For those supporting a burgeoning pastry chef or a passionate home baker, selecting gifts that enhance their craft is a thoughtful choice this holiday season. The ideal gift for a baking enthusiast varies based on their skill level and baking preferences. To assist you in choosing the perfect present, we have categorized the top gifts for bakers into trendy baking ingredients, cake-decorating tools, bread-making supplies, and essential baking equipment.
Baking Ingredient Gifts
When it comes to finding the perfect gift for a baker, you can't go wrong with baking ingredients. From trendy ingredients to vegan and gluten free baking supplies, there are plenty of choices to suit every baker's needs. Here are some of the best baking ingredient gifts to consider:
Nielsen-Massey Extracts — $
It's obvious when bakers use quality ingredients in their work, especially when comparing flavors. Extracts and flavorings are all about taste enhancement for batters, cocktails, and frostings. Buying Nielsen-Massey extracts can help set their recipes apart from the competition and boost sales whether they sell baked goods from home or a storefront. Buy a bottle of each to set up your baker with a nice kit. If you can only afford one or two, check out our guide to the top flavor extracts every baker needs to make your selection.
Soy Flour — $$
This gluten-free flour is made from high-quality whole soybeans that are ground into a fine powder, providing a nutritious and flavorful addition to various baked goods. Ideal for use in vegan baking, soy flour helps to replace the binding elasticity and moisture that eggs traditionally provide in baked goods. It is also a great source of protein, adding essential nutrition to your products. When used in bread, soy flour plays a crucial role in creating a better crumb structure, improving dough machinability by enhancing elasticity, and increasing water absorption and retention. One of the key advantages of using soy flour in baking is its film-forming properties, which significantly increase the shelf life of baked products. By preventing fat migration and water uptake, soy flour helps maintain the freshness and quality of baked goods over time.
Ruby Chocolate — $$
Ruby chocolate is made from ruby cacao beans, a newer cacao bean produced by Callebaut. Although it may look artificially pigmented, ruby chocolate's red-pink hue is a natural food color and is desired by pastry chefs all around the world. Ruby chocolate is known for its distinctive flavor profile, which offers the fruitiness of fresh berries accompanied by a subtle touch of sour smoothness. It's best used in cheesecakes, cookies, pastry cream, ice cream, and gelato applications. More advanced bakers can temper it to make ruby chocolate truffles, chocolate bars, and other chocolate work.
Date Paste — $$$
With its rich, sweet flavor reminiscent of caramel, date paste is a great way to add sweetness to your recipes without the need for additional refined sugars. Beyond their sweetness, dates also contribute moisture and texture to baked goods. When bakers add date paste to a batter or dough, they release their natural sugars and create a rich, sticky consistency that adds depth to the final product. This jammy quality can act as a binder in eggless baking and enhance the flavor profile of a wide range of baked goods, from cookies and bars to bread and cakes.
Cake Decorating Gifts
When it comes to frosting and decorating cakes, having the right tools can make all the difference. Whether they're a professional cake decorator or a hobbyist, these cake-decorating gifts are sure to impress and inspire. From heart-shaped cake pans to luster dust, and fondant tools to piping tip sets, we've got you covered.
Piping Tip Set — $
Some of the best gifts for bakers are tools that teach new baking techniques, and being skilled at piping is among the top qualities a baker can have. Different types of piping tips offer unique possibilities for decorating cakes, cupcakes, French pastries, and sugar cookies. By having a set of piping tips, bakers can easily experiment with different designs and techniques, allowing for more precise and controlled piping.
To complement the piping tips, it is also beneficial to provide piping bags. These bags are essential for filling with frosting or other mixtures and attaching the piping tips. Lastly, a pastry tip drying rack assists with the cleanup process by providing a designated space for drying the piping tips after use.
Luster Dust — $
Help your cake decorator take their presentations to new heights with luster dust. Luster dust is a type of food coloring that imparts a lustrous, shimmery sheen to many confectionaries. With a wide array of colors and metallic shades available, luster dust offers the opportunity to both color and enhance the brilliance of sugar work, chocolates, and cake decorations.
Luster dust is highly versatile and can be used in multiple ways. It can be applied as a water-soluble powder or as a dry powder. To apply it dry, you can simply brush it directly onto chocolate or sugar work to add a vibrant color. For wet application, you can mix the powder with water, alcohol, or lemon extract and use it to paint on cakes and sugar cookies. If you prefer airbrushing, you can mix the powder with sugar water to create a ready-to-use solution.
Heart-Shaped Cake Pans — $
Vintage heart-shaped cakes have become incredibly popular on Cake-Tok (TikTok reels dedicated to cake content). Over 100,000 posts are using the hashtag #heartcake on TikTok, indicating the widespread fascination with this trend. If you know someone who loves baking, you can support their journey to mastering this trend by presenting them with heart-shaped cake pans. Achieving the desired shape when cutting cakes can be quite difficult, especially for less experienced bakers. However, heart-shaped cake pans offer the perfect solution, allowing even novice bakers to effortlessly create flawlessly shaped and symmetrical heart-shaped baked goods every time.
Fondant Tools — $ - $$
Fondant is a type of pliable icing that is used to coat cakes or sculpt three-dimensional decorations. It provides a smooth and polished finish that is perfect for creating intricate designs and professional-looking cakes. Fondant smoothers, fondant mats, fondant molds, fondant crimpers, and fondant cutters are all essential tools that help bakers create beautiful and intricate designs with ease. If you're only going to purchase one item, fondant smoothers are the most foundational tool required for working with fondant. If you're feeling generous, then gift a baker a collection of fondant tools so they can take their decorating work to a professional level.
Bread Making Gifts
Bread-making is an art that requires precision and patience. Whether you're making baguettes, brioche, or one of the other most popular types of bread, having the right tools makes the process much easier. From essential tools to handy kits, here are some of the best gifts for bread makers.
Bread Making Kit — $
A bread-making kit is the perfect gift for those just getting into the art of bread baking. It offers a baking tray for two baguettes, allowing you to bake two delicious baguettes at once. In addition to the baguette tray, this kit also includes a rectangular bread mold perfect for baking traditional sandwich loaves or artisan-style breads. To help you achieve professional-looking bread, the bread-making kit also comes with a baker blade to score the surface of the bread before baking, allowing it to expand properly and resulting in a beautiful, crusty exterior. Lastly, the kit includes a dough scraper, which is an essential tool for shaping and dividing dough.
Brioche Pans and Molds — $
If you know someone who loves baking brioche bread, a brioche pan or mold would make an excellent gift for them. These specialized pans or molds are specifically designed to create the classic round and fluted shape that is characteristic of brioche bread. Crafted from top-notch materials, they ensure that heat is evenly distributed throughout the dough, resulting in a perfectly baked loaf every time. Moreover, these brioche pans and molds are specifically engineered to withstand high-heat baking applications, ensuring their safety and longevity. Thanks to their non-stick surface, removing the finished bread from the pan becomes a breeze, as it effortlessly slides out without causing any damage.
Marble Rolling Pin — $ - $$
A marble rolling pin isn't just aesthetically pleasing, it has functional benefits as well. Because marble is naturally cold, it effectively maintains the ideal temperature of dough during the rolling process. This feature makes it particularly well-suited for handling various types of dough that need to remain cold, such as those used in pies, biscuits, and puff pastries. By ensuring optimal chilliness, it enhances the quality of these doughs, allowing them to reach their full potential. This baking gift idea not only possesses aesthetic appeal but also serves a practical and indispensable purpose in the kitchen.
Proofing Baskets — $$
For bakers who take delight in making sourdoughs and other types of bread, a proofing basket is an essential tool. This basket not only helps to shape the dough into the perfect loaf during the proofing process but also imparts a desirable woven design onto the dough before it is baked. It adds a touch of artistry to the bread-making process, ensuring a visually appealing final product. To round out the gift, consider adding bread lames and loaf pans for a complete bread-baking set.
Baking Equipment Gifts
When it comes to finding the perfect gift for a baker, you can't go wrong with high-quality baking equipment. From everyday essentials to specialty products, here are some essential baking equipment options that would make a generous gift for your baker:
Reusable Baking Mats — $
Reusable baking mats and pan liners are indispensable tools for every baker. They provide a non-stick surface for your baked goods and shield your pans from unwanted grease. They also eliminate the necessity of using disposable paper liners, which ultimately reduces unnecessary waste in your kitchen. They're also useful work surfaces for delicate fondant or sugar work since their smooth, non-stick surface ensures intricate creations are flawlessly executed. By equipping your baker with these versatile and environmentally friendly tools, you can significantly enhance their baking experience while simultaneously promoting sustainability in their kitchen.
Shop Reusable Baking MatsIngredient Scale — $ - $$
In the realm of baking, precision is paramount as it is a discipline rooted in scientific principles. Therefore, the accuracy of ingredients becomes of utmost importance. While measuring spoons and cups are commonly used, they fall short when it comes to providing the level of precision that scales can offer. Scales are widely used in various countries to weigh ingredients, allowing bakers to expand their culinary horizons by trying out international recipes, such as the beloved classic British bakes. For beginner bakers, we highly recommend gifting them with a reliable baking scale. With this essential tool at their disposal, they will be empowered to tackle any recipe they desire and even create their own.
Countertop Mixers — $$$$
A countertop mixer is a valuable tool that can save you time and effort in the kitchen. It is especially helpful when making large batches of cookies, meringues, frostings, doughs, and batters. This versatile appliance simplifies the mixing process, making it faster, cleaner, and less labor-intensive. Many bakers consider it a dream item because of its efficiency. In addition to its primary functions, a countertop mixer can also be used for other preparation tasks like beating eggs, whipping toppings, and even kneading pizza dough. Whether your chef is still building their foundational arsenal of baking tools or is looking to upgrade their current unit, a countertop mixer is a generous gift they will love.
Chocolate Melters and Temperers — $$$$
A chocolate melter is a versatile piece of equipment that tempers, sets, and holds chocolate at the desired temperature. It eliminates the need for manual tempering techniques that can be time-consuming and challenging to master. The precise temperature control of these machines ensures that the chocolate sets properly, giving it a shiny and professional finish. Bakers can use them to melt chocolate for drizzling over cakes, cookies, or pastries. They help chocolatiers temper chocolate to make truffles, bonbons, or chocolate bars.
Shop Chocolate Melters and Temperers
Whether you are looking for a gift for a professional baker or someone who simply enjoys baking as a hobby, there are plenty of options to choose from. From high-quality baking equipment to gourmet ingredients, there are plenty of gift options that can enhance their craft and inspire their creativity in the kitchen. We hope this guide helps you embrace the season of giving this holiday season.
