SMALL STUFF: Knives, baking pans, whisks, measuring spoons, measuring cups, rubber spatulas, metal spoons, ladles, bench scraper, rolling pins, pastry wheel, pastry brush, bench brush, stainless-steel bowls, pastry bags & tips, pallet knife, cake turntable, timer, oven mitts, pots (various sizes), fine mesh strainer, colander, small storage containers, parchment paper, bowl scrapers, etc.

LARGE STUFF: KitchenAid mixer, electric hand-held mixer, sheet pans, scale, food processor, microwave oven, work table, fryer, ingredient storage containers, etc.

BAKING PANS

BAKING / PIZZA STONES: Baking stones, sometimes referred to as pizza stones, are heavy round, square or rectangular slabs of ceramic tile. (You can also use quarry tiles). 

Baking stones are made from natural clay that's been pressed into a dense, flat shape and kiln-fired at extremely high temperatures. Like the bricks that line chimneys, baking stones retain and radiate heat while remaining fireproof and resistant to warping or cracking. Cooks put the stone on the lowest rack of the oven, before preheating, (or directly on the floor of a gas oven) to replicate the brick floor of a traditional baker's oven. It can be left there indefinitely.

They can make a tremendous difference when making home baked breads, pizza crusts, and even pies because when heated, they provide a hot surface to bake on. They also evenly distribute the heat from the bottom, essential for heating the dough quickly and encouraging a light, airy loaf or a well-baked pizza crust. It also bakes the bottom of the pie crust, so it doesn't come out of the oven soggy. Commercial ovens use brick floors where the bread is placed directly on them to bake.

To use one: place a baking stone on the lowest shelf or on the floor of the oven when it when the oven is cold, then preheat with the stone in place -- to get it optimal for bread baking, preheat it for an hour at 400 degrees F. To check, drop some water on top, and if it dances, it's done -- never touch the hot stone directly ! Sprinkle cornmeal on the stone or tiles to prevent sticking. Place the bread, pizza or pie pan directly on the hot stone to bake. For even better results, for artesian breads, mist the sides of the oven when you place the dough inside, and set a pan filled with 1/2-inch of boiling water on the oven floor. Both steps will provide moisture, delaying the formation of a hard crust and enabling the dough to rise.

BAKING TILES: Home improvement stores sell quarry tiles that can be used like the larger baking stone when baking bread. The larger the tile, the better especially when placing bread directly on them; during baking, the dough expands and is easily stuck between the seams if too small. They are typically placed in the bottom of the oven, but I have put them on the top rack, as well, for a double dose of heat holding ability. Six of them are sufficient for a standard oven. A single, heated tile also makes an ideal warmer for a breadbasket. 

BENCH SCRAPER: I use mine all the time. It is a small rectangular (3 x 6inch or 4 x 6-inch), stainless steel and somewhat dull blade attached with a handle. It is great to use when dividing bread dough and making chocolate cigarettes and fans. It can be used when cleaning your work surface. If you can't fine one, go to any paint or hardware store and find a 5 or 6 inch wide sheet rock broadknife.

BISCUIT CUTTERS: Biscuits and scones cut with a biscuit cutter will rise higher than those cut with an empty tuna fish can ring. The sharper and straighter the cut, the less resistance the dough encounters when it rises in the oven. They come in a range of sizes.

BLOW TORCH, CHEF'S MINI: Light a gas burner or pilot light, finish a Crème Brulee or two, handy for lighting a lot of birthday candles all at once, remove fingerprints and give a nice shine to a cake with a chocolate glaze, make sugar presentations for sticking pieces together, flambé a dessert or a cocktail easily and elegantly. 

BREAD BAKING

CAKE LEVELER: Make your cake top perfectly level for precise decorating - just place adjustable wire in notches to height desired, and glide through the cake. Makes torting easy too. Purchase.

CAKE STAND, ROTATING: Using a rotating cake stand eases the process of icing and decorating a cake. My favorite is a turntable with a large, 12-inch diameter disk that glides smoothly on its heavy cast-iron base, allowing even the largest of cakes to be handled with ease.

CAKE STRIPS: These strips help prevent the middle dome shape that occurs in a cake and keep it level as it bakes. A dome shape occurs because the cake batter, next to the pan sides, bakes faster than the middle. The leaveners push the center higher in the middle as the cake continues to bake. You can buy the "Magi-cake Strips" or Bake-Even Strips for wrapping your pan BEFORE filling with batter, but I find that a homemade one works just as well.

DECORATING TIPS: I use the Ateco (stainless steel) tips that come in a set. They are very strong and will hold up over time. They also stay cooler than plastic ones when touched with fingertips during piping.

DESICCANT: Sugar attracts moisture resulting in soggy cookies, hardened sugar or stored candy that suddenly tastes gritty from formed sugar crystals. To prevent this, place the food in question in an airtight container and use a desiccant if you have a continued problem. It is a food safe hydrating agent which attracts moisture from the atmosphere. It adsorbs and holds particles of water to itself. Check out: http://www.safetycentral.com/moisabdespac.html

DISHER: Looks like a round ice cream scoop, ideal for uniformly-sized cookies.

DOCKER: Looks like a spiked paint roller. It is used to pierce holes in the dough that will let steam escape during baking. Used when making pies or pastry.

DOME MOLD: I use these 4-ounce molds for many of my desserts. They come in plastic or aluminum and can be found in most baking supply stores.

DOUBLE BOILER: A double-boiler is a double-pan arrangement whereby two pots are formed to fit together, with one sitting partway inside the other. A single lid fits both pans. The lower pot is used to hold about an inch of simmering water, which gently heats the mixture in the upper pot. 

Double boilers are used to warm or cook heat-sensitive food such as custards, delicate sauces and chocolate consistently and safely without exposing them to the direct heat of the burner. They are used for delicate and easily burned ingredients or recipes, such as melting chocolate, making stirred custards or making caramel sauce. You can buy a double boiler from a cookware store, or you can make your own, which is what I prefer to do. 

There are different ways in which to use a double boiler depending upon what you're making: Be careful to make sure you don't run out of water in the bottom pot, otherwise you may ruin it.

When melting chocolate, boil the water first, then turn off the heat and fit the bowl over it, which is the preferable way. You can also turn down the heat so the water simmers first and then place the bowl over it. If steam escapes from the seal between the pan and the bowl, either the bowl does not fit the pan properly or the water is too hot and you should lower the heat slightly. The bowl will get really hot, so don't touch without a hot mitt.

With stirred custards, boil water in bottom pot first, and then turn down the heat so the water simmers. Place bowl with ingredients over it and stir constantly.

FOOD PROCESSOR: has become an integral part of modern cooking, speeding up a multitude of processes, including kneading dough; slicing; chopping; shredding cheese, vegetables, and meat; mincing garlic and parsley; mixing batters; and emulsifying mayonnaise. There are many models, but I happen to like the Cuisinart and use the larger model.

ICE CREAM SCOOP (DISHER), ALSO USED AS A COOKIE SCOOP: Portion amounts are measured by ice cream scoops, ideal for making uniformly sized cookies or muffins. They come in metal or plastic (metal is best) in different sizes with push-pull handle to easily drop ice cream or cookie dough on the pan.

Ice cream scoops are identified by number. 

If you don't know how much your scoop holds, fill it with water and then pour into a glass measuring cup to measure. For those without a scoop, to measure the equivalent of a #16 scoop, simply press the dough into a 1/4 cup measure, pull out and round it in your hand for the amount in the recipe.

IMMERSION BLENDER: I can't live without my Braun MultiQuick immersion blender. I use it for everything, from mixing purees to tempering chocolate. It does almost everything a regular blender does, but in a portable form. No more pouring cooked fruit from the pot to the blender and back again. It's perfect for cooling (by mixing) tempered chocolate or to make it smooth. The classic immersion blender is a single unit, which looks like a thick stick, with a removable metal blending / chopping blade. To get the blades spinning, grab the top portion and use your four non-thumbs to put pressure on the power button.

KITCHEN TIMER: Can use the timer from the microwave or stove. I use two free-standing ones because they are handier to use. One keeps track of the time when making a recipe, so I can be more accurate, leading to a better baked good. For example, when the White Velvet Cake Recipe says to "scrape the bowl and increase the speed to medium and beat 1 1/2 minutes", the timer is really handy. The other timer is used to keep track of the baking time. In case I have to move around the house while my recipe bakes, I also have a timer that I can wear around my neck! Make sure you check on your recipe half way through baking (look through the window, only) and then about ten minutes before the baking time is up!

KNIVES: Good to have: 8-inch cook's knife, an 8-inch carving knife, a 6-inch sandwich knife, an 8-inch serrated bread knife, a 5-inch serrated sausage knife, a 4-1/2-inch utility knife, and a 3-1/2-inch paring knife. Some also use a cleaver. You can spend lots of money on knives. If you have the money, Wüsthof are my favorite, but Henckels are great, too!

LADLE: I have several ladles, a couple for soupand a few small ones for dessert sauces. I purchased mine from the grocery store, but the small ones may have to be purchased online! Stainless steel is the best to buy because the grease cleans nicely from them.

Magi-Cake Strips slow down the edges of the cake baking faster than the middle so they both rise at the same rate. They are made from inflammable aluminized fabric on one side, with padding on the other, and are the width of a baking pan, long enough to encircle it. (For larger diameter pans, just pin two strips together - overlapping does not interfere with baking efficiency.) It is first moistened and then wrapped around the outside and pinned securely in place. The water evaporates during baking and the sides of the pan stay cool enabling the cake to bake at an even rate. After baking, remove strip, fold and store. Use again and again for perfectly even, level cakes. They can also be found at: americancakesupply.com or candylandcrafts.coms, plus other sources or you can make your own.

MANDOLIN: This is a very sharp hand-operated slicer used especially for making very thin slices. It usually comes with a variety of blades. Professional kitchens use stainless steel mandolins.

MARBLE: A marble countertop or slab stays several degrees colder than the air around it. It is perfect to use when making Candy or Pastry.