a thin pot or pan , so they will absorb and distribute heat from a stovetop burner more evenly, rather than “hot spot”. Hot spots are areas that heat more quickly than others, causing your food to burn easiy if not stirred often or watched carefully.

Copper-bottom, cast iron, enameled cast iron, anodized aluminum, and clad aluminum are all good choices for heavy-bottom pans.