The Ultimate Baker’s Kitchen

For those that love to bake or aspire to become a superb baker, having the right kitchen  is vital. Here are tips for the ultimate baker’s kitchen.

First, you’ll need space for all the delectables you’ll be creating. This generally equates to a decent amount of counter space, as everything requires room for mixing and then placing the batter on the pan. Having at least enough space for 3 cookie sheets and 1-2 bowls should suffice. This ensures you’ll be able to make multiple sets of cookies at once, or even have room to knead dough on the counter.

To have the best counter, you’ll want a material that is able to handle heat, scratches from cooking wear, and repels liquid. If you often bake items that require a sharp knife, then a material that can withstand that is important as well. Depending on what you bake more, certain types of counters will weather better than others, but generally, many home bakers have stainless steel, butcher’s block or marble (just for pastries or sugar work) counter tops.

Next is the highly- favored double oven. This lets you bake more than one set of baked goods at once. It’ll also let you bake goods (say, cookies) in one oven and dinner or different treats (like cupcakes) in the other since you can set them at different temperatures with separate timers and settings.  For those that can’t afford a double oven, whether it be for monetary or space reasons, then find an oven that has multiple settings and enough room for at least two baking sheets. Having a self-cleaning button is also helpful.

Bakers often accumulate lots of pans, molds, and other assorted cookware. This can lead to any last bit of storage space being taken up by the multitudes of supplies you have. One easy solution is creating small shelves or holders on the side walls of your closet, or getting a shelf unit that hangs onto doors. Another creative idea is utilizing the space under cabinets. The cabinets above your counters have space below them where you can place holders to slice molds and pans into. You can also use that extra space between your floor cabinets and the ground to add drawers (if the architecture permits) to slide them into.

To have the ultimate baker’s kitchen, you’ll also want a massive fridge to hold all your ingredients and finished products. French door fridges are becoming very popular for the space they have in the fridge and freezer portions. The fridge lets you have lots of things on the doors , with everything eye height, while the pull out freezer gives you space for bigger baked goods to fit.

Stainless steel sinks are great, especially when there is one deep basin and a smaller one for scraps. Having a detachable sprayer is also great for easy cleaning of dirty dishes.

Trashcans are another big issue. One creative solution is placing them in a pull-out drawer. If you have an island, having the trashcan drawer on the end is a great and easy way to clean everything from the space. Even if it’s inside a counter, this is wonderful as you can just wipe the mess off the top and into the trash. Another way to hide it is placing it inside your counter or island and having a hole above where it’s placed. You’ll still need a drawer to to empty the trash when it’s full, but this won’t cause you to pull the drawer out each time to clean.