With the December Holidays approaching, the thoughts of many cooks turn to baking. For those who bake, now is the time to examiner your pantry for those items that should be replenished. Take particular care to discard and replace items such a flour or spices if they are more than six months old.
It is also a good time to take a look at your holiday recipes and make a list of items that you know you will use, even if not right away. Make a detailed list of the items and the total amounts you will need and take it to the grocery store when you go. Local Ralph's, Albertson's, Von's, Fresh & Easy, and Trader Joe's have already begun having specials on holiday baking items. If you have your list ready, you can take advantage of sales and build up your supplies.
Here is a basic list of supplies you might need for holiday baking. Readers may print this page and use it as a guide.
Flours: Flour is a basic need for most baking. What some people do not realize is that there are different types of flour for different purposes. There are three basic types most likely to be needed
- all purpose white flour
- cake flour
- bread flour
Sugars:
- granulated white sugar
- superfine or berry sugar
- powdered sugar (also called confectioner's sugar)
- light brown sugar
- dark brown sugar
Liquid sweeteners:
- honey
- molasses
- light corn syrup
Leavening
- baking powder
- baking soda
- dry yeast
Extracts:
- vanilla
- peppermint
- anise
- lemon
- orange
- cherry
- maple
- rum
Spices, whole or ground: *
- cinnamon
- clove
- nutmeg
- ginger
- cardamom
- coriander
- anise need
- allspice
Fats:
- unsalted butter
- vegetable shortening
- lard
- canola oil
- nut oils
Chocolate:
- bittersweet baker's chocolate
- milk chocolate baker's chocolate
- powdered cocoa
Extras:
- chopped nuts in a bag (keep in refrigerator)**
- chocolate and butterscotch chips
- various cookie and cake decorations in jars
- candy
- candied fruit
- meringue powder
- Solo cake and pastry filling
- cream cheese
- cream
- canned milk
For baking emergencies:
- cake mix
- canned frosting
- tubes of decorator icing
- ready-made pie crust
- frozen puff pastry dough
- canned pie filling
- refrigerator rolls
- instant pudding
*Most of these spices can be purchased through TsSpace. They sell organic, sustainable herbs, spices, teas and essential oils from Mountain Rose Herbs.
**From now through Dec. 6, local Fresh & Easy stores have various almonds in 12-16 ounce packages for $4.99.
Not everything on this list will apply to everyone's pantry. If you want to make changes, it should be possible to copy and paste this list to Mircrosoft Office or Open Office. Then you will be able to delete what you do not want and add what you do.
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