Top 10 Must-Have Tools for a Pastry Chef
I remember my first years as a pastry chef (or better said, as a complete beginner) that I lacked pretty much all essential tools for a proper preparation of desserts. But I dreamt of having all sorts of pieces of equipment and tools, I imagined having them would make my life easier. Which is true to some extent. Just that in the last couple of years, I realized that not having all these tools actually forces you to be creative, to adapt and find ways to achieve what you want without someone ever knowing what you had to improvise in order to reach your final goal. I no longer dream of tools. Instead, I ask myself – Is this really worth it, am I gonna use it a lot or am I buying it because it looks cute or it has a nice colour or it is just tempting to buy it?! More often than not, the answer is I don’t need it. So it remains on the shelf, whereas in the past I would have most likely bought it.
I learnt that good quality tools however are far more important than dozens of tools that are useless or break after one use. So if I do need something, I invest in either the original or a more expensive version. And this is an a piece of advice I keep giving to my students – less is more with pretty much anything in the pastry world, from tools to flavors and decor.
Here is a list with the must have tools of a pastry chef or at least the ones I consider essential:
- Kitchen scale
The reason this tool is on the first place in this list is the fact that pastry tends to be quite strict when it comes to quantities. I get a lot of questions on the blog regarding the lack of cup/tablespoons measurements, but there is a reason beyond that. I am not saying cups are wrong for a home baker – they tend to yield results that are most often ok. The trouble with them is the lack of consistency – perhaps I have a different cup than yours or a different tablespoon and so on. So even though I use the same cup recipe, my result will be different not only from your result, but also from my previous cake made using the exact same recipe. My point is that using cups makes us more susceptible to mistakes. And I am one who likes to rely on her recipes. It’s what this blog is known for at the end of the day!
2. Thermometer – knowing when that sugar syrup is done or when the chocolate is in temper might be tricky without this tool. At least as a beginner. So a thermometer is essential so you don’t miss the key moment of readiness. There’s plenty to choose from:
- probe thermometer – which is considered for general use. You can easily check the temperature of creme anglaise or chocolate. It’s easy to use and pretty straight forward. I tend to prefer the ones that have the probe attached to the electric part with a wire. I find them to me no necessarily more reliable, but lasting more due to the electric part not standing in the way of heat and steam.
- sugar thermometer – perfect for sugar syrup and other sugar work, this particular thermometer is specific to a certain use, therefore not the one I would buy as a beginner. Its temperature measurements usually start at over 60C, therefore cannot be used for chocolate or other applications under 60C.
- infrared thermometer – this is my go-to temperature measuring tool for chocolate. It is quick and reliable, but it can be used on opaque surfaces, such as chocolate or glazes.
3. Silicone spatulas
I know licking the bowl is fun, we all did it as kids, but as a professional, I know that every drop of ingredients or batter or cream matter, so there is no waste if you have a good silicone spatula to take the shape of your bowl and clean everything.
4. Heat resistant bowls
Crucial for cooking over a water bath, heat resistant bowls could be either glass or inox. I prefer metallic ones as they heat quicker and stay hot shorter. This feature is useful for most applications on a hot water bath. However, pay extra attentio when using these bowls in the microwave.
5. Angle spatulas
One of my sturdiest tools is my good old angled spatula. Great for moving cakes from a tray to their boards, great for smoothing out cream or just decorating cupcakes, amazing and useful for final touches as well or for creating chocolate decorations. It’s one of the most useful tools a pastry chef could have in their briefcase.
6. Whisk
Show me a pastry chef who can live without a whisk! It’s impossible and for good reason – the whisk is the go tool whenever you need to introduce air into a mixture, it’s the best tool for ensure proper combining of the ingredients and can even be used for sugar decorations if you trim it. Sure, it does not compare to a mixer in speed and efficiency, but hey… decades ago only whisk existed and pastry chef still managed!
7. Mixer
I would say a stand mixer definitely makes your life easier, but for a good couple of years I only had a hand mixer and I managed just fine. It is compulsory for kneading dough, for mixing quickly and efficiently all sorts of foams, for creaming and for emulsifying.
8. Hand blender
A couple of years ago I would have said a blender is pointless in the briefcase of a pastry chef, but nowadays I couldn’t live without it! It’s my go-to tool whenever I need to emulsify something or when I need to remove air bubbles in my glaze. I prefer using Bamix because it’s the safest way to a air bubble free glaze or ganache, but any hand blender would make a great addition to your tool case.
9. Round cookie cutters
Perhaps you would think you don’t need round cookie cutters as you don’t make cookies, but actually I use these for a couple of things in the pastry lab, from chocolate decorations to cutting out craquelin, as well as cutting out the sponges for my petit gateaux and so on. I prefer having a set of different sizes on hand, it’s so much easier to store and use!
10. Pastry bags and nozzles
I feel like pastry bags and nozzles are getting a little underrated these days, but they are still my best friends. I recommend buying those single use pastry bags to avoid having to sanitize them after use and in terms of nozzles, definitely buy a set of at least 3 different sizes, both plain and star nozzles.
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