Like any tool you need to evaluate your personal baking needs. Are you going to baking cookies or lots of breads. If baking breads are in your future you will need a mixer that has more power and is geared slower. This does not necessarily mean more expensive. 

If you are going to do any type of breads and want to knead 2 loaves at a time you will need at least a 5 quart mixer. Look very closely at the maximum dry flour the mixer can handle. Then look at your recipes to make sure it will work for you. Also, check the wattage is there enough power to knead the dough. I feel the minimum for me was 500 watts. 

My loving husband searched for hours comparing different modals of stand mixers. We decided to get a very basic inexpensive stand mixer that would be a back up mixer incase our expensive dough mixer had issues. So this stand mixer needed to be at least a 5 quart mixer with at least 500 watts of power. 

With the current supply issues it took time and my first couple of choices were not available. We ended up buying an Ostba Stand Mixer. I have to say for $99.00 it's a 5.5 quart and 600 Watts. I am very pleased it has worked perfectly. It has plenty of power and is geared slow for kneading dough.  

For most bakers who just bake for their needs this is a fine little mixer. I need a second mixer that will handle larger amounts of dough that will hold up to everyday mixing. 

When my stand mixer finally quit on me I started searching for a new mixer. It can be overwhelming all the options and price points. Everyone's needs are different and that's where you should start when considering a new mixer. 

Once you have a few choices in your price range you need to get down to the details of the machine. The dough hook is vital in your kneading of the dough. There are two basic shapes, so what is the best shape to knead bread?

C-shaped dough hooks tend to ride up the hook or the sides of the bowl. That results in the gluten to develop uneven. You will have to constantly pull the dough back into place during the operation. 

​S-shaped dough hooks usually give you a much more even mix to the dough hence a more even gluten development. If all the other factors are the same like the power, quality and size. Go with the mixer that has more of an S-shape dough hook.

Now this is kind of a specialty item, but once you use one you will buy one. When I have my baking classes and the students work with this rolling pin they are amazed at how easy it is to roll perfect circles. You can get a nice one for around $10.00 so not an expensive item.

• Classic handle-free design.
• Tapering pin can be pivoted to create a perfect round of pastry.
• The pin is so slender and lightweight, you can easily flip the rolled dough over the wooden cylinder and ease it into a baking pan.
• Made of  a hardwood prized for its strength, smoothness and durability.

This is a tool that you will find so helpful to roll out anything you want to be round and not stick to the counter top. I use mine all the time of tortillas, pie crusts, calzones and pastries.

These pastry mats are made from silicone, and are marked for different sized pies. They are easy to clean and roll up for storage. They range in price from $10.00 to around $25.00.

I bought my press on Amazon for around $25.00 and well worth the price. The bran I happen to get is a Victoria 8 inch cast iron press.  I not only use it for tortillas, but for pressing out pie crusts for my miniature pies and calzones.

Mine is made of cast iron and does a good job of pressing the tortillas. The only issue is you still need to roll the tortillas to make them larger, but it does give you a good start.

Having good kitchen tools make baking so much more rewarding. I did not say it was inexpensive but you get what you pay for.

What you want in a muffin pan, is heavy duty and where the muffins just fall out when baked. This pan is everything you would ever want in a muffin pan. You can buy it on Amazon for around $22.00 - $30.00 depending on the sales they are having.

The pans are made in the USA

• Cupcake and Muffin Pan has 12 standard size wells; commercial grade and heavy gauge aluminized steel with a lifetime warranty
• USA Pan baking pans feature Americoat which promotes quick release of baked-goods plus fast and easy clean up; wash with hot water, mild soap and gentle scrub brush or sponge
• Nonstick Americoat coating - a patented silicone coating which is PTFE, PFOA and BPA free - provides quick and easy release of all baked-goods and minimal easy clean up
• Made in the USA; each cup measures 2.75 x 2.13 x 1.38 inch
• USA Pan is a Bundy family company which has proudly manufactured high quality bakeware and provided jobs in the USA for over 50 years

One of my favorite new gadgets this summer are my mini pie plates. I wanted to have something that I could use for chicken pot pies, or individual pies for desserts.

Most of the small pie pans on the market are expensive and larger than what I wanted. I ended up purchasing  a set of 10 made by Libbey. Amazon has them for $15.00, which is a pretty good price after looking around.

They are 4.9 inches in size, I know that sounds small but they are the perfect size for one serving. They are glass so will go from the freezer to the microwave which is handy if your item is frozen. I only bake with mine but you could find many uses for these small pie plates when entertaining.

Individual Pot Pies
Crust
A double 10 inch recipe will give you enough for the bottom and top crusts for 6 individual pies. If you have my cookbook just double the 10 inch crust recipe. You will need 100g of crust for each double crusted mini pie plate. The bottom crust is 60g of dough and needs to be rolled out to a diameter of 6 inches. The top will need to be rolled out to 5 inches and 40g of pie dough.

Filling
Each pie holds 1/2 a cup of filling. This will give you an idea of how much filling you will need to make.

All Clad stainless steel pans often have an inner core of aluminum or copper (and some have a copper-clad bottom). The reason this is done is because these two metals are very efficient heat conductors. The aluminum or copper is sandwiched between layers of steel and neither come in contact with the food.  I have a few of these of pans and I love them but, they are different to cook with. After reading this article by Rick Martinez Associate Food Editor at Bon Appetite I thought I would share some of his tips.

I make my flour tortillas in my large stainless pan and I notice that they cook very quickly around the edges and less in the middle. At first I thought well maybe the tortillas are thinner on the edges but, I have come to learn it's the pan.  I now understand how the pan cooks, also the stove you are cooking it on make a difference. I have gas and I know from experience it's totally different to cook with than an electric range.

According to Rick Martinez, the Associate Food Editor, It is recommended to take a few minutes and get to know your pans. To do this, take this simple test to find out where your hot and cold spots are on your pan. This will allow you to do a better job when preparing meals.

Here’s a simple test:
Fill your pot or pan with a few inches of water and bring it to a boil on high heat. Hot spots are the places where you will see rapid bubbling. The cold spots are the places where you will see only a few bubbles, or none at all. In my stainless pan it heats up quicker where the flames from the gas burner are in contact with the bottom of the pan, around the edges. It's  noticeably  colder in the center of the pan.

Any food cooked on a hotspot without turning, stirring, or tossing will eventually burn or stick to the pan. If this is a problem lower the heat on the burner and move the food around in the pan. Professional cooks shake their pans; this will move the food around in the pan, but also change the position of the pan over the heat and allow hot spots to cool and cool spots to heat.

Test out your pans and get to know what works best on your stove. I know now I will move my pan, and the ingredients more when cooking in my stainless steel pan.

Sources:
whfoods.org
Bon Appetite.com