Baking Tools and Supplies

Baking is a fun and delicious hobby and skill that can turn into a lucrative business. Many bakers turn their passion for baking into a money making business. Waking up every day and doing what you love to do is the best job in the world and bakers enjoy this job. Learning how to bake is easy and all you need are the proper baking tools and some know how. Many books are available on baking and many sites on the World Wide Web have step by step guides to baking.

Baking tools and supplies are needed for baking. Aside from having an oven you will need other materials in order to start baking. Measuring cups and spoons are needed to get exact measurements of ingredients needed. An electric mixer will make putting all the ingredients together and mixing them an easier task. If no electric mixer in available you can use spatulas, wooden spoons and mixing bowls to mix the ingredients together. Baking pans and baking trays are where you will put the batter before placing in the over. Rolling pins are needed to flatten the dough and take bubbles away.

There are other baking tools available for specific types of baked good. When baking cookies, you will need cookie sheets and wax paper to place the cookie batter on before putting in the oven. Wax paper is needed so that the cookies won't stick to the pan. If you wish to make cookies in different shapes, you'll need different cookie cutters. There are so many different cookie cutter shapes available from hearts to stars to Christmas trees for the holiday season and pumpkins for Halloween. You can also choose to retain the normal round shape of cookies if you want.
When making bread you will be using different baking tools too. Bread loaf treys of different sizes are needed depending on the bread you are making. You will also need a bread bin to let the bread cool down and to keep away from pets and pests.

For baking cakes, you will need cake pans of different shapes and sizes. You can also look for different cake stencils in order to decorate the cakes you just baked. If you want to add icing to your cakes then you'll need rubber spatulas to spread the icing and you'll need pastry bags to make decorative icing designs.

There are many other baking tools available in the market. You just have to choose what you want to bake and how you want it to taste and look like.

Cooking Supplies and Battling the Winter Blues

Today is January 15, 2007 and I just lived through another power outage. This is the third one in the midwest in the last six months.

The first in July, lasted 8 days and the temperature outside was a balmy 98F Plus. No air conditioning, no refrigeration, no power for even a fan. The second, in late November, missed me for which I am extremely grateful. This latest outage was due to an ice storm on January 12, 2007 and over 150,000 homes in my area were without power. At last check there were still some 80,000. Lucky me, I was one of them. Also, Lucky me, I got my power back in less than forty eight hours.

Again I realize that most of you think I am just ranting but there is a point to this rambling.Sitting in my freezing home by myself - I sent my family to relatives homes - I realized how much I miss the taste of BBQ. I miss the backyard gatherings with family and friends and I cannot wait for the warm spring and hot summer when I can fire up the pit and cook up whatever my heart dictates - ribs, chicken, pork steaks (for those that are unfamiliar this is pork shoulder or butt cut into steaks - 3/4 inch thick is best), burgers, simple hotdogs. Potato salad & cole slaw, watermelon, beer and wine coolers. I am ready. Winter is just too dreary.

I can sometimes satisfy the urge with an electric indoor grill that I have had for years. While it is not the same as a charcoal grill (I prefer charcoal over propane) it does satisfy a need when you combine it with your favorite BBQ sauce, be it bottled or home-made. Now, just for you, if you do not have access to an indoor grill, I am going to give you my absolutely favorite recipe for getting past the BBQ urge in winter. Your can do really great BBQ chicken in the oven:

2 1/2 to 3 lbs. of chicken pieces - either a whole chicken cut up or pieces of your favorite parts - I usually use thighs & drumsticks as I prefer the dark meat
salt & pepper to taste
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup ketchup - use jalapeno ketchup if you want to spice it up a bit
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon of either Dijon or Hot Sweet mustard
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper - like cayenne - if you want a little heat.

Heat oven to 400deg F. Arrange chicken pieces in a deep baking dish and season with salt and pepper if desired.

In a bowl combine water, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, worcestershire sauce, and red pepper if desired and pour over chicken pieces.

Bake about 45 minutes, uncovered, then tip the baking dish and skim off the fat.

See Also : Good bbq sauce At Amazon.com