MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT - Thermometers

Thermometers have many uses in the bakery, and there are many types of specialized thermometers. The sugar thermometer, also called a candy thermometer, is one of the most important. It is used for measuring the temperature, and hence the concentration, of boiling sugar syrups.

The chocolate thermometer is used for tempering chocolate. 

Other thermometers measure the temperature of bread doughs, frying fat, and the interiors of ovens, refrigerators, and freezers (to check the accuracy of the equipment’s thermostat).

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MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT - Silicone mat

Flexible fiberglass mat coated with nonstick silicone, used to line baking sheets. Available to fit full and half-size sheet pans. Also used in sugar work.

They withstand temperatures up to about 480°F (250°C) and can be reused indefinitely if well cared for and not folded or creased. There are several manufacturers of silicone mats, but they are often known by one brand name, Silpat.

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HAND TOOLS - Rolling Pins

Many types of rolling pins are used in the bakeshop for rolling out doughs. Perhaps the most versatile pin, used for most general rolling tasks, is simply a solid hardwood rod,about 2 in. (5 cm) thick and 20 in. (50 cm) long. A French rolling pin is about 2 in. (5 cm) thick at the center and tapered toward the ends. It is useful for rolling pie doughs and other doughs that must be rolled to a circular shape.

For large quantities or heavy work, a Ball-bearing rolling pins and heavy ball-bearing pin may be used.

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HAND TOOLS - Pastry Bag

A cone-shaped cloth or plastic bag with an open end that can be fitted with metal or plastic tubes or tips of various shapes and sizes. Used for shaping and decorating with items such as icing and for filling certain kinds of pastries and other items, such as éclairs, and for portioning creams,fillings,and dough's.

Use of the pastry bag and tubes for decorative work will be discussed in the future.

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HAND TOOLS - Cutters

Many types of cutters are used in the pastry department.

Cookie cutters and pastry cutters, available in many shapes, cut decorative shapes by stamping them from rolled-out dough. Roller cutters have a handle on each end, like a rolling pin, and are rolled over rolled-out dough to cut repetitive shapes quickly and efficiently, with minimal loss of dough to trimmings and scraps. Roller cutters are often used for croissants.

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Baking and Pastry Equipment - Introduction

Much of a baker’s art and craft involves simple tools. 

Learning to be a skilled baker requires developing a great deal of manual skill using these tools. For example, a pastry bag is nothing more than a cone-shaped piece of fabric or plastic, open at both ends. Although its construction is simple and it requires no operating manual, hours of practice are required to become skilled at using a pastry bag for decorative work.

At the other extreme are large machines such as floor-model mixers, ovens of many types, and dough-handling equipment such as molders, dividers, and sheeters. Of these, perhaps only ovens are essential to a baker’s work. The other items are important laborsaving devices that enable the worker to produce goods in large quantities with greater speed. Without them, much of the work of a bakeshop would not be economically feasible.

The next posts are an outline of the most important pieces of equipment used by bakers and pastry chefs, from large equipment to containers and molds to hand tools. Learning to use these tools is the subject of much of this blog.

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