Best products from r/Baking

An alarm clock to get her used to waking up at 2am? ;-)
I'm not a professional baker, but did work as one for several months 20 years ago. Enough to let me know that although I enjoyed baking, I didn't enjoy doing it as a profession. So these suggestions are from a home baker, not a pro.
I would suggest a cookbook or subscription to Cook's Illustrated or America's Test Kitchen.
I bought The New Best Recipe Cookbook ten years ago for myself and have gifted a copy to several friends since. It goes through not only a recipe, but what changing different ingredients will do to the final product. The chocolate chip cookie recipe was quite informative with illustrations showing not only what different sugars would do, but different fats, flours, and the effect of chilling the dough had on the final product.
There is also Baking Illustrated which is just about baking. It's probably going to be hard to find, but if you stumble across it, it's worth it. Some folks complain that it's just the baking chapters from the best recipe cookbook with a few extra recipes, but if your kid is really focused on baking, this may be a better fit for now and then the best recipe cookbook later when she feels like branching out into thing to go with the baked goods.
I do not own the Cooks Illustrated Baking Book but I have several of their other cookbooks and friends who have this one think highly of it. It's been described as a combination recipe book and class in baking. Like the New Best Recipe Cookbook, it includes not just recipes, but paragraphs about what is going on in the recipe and what changes to the recipe will do.
You may also want to look at getting a large vermin resistant container to store flour. I use a Vittles Vault pet food container to store my flour. It allows me to buy 25 lbs of flour for $8 instead of 5 lbs for $4 and not run out in the middle of a baking session.

Cheap but amazing:

The Cake Bible (an amazing recipe book, I have never found a book I like better. Every recipe is amazing, and she'll look forward to trying to get through all of them (she wont) and she'll have a recipe for everyone no matter how obscure their favorites are!) http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0688044026/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1417196517&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40

Piping bags (I like to go to local restaurant shops, like B&W, and get theirs. Personally, I feel the bigger the better for the bags because they make less of a mess, and who cares if you don't fill it all the way?! Just make sure the tips fit the bags (think nuts and bolts fitting each other))

A nice rolling pin (in case she wants to try fondant)

Nice baking mats

Nice cooling racks

All shapes and sizes of cake pans!

Consider a cake stand/travel ware? Something simple and classy so she can use it for everything.

Cute apron

Cute oven mits

Hell, get her a bakers hat. Even if she pretends not to like it she'll wear it when you aren't home!

Stencil cutters are always nice

Sprinkles/food coloring/ingredients

*If you need more ideas I got you!

Expensive gifts:


*Kitchenaid (amazing piece of equipment for everything we do)

Fondant roller

Decorating classes

Huge amount of cake flour (it's not cheap)

*An egg share with a local farm?

If you need more I got you!!


Edit: a pastry blender! http://www.google.com/shopping/product/4899924592550857697?lsf=seller:7815,store:894053743391794104&prds=oid:13439777354151137999&hl=en-US&mcid=PS_googlepla_nonbrand_kitchenfoodprep_&adpos=1o6&creative=39230282269&device=m&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CjwKEAiA1-CjBRDOhIr_-vPDvQYSJAB48SmEazBJPLQZKYqkB-qNL1ojbaDZ5mYHild4xHPlkHfa0RoCY2Hw_wcB

I got some pretty good baking swag this year.

First up was a Kopykake. I will be making disgusting amounts of cookies over the next year putting this thing to the test.

A KitchenAid Architect was shocked to see it was the full set as these are stupid expensive.

Possibly my favorite gift for kitchen stuff this year was DrawerDecor which has finally made my drawers a non clusterfuck.

Steel prep table similar to this but not this model. Got it before Christmas but was told it was an early xmas gift.

Wire Shelving similar to this, but again not this model. Its 4' wide and each shelf can take 600. It freed up SO much room for me. I highly recommend more shelving for any of you guys/gals who have the room for it.

18" Magnetic Knife Strip, again more stuff out of shelves, off of counter tops etc.

Glass mixing bowls

Last but certainly not least, I finally got this cookie sheet from chicago metallic. Such a nice piece.


Now I think it is worth noting that I bake for a living, and that most people don't actually want a prep table or a 3' tall projector in their kitchen but damnit I love it! :)

The main theme for this xmas seems to be helping me get my kitchen to the OCD level needed in a professional kitchen. Not sure the missus loves the strict flow of kitchen as much as I do but man, it feels good and looks great.

It does depend on what she loves making for the most part, but greaseproof cupcake liners are awesome. You can get some here in some of here---> https://shopsweetsandtreats.com/ favorite colors. The benefit to greaseproof is that the color stays vibrant and doesn't dull down when baked (because it doesn't absorb grease).

Portion scoops in various sizes. I don't have a restaurant supply store by me, so I buy from webstaurantstore.com. This type of place would also be the place to buy stainless steel half-sheet pans. Note that restaurant supply stores are not necessarily the same as baking supply stores. One is geared more toward commercial users (but most sell to residential users), the other is likely a retail store that just stocks items commonly used in baking, but at retail prices.

You said she already has the stand mixer... if it's a Kitchenaid, you could upgrade the flat paddle and the whisk attachments. https://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-KFE6L-5-5-6-Bowl-Lift-Beater/dp/B006HGZ7AY/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1511341329&sr=1-1&keywords=KitchenAid+Flex+Edge+Beater+for+pro+600+stand+mixerhttps:// and www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-KN211WW-11-Wire-Whip-Bowl-Lift/dp/B000PJ6XGQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1511340838&sr=8-3&keywords=11+wire+whip+kitchenaid . Make sure you get the one that fits the right model number of the mixer you have (if you, in fact, have a Kitchenaid). These attachments are better because they are more efficient AND are completely dishwasher safe.

You could also get her an extra bowl for the stand mixer. Comes in handy more often than you might think.

Edit: Came back to say that if she's going to bake artisan breads, the best baking "stone" I've ever had isn't stone, it's cast iron. ttps://www.amazon.com/Lodge-P14P3-Seasoned-Baking-Pizza/dp/B0000E2V3X/ref=sr_1_3?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1511341833&sr=1-3&keywords=lodge+baking+stone

The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart is my number one recommendation for bread. Im also a big fan of Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson. His first book, Tartine is also great btw. I would skip out on Tartine Book No.3 though which seems to have too many errors for my liking. Flour Water Salt Yeast by Ken Forkish is also one of the better bread baking books out there.

For general baking, im a big fan of Bouchon Bakery. And one book that will surely help you improve as a baker and I highly recommend you cook through is The Art of French Pastry by Jacquy Pfeiffer. Its like a pastry arts class in a book. I am actually cooking my way through this. If you have a serious sweet tooth, Momofoku Milk Bar by Christina Tosi will probably be what you're looking for. And as someone else recommended, the Baked books are all great.

For cakes, it has to be The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Bernanbaum. This is probably the best cake book of all time. I would supplement this with Toba Garrett's Professional Cake Decorating book.

For pies, my favorites are Four and Twenty Blackbirds and Hoosier Mama. One that I haven't tried but am planning to buy is First Prize Pies. If the book lives up to their reputation, it should be an excellent book.

For plated, more ambitious desserts, I like Payard Desserts. I refer to this when I want to impress company.

I believe that the best baking book you could start out with is Baking Illustrated. It's done by the same people of Cook's Illustrated, which is an inspirational food/cooking magazine. What's awesome about the cookbook and magazine is that prior to a majority of the recipes they discuss the process of discovering the perfect recipe, which includes common pitfalls of other recipes, a little bit of science and a whole lot of taste tests. In the book they cover techniques, helpful hints and other super useful guides.

Also! A great blog to check out is Joy the Baker the voice in her writing is super friendly and her recipes tend to steer clear of pretentious while still being amazing-- check out these guys! Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Brownies. Orangette is also a noteworthy blog. Her writing is stunning, and her pictures are captivating. However, she really doesn't focus on baking (although she manages to toss in a couple recipes here and there.

Here are some of my favorite tools:

• Mini measuring cups/beakers - I love these! No more spilled/wasted vanilla extract.
  
• Instant-read thermometer - I use this to check on the temperature of my dough/ingredients and even to confirm things are done baking.
  
• Maybe you already have these, but if not, I use my kitchen scale and oven thermometer all the time.
  
• Bakeware rack - This keeps my baking sheets and smaller pans better organized and more easily accessible than just stacking them on top of each other.
  
• Marble slab - keeps pie/pastry dough cold as you roll it out (I keep mine in the fridge so it's always ready).
  
• Pastry strips for making sure pie (or rolled-out cookie) dough is rolled out to an even thickness. Pastry cloth/sleeve for keeping dough from sticking.
  
• Cookie scoops - for drop cookies, muffins, cupcakes, and really anything that needs to be portioned out evenly (including non-baking stuff like meatballs). Whenever I use these, I'm always really grateful for them. Mine are Zeroll dishers I got from King Arthur Flour, but Webstaurant Store has them for cheaper, and Oxo has a line of cookie scoops too.
  
• If you make layer cakes, you may already have a turntable, but if not, this one is really good. I also like this cake lifter.
  
• Of course, there's also stand mixers. Super-helpful for things like whipping egg whites for meringues/souffles/angel food cake, creaming butter and sugar, and kneading bread dough. If you ask for a stand mixer, the KitchenAid Pro has a stronger motor than the Artisan. I have the Artisan, and it's worked fine for me for several years, but if I could go back, I'd go with the Pro instead. An extra bowl is very handy as well.

My favorite cookbook is The New Best Recipe, a compilation of over 1,000 recipes from America's Test Kitchen. I love it because they give in-depth descriptions of all the different things they tried in order to perfect every recipe, and so not only do you get a great recipe but you can learn all about why it is great. Most recipes have one or two additional variations included. They cover different products and techniques, and all sorts of information that is useful for both new and competent cooks. It is so interesting that I sometimes read it just for fun.

The chapters cover everything from appetizers to different types of main courses, but also includes lots of chapters on baked goods -- breads, cookies, cakes, pies, crisps, puddings, and more. I would highly recommend it to anyone, and everything I've made from it so far has been delicious!

It's one of those 'personal preference' issues, really.

I've read a lot of the books that others have mentioned, but I haven't bought my own copies, mostly because I'm satisfied with Rose Levy Beranbaum's books, and have stuck with those. She's a good teacher who seems to understand the specific challenges of baking at home with the ingredients I can find. (Lots of other cookbooks seem to be focused on professional type baking situations, and on artisanal baking. Not what I need or want to use.)

Her recipes have been consistently reliable, approachable and the end results have been very tasty.

Some projects are apparently more than I want to manage, so I haven't baked EVERYTHING in her books, but I do own them all, if that tells you anything.

I learned a lot from her Bread bible.
http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Bible-Rose-Levy-Beranbaum/dp/0393057941

Her newest, The Baking Bible also looks great (just got it, haven't yet worked my way completely through it.

http://www.amazon.com/Baking-Bible-Rose-Levy-Beranbaum/dp/1118338618/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_y

There are a lot of different approaches to this kind of project. Along the way in my experiments, I learned that I'm not really all that fascinated with rustic artisanal breads, and that most professional cookbooks just aren't what I'm looking for in the way of specific advice on projects I can manage at home. For one thing, living where I do, finding top quality flours is a problem (i.e., online only).

Editing to add: I think it's probably best to buy a cookbook produced in your own country, whatever that might be. For example, ingredients can be hard to source, and wording can be a confusing issue. (British cookbooks have given me a lot of great ideas, but living in the US, I find I need to double check my understanding of the instructions and the ingredients. Metric measurements are a godsend, though, they simplify a lot. Other measuring standards can be more confusing.)

I’ve been experimenting with multiple bagel recipes over the last couple of weeks using a myriad of different flours, yeasts, and techniques.

The Serious Eats bagels (left) created a slightly tighter crumb that did not fall so much. Otherwise, I can’t say there was a huge difference in overall chew. Stella Parks uses a Japanese technique called “yukone” that is supposed to aid in preservation and longevity.

I cannot seem to prevent the Chefsteps bagels (right) from losing height in the boiling and baking process. These bagels have a fantastically chewy texture but the crumb is not as tight as I was hoping for. The flavor is very good though.

Edit: I’ve also made bagels according to The Bread Baker’s Apprentice that were perfectly good bagels but not as extraordinary as I’m hoping for. The article describing professional bagel shops did encourage me to buy a special high-protein (14%) flour and Stella Parks made me start questioning the yeast I’ve previously used so I’ve been experimenting with instant dry yeast. I’m planning to try the method produced by ATK using vital wheat gluten but I don’t know if this step becomes moot since I already have a high-gluten flour.

So first things first, no baker whose work I respect uses measuring cups. Volume measurement is an anachronistic method of measurement. The reason is that baking is based on ratios of the mass of products to each other, and something like flour can vary by about 50% if you're going by volume. I.e. a cup can weigh between 4 and 6 ounces. What that means is that you need a scale. The good news is that scales are fairly cheap. It's like 30 bucks to get a good one. I like oxo 5 pound scale with the pull out display.

The next thing is that I tend to stay away from all of the cookbooks written by people who don't work in the industry. Chefs have had to stand up to years of criticism and constant learning to get to a place where they can even begin to think about putting out a cookbook. The two pastry cook books that I like the most are Thomas Keller's book, Bouchon bakery, and Christina Tosi's book, milk bar.

Bouchon bakery is a super French book (as is the bakery), so I would recommend getting it if your son is interested in making things like bread, croissants, eclairs, Madelines, macarons, cakes, etc. Things that you would think of coming out of a traditional patisserie. The book is fabulously written and gorgeous. It is incredibly approachable and in my opinion, doesn't require any outside knowledge of baking, although being a good baker certainly helps. If I were to go solely based on what I thought was the best book, I wouldn't go any further than this one

That being said, I love Christina Tosi's milk bar. Her style is more of a traditional American style, so lots of cookies, cupcakes, pies, etc. Her book isn't as well written, not as pretty, and requires a bit more knowledge of baking (but certainly not a ton). It is, however so warm and inviting and reflects her personality so much that you can't help but smile add you read her expositions about some of her recipes and past. Her cookies are so crazy awesome and delicious, that the single method alone is worth the price of admission.

The one caveat I would say is that both books will STRONGLY suggest you get a stand mixer. While neither book requires it, there are some recipes that will be very daunting without one; I sure as hell wouldn't want to do Tosi's creaming method (for making the aforementioned cookies) by hand, that's for sure. That being said, though, people baked for millennia without one, so if you don't have one, you certainly don't have to buy one before making most if not all of the recipes in either book.

NINJA EDIT:
Links to the books
Bouchon Bakery
Milk bar

For those asking, here is the recipe ive modified from the Baking Illustrated Cookbook which is where I get most of my clever tricks from!

https://www.amazon.com/Baking-Illustrated-Best-Recipe-Classic/dp/0936184752

Glazed Cinnamon Rolls

The Dough
• ½ cup milk
• 8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter
• ½ cup warm water, about 110 degrees
• 1 envelope instant yeast
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 large egg, plus two large egg yolks
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 4 to 4 ½ cups unbleached all purpose flour

The Icing
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 2 tbsp corn syrup (or light corn syrup)
• 2 tbsp heavy cream
• 1 cup powdered sugar (sifted, helps create smooth glaze)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

The Filling
• ¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3 tbsp ground cinnamon (the fresher, the better)
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt

Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan on low heat until the butter melts. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside until lukewarm, about 100 degrees.

Use a paddle mixer to mix together the water, yeast, sugar, egg and yolks at low speed until well mixed. Add the salt, warm milk mixture, and 2 cups of flour. Mix at medium speed until thoroughly blended, about 1 minute. Switch to the dough hook and add the other 2 cups of flour, and knead at medium speed (adding up to the last ¼ cup of flour, 1 tbsp at a time if necessary) until the dough is smooth and freely clears the sides of the bowl, takes about 10 minutes. Scrape the dough into a lightly oiled large bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Leave in a warm, draft free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 ½ to 2 hrs.

While the dough rises, combine all of the icing ingredients in the bowl of a standing mixer and blend together at low speed until roughly combined, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to high and mix until the icing is uniformly smooth and free of cream cheese lumps, about 2 minutes. Transfer the icing to a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap, then refrigerate.
After the dough has doubled, press it down and turn it out onto a very lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, shape the dough into a 16 by 12 inch rectangle with the long side facing you. Try to roll the sides as straight as possible to get a uniform roll which will be easier to roll and cut into individual rolls later. Mix together the filling ingredients in a small bowl removing lumps. Use a small amount of butter with an icing knife and spread a very very thin layer of butter onto the 16 by 12 sheet of dough which will ensure the filling sticks to the inside of the dough. Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough, leaving a ½ inch border at the far right edge.

To roll the dough, start at the left edge and begin rolling the dough using both hands and pinching the dough with your fingertips as you roll. Moisten the right border with water and seal the roll. Very lightly dust the roll with flour and press the ends if necessary to make uniform into a 16 inch cylinder. Grease a 13 by 9 inch baking dish with a small amount of butter. Cut the roll in half using a sharp, un-serrated, thin knife while holding the dough. Then cut each half in half again, then cut each piece in 3 rolls for a total of 12 rolls. Place the rolls, cut side up in a 3 by 4 pattern in the 13 by 9 dish. Cover with plastic wrap and put in a warm, draft free place for 1 ½ hours.

When the rolls are almost fully risen, adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350. Bake the rolls until golden brown, or until the center reads about 185 degrees, which takes about 25 to 30 minutes. However, I recommend checking them after 15 minutes and going from there as some people like a gooey roll. Invert the rolls onto a wire rack after taking out of the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Turn the rolls back upright, on a serving dish or back into the cooled 13 by 9 pan and spread the icing evenly on the rolls. Serve immediately.

I hands down strongly recommend How Baking Works (for the science behind baking and ingredients used) and Baking and Pastry: Mastering the Art and Craft (for recipes and methods). These two books will literally cover almost everything you need to know in detail and are awesome reference books for learning methods and recipes. I use them daily.
I would also add The Professional Pastry Chef : Fundamentals of Baking and Pastry as a third book if you are willing to get it, but the first i mentioned are better to start off with.

They might have copies available at your local library, but if they don't you can always go down to Barnes and Noble if you are in the US and find them there for free reading. I think amazon/half.com has the best prices though.

They are a bit expensive new, but used on amazon/half.com or buying older issues is really reasonable in my opinion. You can get the older issue copies without missing out anything important. They really only do minor changes to the new issues. The core of the book doesn't change much. I can't recommend these books enough for people who want to learn baking in depth on their own.


http://www.amazon.com/How-Baking-Works-Exploring-Fundamentals/dp/0470392673/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405381058&sr=1-1&keywords=science+behind+baking





http://www.amazon.com/Baking-Pastry-Mastering-Art-Craft/dp/047005591X/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405381103&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=cuklinary+instute+of+america+baking

Oooh. I would suggest some fancy ingredients like some Nielsen Massey vanilla paste (I have the gigantic 1 quart size myself and it's pretty much my favorite thing ever) or some Valrhona cocoa powder or feves (fancy chocolate chips). Some high quality measuring cups like these ones from All Clad would probably make her over the moon (as others have said, you can never have enough measuring cups and spoons, and heavy-weighted ones like those are a delight to use). You can round out your gift with a few cookbooks you think she might like -- some suggestions are the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook (since you mentioned she makes lots of cupcakes), the Tartine Cookbook (I love this one), and Rose Levy Berenbaum's Cake Bible or Heavenly Cakes.

Milk Bar Cookbook
Third cake I’ve made from this cookbook. Many friends said it was the best carrot cake they’ve ever had. I personally like ones that are less sweet and more spiced. However her tip for using fresh rainbow carrots helped the flavor a lot. Her ice cream recipes are AMAZING. You’d never know there aren’t eggs in it. Best ice cream I’ve ever made.

I would recommend Baking Illustrated. They do an awesome job explaining why the recipe is as is it. They test and re-test to make sure that home bakers will have great results. That cookbook also provides a lot of "standard" recipes, like chocolate chips cookies, pie crust, banana bread, etc.

I think starting with cookies is a great place. You will get a feel for baking times depending on your oven, how room temperature butter and melted butter react differently, how the ratio between sugar and brown sugar changes the texture (more chewy? more crisp?). Regardless, don't be afraid, have fun, and you will find that you will never be short of taste-testers!

A marble rolling pin is a great gift if they don't already have one. Just thinking about things I'd personally like to receive- cute bakeware that I haven't bought for myself yet, definitely. Brioche molds, cookie cutters, mini tart pans. Stuff like that. A fancy bundt pan (like so) is great too!

Ken Forkish's Flour Water Salt Yeast is a wonderful, easy yet super solid, bread book that makes 4qt batches. You could use those recipes and either make half batches (divide everything by 2), or make a full batch, bake half and freeze half. I have never once been sad having extra dough on hand.

The other option is learn about baker's formulas. Professional and advanced amateur baking recipes don't rely on measurements, but rather weighing ingredients in ratios. Most respected bread books (ie. Peter Reinhart, Jim Lahey, and Ken Forkish all have no-knead books) rely on these formulas. They can easily be scaled; up in the case of commercial bakeries, or down in your case.

That said, any recipe that requires kneading can be adapted to "no-knead". The popular concept is to mix the dough and park it in the fridge for anywhere between several hours to a few days. The yeast activity causes gluten to develop over time, with the added advantage of extra flavor development. Reinhart and Lahey prefer this approach.

Additionally, look up the 'stretch and fold' technique. This develops gluten by mixing the dough then mildly manipulating the dough every 15mins over the course of an hour. Forkish seems to prefer stretch and fold, as do I (mostly).

I got this book as a gift when I was in high school. A lot of it is just black and white, but there are blocks of color photo pages with lovely pictures. I just sat and read a lot of it for fun and learned a lot about techniques. I did get this when I was aiming to become a pastry chef, though my path changed out of the food realm career-wise, I still love this book. I know it's not a periodical, but may be worth checking out.

You're likely not kneading enough; that's how my breads used to turn out. Like what Protheanunicorn said, if there's not enough gluten development, you'll just have a fine crumb rather than delicious chewiness. If you're serious about bread baking, invest in a stand mixer that comes with a dough hook, to ease the strain on your hands.

A reliable trick I learned from Alton Brown to figure out if the dough is kneaded enough is to pull off a small piece of dough, hold it with the middle pinched between your thumb and index knuckle, and stretch it; you should be able to stretch it to the point where you can see light through it but it doesn't break. It should stretch pretty thinly, too. Here's a helpful video (at 3:30ish). You could also watch the full episode at the link for a lot of tips of the basics of bread making.

Also, find reliable recipes; easy recipes on generic websites tend to yield loaves of lesser quality. I can think of The Bread Bible, Cook's Illustrated, and King Arthur Flour's recipes.

I have this book http://www.amazon.com/The-Professional-Pastry-Chef-Fundamentals/dp/0471359254, which is amazing. I would highly recommend it.

It has lots of recipes, many of which are not necessarily for a full a cake or pie, but rather a part for the cake, like a sponge cake recipe, a recipe for puff pastry, or for a ganache. Then when it tells you how to make a classic dessert later, it will pull from those basic recipes.

It gives you a lot of science behind each group of recipes, how each ingredient affects the way the final product turns out, and a lot of information about techniques, like different ways to temper chocolate for example.

It also has a pretty comprehensive guide to any ingredient that would be used in baking, like spices, fruits-there is 2 pages on different types of apples, thickeners, alcohols, etc. There is a similar guide for equipment, and also a section on metric-U.S. conversions.

The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. Probably one of the best cookbooks published of all time. The great part is that she is VERY easy to contact and will respond to anyone that needs help if you go to her website.

I dont know this specific model but this is my absolute favorite attachment: https://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-KFE5T-Beater-Tilt-Head-Mixers/dp/B004A15870

Also there are so many random things you can use this machine for- one of my faves is shredding chicken for chicken salad. It takes 30 seconds and is 100% worth cleaning the bowl. Happy cooking!

There is a cookbook called The New Best Recipe that has lots of amazing recipes. Also, they tell you all the different versions of each recipe they tried and why their certain recipe works best.

http://www.amazon.com/The-French-Pastry-Jacquy-Pfeiffer/dp/030795935X
This by far. He is the co-owner of arguably the best pastry school in the USA and has had his family and friends test these recipes in their own kitchens to make sure they are easy to follow and yield excellent results.

You might like the Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook. Christina Tosi has a fun perspective on baking, and likes to use popular snacks and candies as ingredients. She's famous for her crack pie; watch the vid on the Amazon page. :)

I highly recommend Peter Reinhart's "The Bread Baker's Apprentice". He's really easy to read and the pictures are beautiful. He teaches about bakers percentages, 12 steps to baking artisan bread at home, and each recipe is in volume and weight. Also, check out The Fresh Loaf. It's a forum for bakers.

Source: I taught a bread class using this book and the students seemed to like it a lot. I also have owned a bakery for the last 3+ years, baking 5-6 nights per week.

Baking is a learning process. I’ve selected a list of a good references:


Getting started

https://www.instructables.com/class/Bread-Class/

My favorite books


https://www.amazon.com/Passion-Bread-Lessons-Master-Baker/dp/031620062X

https://www.amazon.com/Tartine-Bread-Chad-Robertson/dp/0811870413/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_img_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=D3W0A522YN0Z49Y37CR2

https://www.amazon.com/Flour-Water-Salt-Yeast-Fundamentals/dp/160774273X/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2/132-2200314-5814741?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=160774273X&pd_rd_r=d2b81337-6b5d-11e9-9f49-5707d913d0fd&pd_rd_w=aXXDJ&pd_rd_wg=GprXQ&pf_rd_p=a2006322-0bc0-4db9-a08e-d168c18ce6f0&pf_rd_r=AKFEA35FM58RZV98V93X&psc=1&refRID=AKFEA35FM58RZV98V93X


Good and reliable websites


https://blog.kingarthurflour.com/

https://www.theperfectloaf.com/

Enjoy!

How Baking Works This details the science of baking

The Professional Pastry Chef
Bo Friberg's latest edition, this one is pretty comprehensive. I'd suggest this one for the best dollar value

Gisslen's textbook is also good, but Friberg's has better examples of presentation. Professional Baking

Modeling chocolate is often used for figures. It's got about the texture of tootsie rolls, can be carved, molded, painted, dyed, etc. The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Berenbaum is highly recommended and your library might have it.

Good luck and have fun!

Here you go for the Honeycomb. Nordic Ware are amazing and the cakes look great! Just got the square bunt at a closing Williams-Sonoma, one of their most famous one would be the swirling bundt pan.

My most used and loved tool is without a doubt my OXO kitchen scale.

Honorable mention goes to my Vollrath 5314 sheet pans.

I would recommend, https://www.amazon.com/Chocolates-Confections-Formula-Technique-Confectioner/dp/0470424419/

Its a very nice book and a great place to begin. The recipes in it are good as well. The book OP mentioned is also good book, but not specifically for chocolate or confections.

If it has a 5, it means it has a 5 quart bowl, 45, 4.5 quart.

If your kitchen aid has a tilt head, then then you can buy the smaller one (i.e. this ) if yours is a "bowl lift", you'll want this. However, be careful on the last one, for it's plastic. It should be fine, but if your batter is super heavy it might break and need a replacement with a metal base (like I had to).

It's not dedicated to chocolate work, but our class textbook is this textbook. It's got a lot of useful information in it, if you're willing to spend the money, about chocolate work and more. A lot of the books I have are dedicated to breads and pastries since this class has been my first extensive introduction to chocolate, so I don't have many resources regarding books for that yet.

Linked this on another comment, but I really love this pan. Lol.

I use the recipe for Sleeping Beauties (nice copyright avoidance, there) in Peter Greweling's "Chocolates and Confections". It's a great book, highly recommended!

https://www.amazon.com/Chocolates-Confections-Formula-Technique-Confectioner/dp/0470424419

yaay! Here's the cake bible: https://www.amazon.com/Cake-Bible-Rose-Levy-Beranbaum/dp/0688044026/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

It's not fancy or new, but it has great baseline recipes and suggestions of variety of flavors. I bought a used one for 5 bux.

If you're more of an academic learner, I'd definitely suggest How Baking Works in addition to the above books. I have it and love it. It breaks down baking fundamentals by chapter and there are practical exercises and review questions at the end of every chapter.

If he has a kitchen aid:

Flex Edge Beater

Pouring shield


If he works with chocolate: good chocolate. The stuff you get at the grocery just doesn't cut it.

Some decent metal mixing bowls. Very versatile. Can be used for whipping cream stuff, used as a double boiler, and non-baking uses.

Containers for storing ingredients. I prefer OXO, but some people like sterilite or Rubbermaid.

A really good I would recommend in the book How Baking Works. It gives you the explanation you need without feeling like a textbook. I have an AOS degree in baking and I had this as one of my school books. It's not too expensive either. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0470392673

I love that book. Also I have The Bread Bible

Though it is out on loan, now, to someone I will likely never see again. Argh.

I recently started with Bakers Illustrated. They go into a lot of detail on how and why to do stuff. Buy it used for under $20.

Baking Illustrated: A Best Recipe Classic https://www.amazon.com/dp/0936184752/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_J4y4BbC0F13S5

It's actually more accurate to measure by weight instead of volume. I have this one, and I love it.

I got the recipe out of The Bread Bible. I just bought it a week or two ago, its great.

Found here, for the interested. Ton of cool designs, including silicon ones that I think you place into a normal bundt pan.

Here you go. That's not my blog.

I highly reccommend picking up a used copy of the Milk cookbook (I wouldn't do the Kindle version), you can find it for under $15 shipped if you're in the US. Probably a little cheaper if you look around. It goes into detail on technique, ingredient/equipment specifics, and is just totally worth buying. So far, I've made the brownie pie, confetti cookies, chocolate chocolate cookies, peanut butter cookies, and now this cake. Her "All About Cake" book is en route to me, and I will definitely be using some of her recipes for my Christmas dessert spread.

Not 100% sure model mixer you got but get one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-KFE5T-Beater-Tilt-Head-Mixers/dp/B004A15870

They make mixing soooo much easier!

I recently bought myself this and have been enjoying it! But it's more like... why you need to do the things you do than recipes for beginners.

It's from The Bread Baker's Apprentice. All the recipes I've tried from here have been phenomenal. Definitely worth the money for me.

Thanks! Pulled it from a French pastry book - https://www.amazon.com/Art-French-Pastry-Jacquy-Pfeiffer/dp/030795935X

Still learning how to “prettify” things though!

That is good to know, my fridge is the same way! We've been working our way through the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook and I really wanted to start trying some of the ice cream recipes.

Looks like this one: https://smile.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Platinum-Collection-Heritage/dp/B0021CEREA

Get a beater with a scraper, like this one: https://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-KFE5T-Beater-Tilt-Head-Mixers/dp/B004A15870

Yep, Amazon link here. It's written by his pastry chef, Christina Tosi.

I'll have toDM it cause it's out if a book :)

Edit to say: I lied, I can't attach a word document in a reddit DM. You can either DM me your email address and I'll send it OR purchase this book https://www.amazon.com/Art-French-Pastry-Jacquy-Pfeiffer/dp/030795935X/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=jacquy+pfeiffer&qid=1557018828&s=gateway&sr=8-1

I'm starting a pastry program in the fall and this is the textbook that we'll be using: http://www.amazon.com/Baking-3rd-Edition-Sarah-Labensky/dp/0132374560

I've always wanted the Milkbar cookbook!

Nope! super fancy bundt pan !

I think it's this one:. https://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Platinum-Collection-Heritage/dp/B0021CEREA