Great British Bake Off - Bake it Better: Sweet Bread & Buns - Linda Collister (2016)

Baker’s Guide

Equipment

You don’t need lots of fancy equipment for bread-making, but good-quality essentials will make your life easier and give you more consistent results. Here is our list of the basics, plus a few extra bits of kit you might find useful.

BAKING PAPER

Non-stick baking paper and parchment paper are best for lining baking sheets and trays. Greaseproof paper has a waxy coating that doesn’t stand up so well to the heat of the oven.

BAKING SHEETS AND TRAYS

Baking sheets have only one raised edge for gripping, which means you’ll be able to slide your bread on and off it easily. Baking trays have sides all the way round. Buy at least one very heavy-duty sheet that won’t buckle or warp in a really hot oven.

BISCUIT CUTTERS

A nest of cutters in various sizes is ideal for cutting out individual bakes like scones and doughnuts (see here and here). Metal cutters will give you the cleanest edge.

BOWLS

If you’re buying new, a nest of small, medium and large bowls is ideal. For versatility, sturdiness (without being overly heavy) and durability, heatproof glass and stainless steel are good choices. They can be used for both cold and hot mixtures (such as when making crème pâtissière). Be aware, though, that stainless steel is not suitable for the microwave. Plastic bowls are cheaper and some have a built-in rubber base to help reduce wobble, although you can stabilise any bowl by placing a damp cloth underneath it. Plastic bowls are, however, quite lightweight and do feel less sturdy to work with. Ceramic bowls are pretty and can go in the dishwasher, but they break quite easily and can be heavy. Anodised aluminium bowls are very durable and will last a lifetime, but they can’t go in the microwave. A very large bowl with a snap-on lid is extremely useful for mixing and rising large batches of dough.

CLINGFILM OR TEA TOWELS

For covering dough and proving loaves. Use a clean, dry tea towel each time.

COOLING RACKS

A large wire cooling rack with legs is essential to let air circulate underneath cooling bread, preventing condensation and the dreaded ‘soggy bottom’. You can improvise with a grill-pan rack, but the finer wires on a cooling rack are more effective.

DOUGH SCRAPER

This is one of the cheapest, but definitely most useful pieces of kit for a bread maker. It should be sturdy but flexible, so that you can scoop or scrape up doughs (and clean bowls), as well as divide them for shaping.

FREE-STANDING MIXER OR FOOD-PROCESSOR

If you do a lot of baking, a large free-standing mixer or food-processor with an attachment for making dough will save a lot of time and energy. If possible, buy an extra bowl, as it helps when batch-baking, and a snap-on lid is a great help for rising and/or chilling doughs.

HEAVY-DUTY OVEN GLOVES

These are vital when baking bread and must always be kept dry. Don’t ever use a damp tea towel for loading/unloading the oven, as you can burn yourself.

KNIVES

A small, very sharp knife is used to slash the tops of some loaves before baking, while a large sharp knife is vital for chopping nuts and general slicing (as is a knife sharpener). A round-bladed knife is handy for cutting up butter, and for rubbing in. A long-bladed serrated bread knife is essential for slicing baked loaves, and kitchen scissors are useful for snipping the tops of loaves and rolls instead of slashing. A croissant rolling cutter is relatively inexpensive and will make shaping croissants (see here) much easier.

MEASURING JUGS

Pick a heat-resistant and microwave-safe jug with both metric and imperial measures, starting from 50ml or 100ml, and going up to 2 litres. A small jug or cup that measures from 1 teaspoon (5ml) up to 4 tablespoons (60ml) is a very useful extra. And remember that you can weigh water as well as measure its volume: 1ml = 1 gram. Some bakers prefer this method as it is the most precise.

MEASURING SPOONS

A set of measuring spoons is essential for measuring small amounts of liquids and dry ingredients such as salt and spices. Day-to-day teaspoons, dessertspoons and tablespoons can vary enormously in size and will give inconsistent results. Measuring spoons range from ⅛ teaspoon to 1½ tablespoons. Go for spoons with narrow ends that will fit into fiddly spice jars. Unless otherwise indicated, all spoon measures in these recipes are level - skim off any excess with a finger or the back of a knife.

OVEN THERMOMETER

Oven thermostats can be notoriously unreliable so use an oven thermometer to double-check your oven is the correct temperature and work out where the hot and cool spots are located.

PASTRY BRUSH

Pick a good-quality brush in a medium width for brushing on glazes or brushing away excess flour. Make sure it is heat resistant and dishwasher-proof.

PIPING BAGS

Disposable plastic piping bags in various sizes are available from most supermarkets and are used in this book mainly to decorate the breads, as in the Hot Cross Buns (see here). They are sometimes used with piping nozzles. Generally piping bags with non-slip exteriors are easiest to use. You can also find reusable nylon piping bags from specialist shops and suppliers. They are a little stronger and don’t have seams for the mixtures to leak through. Most can be rinsed and then washed inside out in very hot water. Always make sure they are completely dry before putting them away.

ROLLING PIN

Choose a long, fairly heavy one about 6-7cm in diameter; ones without handles are generally easier to use. Never leave it soaking in washing-up water and don’t put it in the dishwasher.

SCALES

Baking is a science, so it pays to be accurate. As you’ll be dealing with some quite small quantities, digital scales are preferable to spring or balance scales as they are much more precise and can weigh ingredients that are as little as 1g. You can add multiple items to one bowl simply by resetting the balance to zero after adding each ingredient. Keep a spare pair of batteries handy!

SIEVE

Essential for removing lumps from sugars and other ingredients, as well as for straining soaked fruit mixtures. A stainless steel wire sieve with a large bowl is the most versatile and should last longer than plastic. A smaller tea strainer-sized sieve is also useful for dusting bakes with icing sugar.

STORAGE CONTAINERS

Most sweet breads should be eaten the day they are baked, but larger loaves should be stored in a special bread bin or cake tin, rather than a sealed plastic box, as these can encourage the bread to sweat and turn mouldy. Store well away from sources of heat (radiators/sunlight/kitchen light fittings/fridge or cooker areas) as this encourages mould to develop.

TIMER

A digital kitchen timer with seconds as well as minutes and with a loud bell, is essential. Set it for a few minutes less than the suggested time in the recipe, especially if you are unsure of your oven temperature - you can always increase the cooking time.

TINS

Always select the correct size of tin, then wash and dry it carefully before you start. A good-quality heavy-duty tin should bake without scorching or warping in the heat of the oven, stay rust-free and last a lifetime.

Loaf tins are essential for making neat, brick-shaped breads. They’re available in a variety of sizes - 900g (about 26 × 12.5 × 7.5cm) is the most-used size. Silicone types won’t give a good crust and can be difficult to handle when filled with heavy dough.

Deep round sandwich tins are used for softer doughs, to keep them ‘confined’. A 20cm diameter tin is the most useful to start off with. A rectangular brownie tin will come in handy for baking pull-apart breads, such as the Chelsea Buns on here.

Springclip tins are deep metal tins with a spring release, a base that clamps in place when the clip is fastened, and a metal ring which lifts off when unclipped - they’re mainly used for cake-making but are also useful for baking pull-apart rolls.

Specialist tins are useful for recipes such as the Baked Mocha Doughnuts on here, for which you’ll need a doughnut mould tray. Muffin tins, usually with 12 holes, make it possible to bake individual buns. The Kugelhopf, Panettone and Brioche à Tête (see here, here and here) also use specialist tins. However, it is often possible to use standard tins instead (see the individual recipes for instructions on adapting regular tins). Although not technically a tin, a non-stick crumpet ring will help you create the perfect shape, and allows you to lift the cooked crumpet out of the pan easily (see here).

WOODEN SPOON

Wooden spoons are heat-resistant so are ideal for stirring mixtures over heat. It’s a good idea to keep ones for baking separate from those that are used for savoury cooking, as they can absorb strong flavours.