4 BAKING & PASTRY EQUIPMENT

Much of a baker’s art and craft involve simple tools. Learning to be skilled baker requires
developing a great deal of manual skill using these tool.

4.1 Equipment Sanitation & safety

Before we look at specific items, we must first consider points related to the use of equipment in
general.

A. Safety

 Baking equipmentcan be dangerous

 Can inflict serious injuries if not use carefully and properly
 Never use a piece of equipment until you are thoroughly familiar with its operation and
all its features.
 Remember that not all models are alike
 Study the operating manual supplied with each item.
 Or to be taught by someone who already know that item well

B. Sanitation
 Thorough , regular cleaning of all equipment is essential
 Most large equipment can be partially disassembled for cleaning
 Read the operating manual
 Get information from someone who knows the equipment

4.2 Large Equipment

 Mixers
 mixers of various types are essential tools in the bakeshop
 Two Main Types :
 Is the most common type used in baking as well as in cooking
 Have 3 main mixing attachments :
 Paddle - flat blade used for general mixing
 Wire whip – used for such tasks as beating eggs foams and creams
 Dough arm or dough hook – used for mixing and kneading yeast
 Spiral Mixer
 Are designed for doughs and heavy batters and are used primarily for
making large quantity of yeast doughs for breads and bagels
 Do not have interchangeable bowls and agitator arms
 Ovens
 The workhorses of the bakery and pastry shop and are essential for producing
breads, cakes, cookies, pastries, and other baked items.
 Common kinds :
 Deck Oven
 Items to be baked – either on sheet pans or, in case of some breads,
freestanding – are placed directly on the bottom, or deck, of the oven
 Also called stack ovens
 Rack Oven
 A large oven into which entire rack full of sheets pans can be wheeled for
baking
 Normally holds 8 to 24 full – size sheet pans
 Mechanical Oven
 The food is in motion while it bakes
 The most common type is a revolving oven
 Convection Oven
 Contains fans that circulate the air and distribute the heat rapidly
throughout the interior
 Microwave oven
 Uses electric to generate microwave radiation, which cooks or reheats foods very
quickly
 Proofer
 Maintain the most desirable environment for yeast growth
 Reach in refrigerators
 May be single unit or part of bank units
 Holds foods on the line at the proper temperature
 Ice cream machines
 Have a motor that either turns the paddle within the cooling chamber or rotates
the chamber around the paddle
 The bowl is usually removable and must be frozen at least 12 hours before use
 Can produce up to a quart / liter of ice cream per batch
 Blender
 Consists of a base, which houses the motor, and a removable lidded jar with a
propeller – like blade set in the bottom
 Jars are made of stainless steel, plastic or glass and come in several sizes
 Excellent in puréeing, liquefying and emulsifying foods because the tall narrow
shape of the jar keeps the food circulating and in close contact with the blade
4.3 Scales and measuring tools

 A. Scales
 Must be used correctly to be effective
 Weigh only the ingredient, not the ingredient and the container holding it
 Before using any scale, you must take certain steps to account for the weight of
containers.
This process is known as setting a scale to tare or setting it to zero
 Spring scales
 Have a platform set on top of a pedestal that contains a spring mechanism for
weighing and a dial indicator on the front
 To tare a spring scale, place the container for measuring the ingredients on the
scale and turn the dial so that the pointer or arrow is aligned with zero
 Are designed to read in any number of increments
 Some are very sensitive and can measure small amounts, while others are made so
they only measure in large increments.
 Digital scales
 Have a stainless platform set on a electronic base with digital display
 Capable in measuring very small amounts typically have a smaller total capacity
 To tare, you press a button to reset the scale to zero
 Most digital scales can switch between metric and U.S standard measuring system
 B. Volume Measure
 Graduated pitchers or breakers and measuring cups and spoons
 Commonly used in bakeshop to measure liquids and pourable ingredients (eggs,
molasses, corn syrup, for example)
 Pitcher and cups are scales off with lines or markings to show varying measures
 Clear pitchersand cups are easy to fill accurately
 For the most accurate results, use the smallest measure possible to measure
ingredients, place the vessel on a level surface and bend down to take the reading
at eye level
 Measuring spoons ahould be filled to the rim
 Don’t fill over the bater or other mixture, in case you accidentally over pour
 Dry Measuring Cups
 Commonly used in recipes written for gthe home baker
 They are used to measure small amounts of certain dry ingredients, such as salt,
spices, and baking soda
 To use measuring cups and spoons for dry ingredients, overfill the measure, and
then use a straight edge, such as the side of a metal spatula, to scrape the excess
away ; the ingredient shoukd fill the measure evely up to the rim
4.4 Cutting Tools

A. Knives

 A basic knife collection includes four essential knives; a chef’s or French

knife, a utility knife, a paring knife, and a slicer, as well as a number of
special knives and cutting tools for specific purposes.
 A sharp tool not only performs better but is safer to use, because less pressure
is required to cut through the ingredient.
 Always use an appropriate cutting surfaces, wooden or composition cutting
boards are best
 Cutting on metals, glass or mable surfaces will dull and eventually damage the
blade of a knife
 Clean knives thoroughly immediately after using them with soap and hot
water
 Sanitiza the entire knife, including the handle, bolster, and blade, as necessary,
so that it will not cross contaminate food.
 Dry knives carefully before storing them or using them again.
 To pass a knife safely to someone, present it with the handle toward the other
person
 Whenever you carry a knife from one area to another, hold the knife blade
point down, with the sharpened edge facing you, and let people know you are
passing by with something sharp
 When you lay a knife down on a work surface, be sure that no part of it
extends over the edge of the cutting board or waork table.
 Never try to catch a falling knife.

B. Types of Knives
 Chef’s or French knife
 Are all – purpose knives used for a variety of chopping, slicing and mincing tasks
 The blade is usually 8 to 14 in / 20 to 36cm long with a straight edge
 Look for a high – carbon stainless steel blade, a full tang, good balance, and a
handle that fits your hand comfortably
 Utility Knife
 Similar to chef’s knives except that they are smaller and lighter, for light cutting
chores
 Their blades are generally 5 to 7 in / 13 to 18cm long
  Paring knife
 A short knife used for preparing and trimming vegetables and fruits
 Blades are 2 to 4 in / 5 to 10cm long
 Comes in different shapes: pointed, bird beak, tourney, and sheep’s foot
 Slicer
 Used to slice breads, cakes and pastries
 Blades are long and thin and can range in length from 8 to 12 in / 20 to 30cm
 Have variety of edges
 Bread knives and other serrated slicers are excellent for slicing foods with
relatively spongytexture, such as most breads and some cakes
 Slicing blades with straight edges are used to slice delicate pastries and cakes
 Typically 10 to 12 in 25 to 30cm long. Some have offset handles
 Mandolin
 Can cut large amount of food quickly into uniform slices or strips of varying
thickness
 Made of nickel – plated stainless steelcwith blades of high carbon steel
 Can be used to make such as slices, julienne, gaufrettes, and bâtonnetes
 Kitchen Scissors or shears
 Should be made of heavy duty stainless steel and come apart easily for cleaning
 Used is décor for sugar work, in confections for making hard candies, and in
bread making to score and shape loaves

4.5 Other Small Tools

 Graters
 Made of metal perforated with openings that shred away pieces of an ingredient
 The openings range in size from very small, for granting nutmeg, to large, for
granting moister foods that might otherwise fall apart
 Some graters are flat, others have a curve surface or in box
 Citrus Zester
 Small hand tool consisting of a metal head attached to handle
 As head is passed over the citrus fruit, the cutting edges remove the outer layer of
colored zest but leave behind the bitter white pith.
 Rasp
 A long (approximately 12 in / 30cm) Flat piece of stainless steel with small
perforations.
 Some have handles well suited for zesting as well as finely grating chocolate and
hard cheese.
 Swivel – blade peelers
 Lemon reamer
 Apple corer
 Spoons
 May be made of metal, wood, or composite materials.
 Some spoons have deep bowls, others are flat, and more like a paddle.
 Slotted or perforated spoons are used to life foods out of liquids.
 Spiders and Skimmers
 Operate on a similar principle as spoons but are very wide and quite flat and have
a very long handle
 Paddle
 Used in chocolate and confection work.
 They scapre clean easily, making easier to work with mixtures that requires
careful blending and temperature control, such as chocolate.
 Tongs
 Act as an extension of your thumb and forefinger to lift, turn and transfer hot food
or other objects.
 Whips or Whisk
 Loops of stainless – steel wire fastened to a handle
  Used for mixing and blending and whipping foams

 Rubber Spatula
 Used to scrape mixtures from bowls and into baking pans, to push foods through
sleeves
 Have a flexible head of synthetic rubber, silicone, or similar material on the end
of a handle
 The head is shaped for a specific function and may be narrow or broad, with a
pointed, angled, or blunt tip; some have notch on one side for cleaning the rims of
bowls.