TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

PANS, CONTAINERS,
AND MOLDS
Many of the pots and pans found in the hot kitchen are also used in the bakeshop.For example,saucepans are used to boil syrups and to cook creams and fillings. This section, however, concentrates on specialty containers and molds for the bakery. The following is a representative sample of the more important of these, in alphabetical order. Molds are of two types: those for baking dough or batter items, and those for giving shape to refrigerated items
such as mousses and bombes. Other containers, such as mixing bowls, are included in the list.
1. Baba mold.
A small thimble-shaped mold for making babas
2. Banneton.
A bentwood basket, available in various shapes, for holding and giving shape to
certain hearth bread doughs as they proof.
3. Barquette.
A small boat-shaped mold for petits fours and small tartlets.
4. Bombe mold.
A dome-shaped mold for frozen desserts
5. Brioche mold.
A flared pan with fluted sides for making brioche
6. Cake pans.
While most cake pans are round,other shapes,such as hearts, are available for specialty cakes. Cake pans come in many sizes.
7. Cake ring.
See Charlotte ring.
8. Charlotte mold.
The classic charlotte mold is round, tapered, and flat-bottomed, with two handles near the top rim. Except for the Apple Charlotte ,which is baked in this mold, classic charlottes are made with a Bavarian cream filling and are refrigerated until set, not baked.
9. Charlotte ring.
Also called cake rings, these are stainless-steel rings in various diameters and heights, most often used for making molded desserts and for shaping and holding desserts made up of layers of cake, pastry, and fillings. The rings are removed after the fillings have set and before serving or display.
10. Chocolate molds.
Used for all sorts of chocolate work, from large display pieces to bite-size truffles.
11. Cornstick pan.
Special baking pan with indentations shaped like small ears of corn. Used for baking cornbread items.
12. Flexipan.
This is the brand name for a line of nonstick baking pans made of a flexible silicone material. Flexipans are available in dozens of shapes and sizes to make a wide range of products, from muffins to petits fours.
13. Hotel pan.
A rectangular pan,usually made of stainless steel.Designed to hold foods in service counters. Also used for baking and steaming, and often used for baked items such as bread pudding.The standard size is 10 , 20 in. (325 ,530 mm).Fractions of this size (1⁄2,1⁄3,and so on) are also available.Standard depth is 21⁄2 in.(65 mm),but deeper pans are also available.
14. Loaf pan.
A rectangular pan, usually with slightly flared sides, used for baking loaf breads. Loaf pans can also be used for molding refrigerated and frozen desserts.
Pullman pan
the Pullman pan, which has straight, not flared sides, and a removable lid, for
baking Pullman loaves of bread
15. Madeleine pan.
A special baking pan with shell-shaped indentations, used for baking madeleines
16. Mixing bowls.
The most useful mixing bowls are made of stainless steel and have round bottoms.They are used for general mixing and whipping.The round construction enables the whip to reach all areas for thorough mixing or whipping.
17. Muffin pan.
Metal baking pan with cup-shaped indentations for baking muffins.The available pans make muffins of several sizes.
18. Petit four molds.
Tiny metal molds in a variety of shapes, used for baking an assortment of little tartlets, financiers and other petits fours.
19. Savarin mold.
Small ring-shaped or doughnut-shaped metal molds for baking savarins
20. Sheet pan.
A shallow, rectangular pan (1 in./25 mm deep) for baking sheet cakes, cookies,rolls,and other baked goods.A full sheet pan measures 18 and 26 in. (46 and 66 cm). Half-sheet pans are 13 and 18 in. (33 and 46 cm). Perforated sheet pans are the same size, but the bottom is full of tiny holes.These allow even baking and browning of breads and rolls because the holes allow the oven’s hot air to circulate freely around the items as they bake.
21. Springform pan.
A cake pan with a removable bottom. Used primarily for baking cheesecake and other items that are too delicate to be easily removed from standard cake pans.
22. Tart pan.
A shallow (1 in./2.5 cm deep) metal pan, usually with fluted sides, used for baking tarts. Standard pans are round, but square and rectangular pans are also available.They may be made in one piece or with a removable bottom to make it easier to remove the baked tart from the pan. Tart pans make multi-serving pastries, but smaller tartlet pans make single-portion tartlets. Like tart pans, these come in a variety of sizes.The smallest of them usually are in one piece, not with removable bottoms.
23. Tube pan.
A deep cake pan with a tube in the center. The tube promotes even baking of angel food cakes
and similar items.

HAND TOOLS

1. Blow torch.
A tool used for caramelizing and controlled browning of various pastry items and for caramelizing the sugar topping of crème brûlée. Butane or propane is used as fuel, depending on the model.
2. Bowl knife.
Also called a straight spatula or palette knife, this tool has a long, flexible blade with a rounded end. Used mostly for spreading icing on cakes and for mixing and bowl scraping. A variant with an angled blade is called an offset spatula.The bent blade allows spreading and smoothing batters and fillings inside pans.
3. Brushes.
Pastry brushes are used to brush items with egg wash, glaze, and so on. Larger bench brushes are used to brush flour from tabletops and from the surface of dough. Oven brushes are used to clean excess flour from deck ovens.
4. Comb, icing.
A small plastic tool, usually triangular, with serrated edges in various patterns, for decorating icings and other pastry and decorative items.
5. 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
6. 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 doughs.
7. Peel.
A thin, flat board with a long handle, used for inserting and removing hearth breads from deck ovens.
8. Roller docker.
A tool that pierces holes in rolled-out dough to prevent bubbling during baking.
It consists of a handle attached to a rotating tube fitted with rows of spikes.
9. 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 heavy ball-bearing pin may be used.This pin is 3–4 in. (8–10 cm) thick and has a swiveling rod inserted through the center, with a handle at each end. Textured rolling pins are used to emboss designs,such as a basketweave pattern, in sheets of marzipan and pastillage.
10. Scrapers.
A bench scraper, also called a dough scraper, is a small rectangle of stainless steel with a handle along one of the long edges. It is used for cutting and portioning dough and for scraping tabletops. A bowl scraper is a piece of plastic about the same size but with one curved edge and no handle. It is used for scraping out the contents of mixing bowls.
11. Sieve.
A round metal screen supported in a stainless-steel hoop frame. It is used for sifting flour and other dry ingredients. Also called a drum sieve or tamis (pronounced tah-mee).
12. Strainer.
A round-bottomed, cup-shaped tool made of screen mesh or perforated metal, with a handle on one side. Used for separating solids from liquids, such as draining the juice from fruit. Screen-mesh
strainers can also be used for sifting dry ingredients, like a sieve.
13. Turntable.
A round, flat disk that swivels freely on a pedestal base. Used for holding cakes for decorating.
14. Whip.
Loops of stainless-steel wire fastened to a handle. Whips with a few stiff wires are used for mixing and blending, and whips with many flexible wires are used for whipping foams, such as whipped cream and egg foams. Also called whisk.

MISCELLANEOUS TOOLS
AND EQUIPMENT

1. Acetate.
A type of clear plastic. Acetate strips are used for lining charlotte molds (see above) in the production of certain cakes, pastries, and refrigerated desserts.For retail display, the strips can be left on after the charlotte rings are removed to support the dessert while displaying the layers.
2. Couche.
A sheet of heavy linen or canvas, used for supporting certain breads, such as baguettes, as they are proofed.The cloth is placed on a sheet pan and pleated to form troughs to hold the loaves so they can proof without spreading.
3. Hydrometer.
Also called a sugar densimeter, saccharometer, and Baumé hydrometer. Used to test the density of sugar syrups. (Sometimes called a thermometer, but this is inaccurate because it doesn’t measure temperature.) It is a glass tube that is weighted at one end. It is floated in the solution to be tested, and because it floats higher in denser solutions, the density can be read off the scale marked along the length of the tube, at the point where the surface of the liquid meets the tube.
4. Ice cream freezer.
Machine for churning and freezing ice creams and sorbets. It consists of a large refrigerated canister or container with a paddle, called a dasher, that rotates inside.The ice cream or sorbet mix freezes against the walls of the canister but is continually scraped off the walls and mixed to prevent the formation of ice crystals. Unlike home models, which depend on a salted ice water mixture to create freezing temperatures, commercial ice cream freezers contain a built-in electrically operated freezing unit.
5. Marble.
A stone material used for tabletop or work surfaces in pastry shops.The hard, cool surface of marble is ideal for working with various pastry doughs as well as for tempering chocolate and for some decorative work such as pastillage. Marble slabs may be installed on top of under-thecounter refrigerated storage boxes. This keeps the marble cool even in warm weather.
6. Parchment paper.
Also called baking paper or silicone paper. Treated nonstick sheets of paper, sized to fit standard sheet pans.When used to line pans, they eliminate the need for greasing the pans. Also used to make piping cones for decorative work.
7. Rack, cooling.
Wire racks used to hold baked goods while cooling. They allow air circulation around the items.
8. 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.
9. 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).