The 4 Baking Tools Edd Kimber Says Every Baker Needs

Edd Kimber burst onto the food scene as the first-ever winner of "The Great British Bake Off" back in 2010, and since then he's been spreading his passion for baking through his baking blog, cookbooks, and numerous tv appearances. He is a certified baking expert and has even shared crucial baking advice for beginners in interviews for online publications. In an interview with Buzzfeed, he revealed what four baking tools he believes are enough to get any aspiring home baker started, which is a step some people who are just getting curious about baking never even make it past due to a perceived high barrier of entry. According to Kimber, nothing could be further from the truth.

The best tools to get started with, according to Kimber, are "a few sheet pans, a set of 8-inch round cake pans, a muffin pan, and a loaf pan." These foundational pieces, when purchased at a decent quality and taken care of well, can last a baker for many years and many, many recipes. That's not to say that you won't need a few measuring tools, a whisk, and some mixing bowls, because you will. But, those items are more likely to already be a part of your home cooking arsenal and are ready to be repurposed for baking.

Whether you call them baking trays, cookie trays, or sheet pans, these are absolute essentials for home cooks and bakers alike. They can be used to cook so many things, from roasted fish to focaccia, and having multiple pans in different sizes allows you a lot of flexibility in your baking. 8-inch round cake pans are also very versatile and open you up to the world of cakes and sponges. There are countless applications for sponge cakes, which are a foundational building block for many different bakes. Cake pans also give you the ability to make recipes to fit special occasions, including tiered cakes. Take care of these tools and they'll take care of you for many cakes to come!

Muffin and loaf pans are more like specialty tools but nevertheless allow you to branch out and expand your baking skills. Muffin tins, while obviously designed for pumping out your favorite muffin varieties, can also be used for batch-baking small recipes that typically call for single ramekins, including egg tarts, cornbread, and even crème brûlée. Loaf pans will be your go-to for getting perfect, rectangular bread. There's nothing wrong with more rustic-style country loaves, of course, but loaf pans afford you a bit more finesse for getting sandwich bread like you'd get in the supermarket. Just be sure to season them beforehand and wash them infrequently to make sure that the pan builds up a natural nonstick quality.