A baker's armour

Photo for representational purpose

The lockdown may have rained on our parade this year, but let's give this extraordinary year some credit. For one, it inspired the unlikeliest of us to don our chef hats and get cracking in the kitchen. Social media timelines have been flooded with a deluge of beautifully baked goodies from cakes, soufflés, meringues and tarts these past eight months. With Christmas a few weeks away, and with baking mania continuing to lure amateurs cooks, we invited three city-based home bakers to share an essential toolkit on the must-have equipment to kickstart your journey.

Weigh it right
Malad-based home baker Tamara D'Lima emphasises the importance of investing in a digital kitchen weighing scale. "The art of baking requires you to be precise with measuring your ingredients. A digital weighing scale not only helps you thrive for perfection with any recipe at hand, but also allows you to maintain consistency and standardise every batch you make," shares D'Lima. Baking is a game of math that the digital scale can help you ace.
Cost: Rs 500 onwards
Log on to: amazon.in

Mix it up
Needa Khan, head pastry chef at Chantilly - The Cafe in Bandra, encourages any serious, aspiring bakers to get themselves a KitchenAid Stand Mixer. "It is a fantastic investment. The reason simply being that it enables one to multitask. You can leave your eggs to whip or butter to cream while you get started on other components of your recipe. This is especially important during the learning stages when one lacks the organisation and speed that comes eventually with practice, which then translates into skill," shares Khan. For bakers running against the clock, this could be a good bet.
Cost: Rs 30,000 onwards
Log on to: kitchenaid.in

Don't beat the heat
Rohan Agnani, owner of Bandra's Chubby Baker & Co stresses the importance of an oven thermometer. "Most home bakers use non-digital ovens with manual thermostats. The preheating temperature printed on these ovens does not match the temperature inside it, leading to bad bakes. Either your cake will rise too quickly and fall causing a depression or burst. When you preheat the oven, place the thermometer inside. In 15 minutes, it will give you an accurate reading of whether the internal temperature matches the one printed outside," Agnani signs off.
Cost: Rs 350 onwards
Log on to: amazon.in

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