How to choose your pastry utensils?

To bake at home like a real chef, it is important to have the right pastry utensils. What do you need to have in your kitchen? What material should you choose for your baking utensils? Here are our tips for making the best pastries with peace of mind.

The basic material for pastry making

Pastry utensils and their names

If there is one essential tool in pastry making, it is the whisk, whether manual or electric. To make all kinds of pastry, a whisk is a must. Choose one that is large enough and has an ergonomic handle.

What other utensils should you have in your kitchen?

You need a beginner’s baking kit which consists of :

a maryse: this is a kitchen spatula with a long handle and a flexible rectangular head called a palette. This accessory allows you to mix preparations delicately, without making the dough fall back. It can be used to scrape bowls efficiently. It is also used to “macarone”, i.e. to mix the meringue and the almond powder-icing sugar mixture called “tant pour tant”.
a horn: in the shape of a half-moon, it is used to transfer compact preparations, to fill pastry bags or to smooth a pastry bag. It can also be used to spread creams, to scrape a work surface, to knead and to cut dough.
a colander and a sieve: for washing, sieving and filtering. These two kitchen accessories are simply indispensable.
a roller: to roll out your pasta
a grater: to harvest the zest of your favourite citrus fruits.
a hand blender: to emulsify evenly.
of pans
an oven
a baking mat
a non-stick pan
a pastry brush
a cul-de-poule: this is a cooking bowl that is particularly suitable for preparing your dishes. They are available in glass, plastic, copper, aluminium or stainless steel. Glass bowls have the advantage of being versatile. They can be used both as a bowl for baking and as a pretty salad bowl.

The ideal professional baking kit

To make demanding desserts, you will need to equip yourself with professional pastry utensils such as :

pastry rings, which come in several categories. The most commonly used is the dessert ring, which is often round and about 3 cm high. With it, you will be able to bake bavarois and other mousse-based cakes perfectly. The pie ring is lower and its perforated version allows you to obtain crispy pastries. The 6 cm high vacherin ring is suitable for all high pastries. The nonette creates individual circles and also serves as a cutter.
cookie cutters or decoupage cutters: allow you to cut a pastry into the shape of your choice. They are generally sold in sets offering several shapes: round, rectangular, fluted, oblong or fancy (star, fir tree etc.)
a disposable or reusable piping bag with a set of tips. These conical bags with tips, known as sockets, allow you to make beautiful decorations on your cakes. There are different types of openings for your tips: flat, star-shaped, round, toothed… and different diameters.
a thermometer, particularly useful when working with chocolate
a food processor ideal for mixing, blending, emulsifying, crushing, grinding, beating egg whites… in record time.

How to choose the right kitchen and pastry tools?

Different materials for baking utensils

Baking accessories are available in a variety of materials: stainless steel, glass, plastic, silicone, aluminium, Teflon, ceramic, stainless steel and cast iron.

Each material has its advantages: Teflon offers a non-stick coating, glass is hygienic and durable, silicone is light and flexible, cast iron is very suitable for cooking…

To find your way through this offer, adapt the material to the use of your utensil. For example, if you decide to buy a food processor, ask yourself beforehand what you want to use it for. A plastic food processor will be reserved for occasional use, whereas a stainless steel processor will be more suitable for regular use. Another case: for optimal demoulding of your desserts, silicone moulds are more appropriate than stainless steel ones.

The best pastry utensils for health

A healthy utensil is above all one that interacts as little as possible with the food. In this respect, the material that wins the day is undoubtedly glass. It is non-porous and does not retain stains or odours. So there is no transfer of flavour between the container and the contents, whether you use your glass dishes in an electric, gas or microwave oven.

A healthy utensil for humans is also a well-washed dish. Here too, glass is the winner, as it is very easy to clean and is dishwasher safe, even at high temperatures.

Finally, if you want to bake with healthy utensils, choose materials such as stainless steel or glass, which are free of components that are harmful to humans. Also, make sure you choose utensils that do not emit any toxic substances when heated up. Glass conducts heat very well and does not become toxic at high temperatures.