We have been in a major heat wave here in SoCal! It’s been so hot we have had to cancel the Friday night farmer’s market I usually attend 2 weeks in a row. Since I have had extra time at home because of that, I have been focusing on stocking up my freezer with plenty of sweets so once it cools down, I will be ready! As I’m preparing, there are a few must have baking tools that I keep on hand.

Today I want to share a few of the items that I can’t bake without! These are my must-haves whenever I am baking anything:

1. KitchenAid Stand Mixer. I don’t know what I would do without it! Some of the recipes I use require hand-mixing, but a lot of them don’t, so my stand mixer definitely gets a lot of use! I use it almost every day and it never lets me down.
2. Metal Whisk. For those recipes that I do mix by hand, a metal whisk is definitely my first choice of tool. I have had a few silicon whisks, but they always seem to get bent out of shape. And for thick batters, they want to bend when mixing so I don’t feel like I have as much control. A sturdy metal whisk makes it a lot easier!
3. Measuring Cups. This one might go without saying, but it’s too important to leave out! Measuring is important, especially in gluten free baking! It’s so helpful to have sturdy measuring cups on hand. I usually go through several for each recipe. My favorites are the KitchenAid brand, they are sturdy plastic (that doesn’t bend when holding a heavy ingredient) and they are flat on top so I can easily level off my ingredients.
4. Rubber Spatula. I use this in just about every recipe for scraping the sides of the bowl or folding ingredients! I like to get every last bit of batter/dough/frosting so this is a must have for me. I prefer one that has a mostly flat surface with no ridges, that way i can easily scrape off whatever sticks to it.
5. Nesting Bowls. I like recipes that can be made all in one bowl, but that is usually not the case! That’s why I love mixing bowl sets that come in multiple sizes. I prefer microwave safe plastic as well, so I can melt butter or chocolate without the bowl itself getting too hot, as usually happens with glass or ceramic options.

I hope this list of must have baking tools helps you next time you bake something!