Tools You Need When Baking With Yeast

For basic breads and general yeast baking, the tools I have are quite rudimentary. The Bench Scraper is of the most value to me and performs many functions. I couldn't get by without it. A large bowl is needed, but with some very old time bread makers, even that is a tossup ;-) I know of a few who still do the "well in the flour" method of mixing right on the bench. But I'll put Large Bowls on the list because a nice vessel is needed for rising your dough. I also use a small plastic bowl for Yeast Proofing. I keep a pack of Utility razor blades on hand for slashing loaves when needed. And I have a large metal spoon I like a lot.

I don't own a food processor. For me, more trouble than they're worth. And they eat up valuable counter space. I don't own a bread machine. Cherished by many, I never got into them during the initial craze. Most people that I know who own them or who have owned them now have them pushed into some storage closet, or have put them into their garage sales. Recently I got two "adoption offers" for the clunky devices and I declined.

I do own a Stand Mixmaster (a 1967 model inherited from my grandmother), but I find it's really only useful for some very wet doughs that are too troublesome to mix with bare hands, like for some Artisan Breads. I do almost always use it for cakes though. I did try a standard bread dough in the Mixmaster once - what a disaster and it was more trouble in the cleanup than it was worth. The dough went right up the hooks and started crawling up the head housing. Probably because I didn't know enough at that time about how to control the speed for that dough type. So now the "dough hooks" sit in the far reaches of the kitchen junk drawer.

Once the posts here get going, I'll be doing a Basic Yeast Dough Primer to help you get over the fears of yeast baking and understand the process.

So here's the Basic Tools List:

2 Large Bowls (can be Stainless, Glass, Plastic, Ceramic etc)
1 Small Plastic Bowl
Measuring Cups for both Liquid and Dry Measure
Bench Scraper
Single Edge Razor Blade
Large Mixing Spoon of some sort
Spoon Measures - Teaspoon, Tablespoon etc
Loaf Pan or Cookie Sheet
Parchment Paper for when using Cookie Sheets
**Any Working Surface Except Concrete ;-)

2 Large Bowls - One for mixing, one for rising. You can get away with one large bowl if you are pretty quick in getting it washed out. You can then use the same Large Bowl twice.

1 Small Plastic Bowl - for proving your yeast if you choose to use Active Dry. For the majority of stuff, I'll be using Instant Yeast. I emphasize plastic here for beginners because plastic will be comfortable to the touch right out of the cupboard, not cold like stainless or ceramic. Many recipes say "empty packet of yeast into 3/4 cup warm water". Well, if you use a stainless bowl for proving the yeast and the bowl is cold (as stainless usually is) you will sometimes lose as much as 10 degrees of your water temperature during the liquid transfer. And since we want to maintain a warm and cozy environment during our Yeast Dough process, Stainless or glass (can also be cold) is not ideal for this step. A 2 cup plastic liquid measuring cup would be good here, since there is no liquid transfer from measuring cup to bowl.

I saw one web video putting active dry yeast right into the bottom of a large Stainless Mixmaster bowl and adding water. For a yeast dough beginner, the Recipe for Disaster starts right here. The cold temperature of the Stainless bowl, along with the increased surface area of the exposed liquid because of the large volume of the bowl only aids in dropping your water temperature rapidly. As a result, the cold dough may rise very, very slowly, or maybe even not at all because the active dry yeast was not given proper time to bloom in a liquid.

So two factors are at work against the yeast beginner here. It's no wonder there are cries of failure, and "No, No, No Yeast!". Grandmothers are not around so much anymore to teach novices like they used to, and there is commercial sabotage at work with that video I saw, making the beginner buy more and more yeast ;-)

Hopefully the babbling I have done about the small bowl issue will help you make sense of the need for it. For in many recipes, there is that statement of "dissolve yeast in small bowl of warm water". The recipe authors aren't trying to make things hard on you, they're just using the old tried and true method that's really foolproof once you understand the reason for it.

Measuring Cups for both Liquid and Dry Measure - Liquid and dry measures are just a bit different in their volume. For very basic single and double loaf recipes, not what I would call extremely critical. Let's just call a cup a cup. But if you ever get into larger 5 loaf batches, the differences will be apparent. For larger batches, a scale is preferable anyway.

Bench Scraper - the most important tool I have and I use it for anything from beginning my kneading process to scraping the dried gunk off the work surface during cleanup. They are available from restaurant supply houses and have now made re-appearances at places like Macy's and K Mart. A Stainless plain blade is preferred. I picked my new one up at a restaurant supply house for about $8. Not to worry too much about with kitchen safety. It's a plain squared edge rather than a knife blade type of tool. Still, care should be taken in keeping this out of the hands of small children.

Not recommended - the Rachel Ray version of the bench scraper. In the attempt to offer a unique tool, it's a real gaff when it comes to baking. The silly thing has angled metal sides and will effectively put dents your nice dough if you scoop up a large piece. Get a plain old blade bench scraper and save the Rachel Ray version for catching the green peas rolling around on your cutting board.

Single Edge Razor Blade - I buy them in a box of 5 at the drug store or one of the Mart places. They are used for scoring loaves when needed. There is a tool available for scoring called a Lame, basically kind of a blade on a stick holder. Personally, I just find the razor blade more convenient. Everybody has to make a buck I guess.

I have heard that a "Tomato Knife" can work very well for slashing, but I haven't really shopped around for one yet.

Spoon Measures - Teaspoon, Tablespoon etc - I don't use them too much anymore for very small quantity additions, but always good to have on hand. Check out your local dollar store.

Loaf Pan or Cookie Sheet - Things to bake in and on ;-) For cookie sheets, make sure you have some good thickness in the metal. Flimsy sheets will warp n the oven at very high temps, and they'll go BOING!

Parchment Paper for when using Cookie Sheets - The best thing next to sliced white bread ;-) but just a lightly greased cookie sheet will work too. I like using Parchment myself.

**Any Working Surface Except Concrete ;-) - Well, your probably asking, what, no exotic marble slabs or silicon pastry mats? No, not at all. In fact, a marble slab the worst thing ever here, because it will cool your dough down too much. And we want to keep things Warm and Cozy, right? A nice wood surface suited for baking is ideal, but I have worked on Stainless and Granite too.

One of the fears in attempting Yeast Doughs is in thinking that you need some exotic rolling surface or area. You don't. You do need area in square footage though, in an ideal world, 24 x 36 inches. But smaller than that will work too, like 18 x 24 inches. What you do need is a surface that is nonporous, so no concrete sidewalks please. A kitchen table will work, a kitchen counter will work, a kitchen island will work. I use an old computer table with a laminate surface that has been converted to a baking bench. The laminated surface is just fine for yeast doughs. Here's the BIG SECRET - Yeast doughs are all in all more forgiving than pie crusts or roll out cookie doughs. I like my laminate surface table because the surface stays relatively warm and is hospitable to the yeast doughs. I save the silicon mats and marble slabs for pie shells and puff pastry, totally different processes where the doughs must be kept as cold as possible.

If your work surface is just very, very cold, like a cold stainless surface in a cold air conditioned room, turn your air conditioning off and briefly warm the surface with a hair dryer before transferring dough to the table. This is really only for extreme cases. Lay the bottom of your bare forearm on the work surface. Does the coldness startle you? Do you feel like you've just partially landed on the uncovered part of a cold doctor's table? If your work surface is reasonably comfortable to the touch as far as temperature, really then, you're good to go. The action of working your dough during the kneading process will help maintain the Warm and Cozy feel.

If you have success with Yeast Doughs and want to continue your adventure, here are some items you will want to add to your Tools List. As you can see, nothing really exotic or terribly expensive here.

Tools to Add As You Make Progress


A Reasonably Accurate Kitchen Scale
Rolling Pin (Plain old wood is best - save the marble ones for the Puff Pastry)
Pizza Wheel (Rolling Cutter)
Scissors
Offset Spatula (for spreading fillings)
A Ruler (I have a nice plastic one with no ridges)
Baking Stone
Spray Bottle
Pastry Brush
Timer

A Reasonably Accurate Kitchen Scale - If you are doing double loaf recipes, the best way to ensure even baking is by accurate splitting. I can usually guesstimate the weight split using simple hand to hand comparison, but I like using the scale. When doing Rolls and Buns, a scale is invaluable for getting 3 ounce dough portions. My scale is quite old, circa 1968, with an old needle indicator, so I really don't know what's out on the market these days. Mine will handle up to 25 lbs. I just like it and right now I don't feel the need to run out and buy a new one. For the casual baker, get one with at least a 5 pound capacity. If you think you'll be REALLY ambitious, go for a larger capacity if available.

Rolling Pin - For yeast doughs plain old wood is best. Save the fancy marble and stainless ones for the Puff Pastry. Really, you don't need anything exotic here like precision bearings or self propelled motors. That's only product marketing people at work trying to rebuild the mousetrap. Check the discount store. In a pinch, for the amount of rolling you will ever encounter, a clean wooden dowel will work, and in one case at a friend's I used an empty plastic mayonnaise jar. She wanted a bread lesson for a certain dough technique, but had no rolling pin.

I now have a nice French Pin. In the care of your rolling pin, never let it soak in the dishwater or put it in the dishwasher. The wood cells will expand, it will become porous over time, and the pin will become more prone to sticking. If there's ever any gunk on your pin (there really shouldn't ever be in rolling yeast dough, though) just gently scrape the pin down with the bench scraper, get it in and out of the water quickly, and wipe dry.

Pizza Wheel (Rolling Cutter) - I usually use the Bench Scraper for rough divisions of dough, but if doing things like individual Danish or croissants, the Pizza Wheel is your friend. Will also be good for cutting those great pizzas you'll be making!

Scissors - A reasonably sharp pair reserved for kitchen use only. Blades should be minimum of about 4 inches. You don't need surgical grade here.

Offset Spatula (for spreading fillings) - Wilton's makes a nice one for a few dollars and they're available at Michael's Craft Stores. Just go to the Cake Decorating area. It is made primarily for frosting cakes, and it's the best things for doing the sides because the handle is offset from the blade. It's one of my favorite tools.

A Ruler (I have a nice plastic one with no ridges) - the lack of ridges is great when washing. I use two different versions of a Quilter's Ruler depending on the job. But any washable linear measuring device will be fine. I have never gotten a ruler gunked up during yeast baking, but sometimes the doughs can be a little bit sticky or have oily residuals.

Baking Stone - Constant and even heat will give you a beautiful bottom. And that's what we all strive for, right? For very basic breads and pasties, you don't need a stone. For Artisan loaves with exotic crusts, etc, you may want to make that investment in the future.

Spray Bottle - A water spray can be helpful at times for moistening doughs etc. DO NOT USE EMPTY SPRAY CLEANER BOTTLES. Go to the discount store and see if you can find a new one for a buck. One that has a Stream spray option is good, otherwise a standard one is fine. I got a nice one from a drugstore in the section where they sell the Travel Items like soap holders etc.

Pastry Brush - I have seen Pastry Brushes go for ridiculous dollars from some specialty suppliers. Again, check the discount stores. I use a nice old trim painting brush I got at a hardware store many, many years ago. When I first got it, every time I did the dishes, I washed the brush to get out any residuals. After a dozen washes I deemed it safe for my uses. I don't know if I would trust a hardware store brush today because of all of the chemical problems with Chinese manufactured imports of recent years. You will be brushing mainly butter and eggwashes. I have seen new silicon brushes on the market, but really I think I would still prefer my old fashioned hardware store brush. See what's out there for you.

Timer - Just a plain old dial timer is fine. Easier in the kitchen than fiddling with electronics.

So there you have it, the basic tools you'll need, along with additions to the list should you with to pursue things further after the upcoming Project Loaves. Any cook or baker loves gadgets. I do too, but I find that in doing yeast doughs, I rely less and less on fancy tools and pay more attention to learning and the process. For me, that's where the real fun and satisfaction is. And it's also simplicity at it's best.
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