Hello fellow followers / readers! It's been a while since I've updated you with a post here, on our blog. Apologies for that as the team has been extremely busy with online classes and what not. As for me, I've recently started tutoring and at the same time run this home bakery so it's been a pretty hectic time! But, fret not, on today's post, I'll be including some useful tips on what you need as a rookie baker who's venturing into baking for the first time! Here we go! Yay
So let's get the basics right: always decide what you'd like to bake before you go shopping. The main reason behind this is to avoid "over-buying" and hoarding onto things you don't actually need. Look up recipes, watch a couple videos (refer to previous posts for some of our recommended channels and pages) and then make a finalised list on what you need. Of course, before stepping out of the house, make a quick check in your kitchen or pantry to see what you already own and what you actually need to get.
After having done that, it's shopping time! Okay, so the one misconception about baking is that it's an expensive hobby. It actually, really isn't. The basics, and I mean B-A-S-I-C that you would need would typically be: 1. A Whisk
The thing about whisks is that, it is something worth considering investing in. This is because, I have had a few misfortunes in the past where I used to think that all whisks are the same, went over to a local grocer and bought this really cheap whisk only to have it breaking whilst I was whisking my sister's birthday cake batter #yikes Indeed, this is not ideal. I had to learn this the hard way. So what I ended up getting was something that was about RM40* and it lasts till now. You actually don't need to have multiple fancy whisks, as all of them do the same trick. Instead, get one durable and high-quality whisk and whisk your worries away #whoops
2. A Sieve
A sieve isn't actually necessary but if you like to have fine flour when baking (and don't feel like purchasing them as they're quite pricey), invest in a sieve. Because I bake quite a bit of chocolate-y stuff (fudgy brownies, dark chocolate brownies, chocolate cheese brownies), cocoa powder can actually be particularly clumpy and the best way to deal with this is to sieve it into the mixing bowl. I don't think this is something you NEED to have but investing in it is no harm. Good thing is, it doesn't cost much. I think the one we're using is under RM10*. So, yeah.
3. A Set of Measuring Cups
You do not understand just how useful these actually are. And guess what, with cups, you don't even need an electronic kitchen scale, coz you just head onto Google and convert gm, oz or others to cups. Invest in them! The set typically comes in a few sizes. The one we use here comprises of: 1/8 cup, 1/4 cup, 1/3 cup, 1/2 cup, 1 cup and 1/8 tbsp, 1/4 tbsp, 1/2 tbsp and 1 tbsp. How useful is that?
4. Mixer (hand or stand)
Here's a catch! With all of the things we have on our menu, we only have a 15 year old hand-mixer (I think the brand is Kenwood) which my parents got from an aunt from when they moved in. So, you'd be surprised at how little you actually need to invest in one. I think as a first-time baker, especially if you're trying out simple recipes, a whisk and a bowl would do the trick but this is something worth looking into if you hope to cover recipes like soufflé, or meringue in the future.
5. Ingredients
Hmm, this is really subjective and would differ according to recipe but I'd say, for any basic bake, you would need to have:
- Flour
- Sugar
- Butter
- Salt
- Vanilla essence
- Eggs
Just 6 things?
Mmhmm and you'd be surprised how many things these ingredients allow you to create in that kitchen of yours.
Well, there you have it! The basics you need to own as a rookie baker venturing into baking for the first time!
If you have any other suggestions to add to this, do leave a comment or DM us on Instagram as we'd loooove to hear from you!
Till next time, take care!
Love,
The @clumsybakerbakes Team
*Prices are subject to regional differences as I'm basing it in Alor Setar, Kedah hence might differ for you
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