Are you a keen baker? Perhaps you have a keen baker in your home?
If yes, then you’re lucky. Bakers are blessings to the family. They bless our mouths with yummy pastries that get our stomachs leaping for joy.
Who doesn’t enjoy the sweet savour of sugar and butter that baking brings?
However, if you’re a keen baker or have a keen baker in the family, you need to put some thought into your kitchen layout. Baking comes with specific requirements that differ from that of general cooking.
That’s why we’ve put together some ideas to guide your kitchen planning or modification project, so you have a wonderful baking experience and churn out pastries that’ll get the whole family scampering to get a bite.
Let’s hop right in!
8 Tips To Help Create The Perfect Baker’s Kitchen
Personalise Your Workflow
Analyse how you’ll use the kitchen while baking and then work together with the designer to choose a layout that works ergonomically with your workflow.
The triangle for most bakers is usually the refrigerator, oven, and food preparation area. These appliances should be located relative to each other in a close manner with clear paths.
A keen baker will also need a worktop in the centre of the work zone, where tools and recipes are also easily accessible.
You might consider the U-shape or L-shape with an island so you can create a baking zone easily.
Get A “Baker-Friendly” Oven
The oven is arguably the chief appliance in a baker’s kitchen.
The oven determines the outcome of the pastries, so a baker has to get the choice of oven right. You might get confused because there are many options out there.
The thing is if you’re a keen baker you need to get ovens that distribute constant and uniform heat to every corner and shelf level.
This ensures you don’t end up with pastries that have burnt edges or doughy bottoms or undone middles.
It’s advisable to get ovens with steam and convection options so you can choose the mode that suits your recipe.
Convection mode recirculates heat so you get evenly baked pastries and cookies while steam mode retains moisture which makes it perfect for cakes and bread.
If there you are lucky to have no budget constraints you can even opt for double ovens. You get more space to bake more than one thing at a time or carry on with dinner as you bake.
Invest In A Spacious Fridge/Freezer
After baking, you might need to preserve the pastries in your fridge or freezer.
You won’t love baking a cake for instance and finding out it doesn’t fit in your fridge as a whole, or the buttercream stains every part of your fridge/freezer.
A keen baker will need a fridge/freezer with ample space or one that allows you to modify the shelving easily to create more space
Don’t Neglect The Sink
Sinks are important to keen bakers because there’s always lots of cleaning up and washing to do after baking.
Undermount models are a perfect option for keen bakers because they can swipe things from the countertop straight into the sink.
You might also want to opt for a deep farmhouse sink because it can house your pots and pans until they’re washed, and you can even use a pull-out sprayer faucet so all the corners of the sink can be reached.
Make Space For Storage
Baking requires lots of ingredients like flour, sugar, baking powder and so on, and even small appliances which need to be stored.
You can include a walk-in pantry if you have enough space or open shelving with glass decanters.
You can even use a rolling cart where you have little or no space on the wall for cabinets or open shelves, and you can roll it out close to your baking-prep area.
Pull-out horizontal shelving and roll-out drawers are other options you can consider for storing small baking items.
When it comes to tray and pan storage, upright storage is ideal for keen bakers, because it allows easy access and view. You should incorporate special cabinets made for trays.
Create A Tech Corner
These days recipes are usually accessed online, so it’s functional to create a space for a TV, laptop or iPad close to your baking prep area.
This way you can even be watching a demonstration video and follow right along.
You might need plug sockets or charging stations hidden under the countertop and an under-cabinet mount stand for tablets.
Get A Mixer
Mixing is one of the major activities a keen baker can’t avoid. While you can mix manually, getting a mixer makes mixing easier and faster.
Plus displaying the mixer helps to make that subtle announcement of “there’s a baker in the house”!
Choose The Right Baking Countertop
Granite and marble countertops are ideal for baking, but other options like quartz and Corian are available.
These countertops are durable, so they tolerate rolling, cutting and heat, and since they’re non-porous, you don’t need to seal them.
You might even customise the countertop heights to make it more convenient while standing or kneading or sitting.
Finally, if you’re looking for appliances to complete your baker’s kitchen, like a fridge, freezer, or oven, check out your local reputable appliance retailers, such as The Appliance Depot, a leading supplier of clearance fridge freezers and other such appliances.
Cheers To The Keen Baker’s Kitchen!
