A well-stocked pantry makes it easy to whip up chocolate chip cookies, apple pie, cheesecake and other favorite snacks and desserts whenever a baking mood strikes. Use these tips to help you purchase the correct baking ingredients and set up a pantry that inspires you to make those mouth-watering creations. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
Analyze your needs and wants
1. Consider your needs. It is tempting to immediately grab your wallet or purse, jump in the car and head to the grocery store. Before you do, take a few minutes to think about the special needs and wants of each person in your household. Does your son have a nut allergy? Do you need to purchase gluten-free products for your daughter? Do you prefer organically produced food?
2. Take out your well-worn cookbooks and find your family's favorite recipes. What baked items do they like best?
3. Jot down these items on a notepad for future reference. List any unusual ingredients, like the crème de menthe required for your husband's cherished grasshopper pie or the butterscotch-flavored chips added to your son's favorite blond brownies.
Assess your storage space
4. Assess your storage space. Obviously, your pantry space dictates what and how much you can buy. Do you have two shelves on a wall or a large walk-in closet with an assortment of bins and shelves?
5. Consider buying bulk supplies to save money if you have enough space.
6. Buy only what you will use. Even non-perishable supplies have "best used by" dates.
Inventory your storage containers
7. Inventory your storage containers. Some people reuse empty coffee cans, glass jars and other large tins to store their baking supplies. Any food-safe container with a tight-fitting lid and a wide opening will work. The opening should be large enough so you can dip a measuring cup into it. Label the containers with masking tape and a marker.
8. Invest in containers designed especially for food storage if you can afford the investment. Your ingredients will stay fresher longer. In addition, you won't need to worry that your supplies will absorb subtle odors lingering in the container.
9. Consider clear acrylic boxes and canisters when purchasing containers. Transparent containers make it easier to identify ingredients; acrylic is easy to wash and will not rust like some metal containers.
Make a list of standard baking ingredients
10. Make your list. Start with standard ingredients used in most recipes, including the following:
Flour
Look for general, all-purpose flour (sometimes called "bleached white flour"). Depending on your baking plans, you could also purchase flours designed especially for making certain items, like bread or cake flour.
Sweeteners
Sweeteners fall into two categories: dry and liquid. The most obvious dry sweetener is white sugar, which is sometimes called granulated sugar. Brown sugar is also used in many cookie recipes. Confectioner's sugar is a finely sifted sugar used to make frosting.
Liquid sweeteners include molasses, which is often used in breads and robust cookies like ginger snaps. When purchasing molasses, keep in mind that the lighter colored syrups have a more subtle flavor; the darker syrups have a stronger flavor. Honey is another liquid sweetener sometimes used in desserts.
Shortening and Fats
Essential to the texture of all baked goods, shortening and fats come in various forms. Crisco, the most popular brand of shortening, is best used to make pie crusts. Use unsalted butter or margarine to obtain the best cookies. Quick breads, muffins and some cakes include vegetable oils.
Leavening
Leavening agents make baked items rise, giving them a lighter texture and weight. Cakes and cookies usually include baking powder. Baking soda is sometimes used with baking powder. Yeast, another leavening agent, is used in breads, rolls and some pastries.
11. Add a few more essentials to your list:
Salt
Fine-grained table salt is preferred by most bakers because it dissolves more quickly than coarse sea or kosher salt. If the label says the salt is "iodized," that means that iodine has been added to it. Iodine does not affect the finished quality or taste of a baked item.
Flavorings
Vanilla extract is the most commonly used flavoring, so be sure to include it on your shopping list. Almond, maple, lemon and other flavorings are used less frequently but are nice to have on hand.
Spices
Many cookie and cake recipes include allspice, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. High-quality spices will enhance the flavor of your baked goods, but they can be expensive. Spread the cost over several shopping trips by purchasing a single jar of one spice each time.
Start by purchasing cinnamon, which is the most widely used spice, and then add ginger and nutmeg on your second and third shopping trips. Allspice and cloves are used most often in holiday baking, so you can wait to purchase them until a week or two before Thanksgiving.
12. Add a few of these specialty items if your recipe includes them: rolled oats, chocolate chips, coated chocolate candies, coconut, semi-sweet chocolate squares, nuts, raisins and dried fruit.
Create a chart showing ingredient expiration dates
13. Create a simple chart to keep track of each ingredient and its expiration date before you put away those newly purchased supplies.
14. Use your computer (or a pen and paper) to make a three-column list.
15. Write down ingredient name in the first column. In the second column, list the "best used by" date stamped on each item. Use the third column to note when an ingredient is running low and needs to be replenished.
Tags: your storage, best used, Assess your, Assess your storage, baked goods, baked items
