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Top Kitchen Tools and Gadgets Every Cook and Baker Needs

Here’s a list of recommended products and tools.

Many loaves of Bread

Last updated April 23, 2026 – Originally posted in 2017

Going through this list of items is like visiting with me in my kitchen. You can see the tools I use while making bread and why they matter.

Let’s get started!

Measuring Glass – We use a small measuring glass all the time for liquids like honey. It’s handy for precise measurements and small quantities.

Anchor Hocking

Dry Measuring Cup Set – Bakers should have separate sets for dry and wet ingredients. Dry measuring cups are for flour, sugar and other dry goods; you scoop and level for accurate amounts.

Measuring cup set

Wet Measuring Cup – A clear, glass or plastic wet measuring cup is essential for liquids like milk or water. I keep a few sizes on hand to match different recipes.

Water, apricot preserves and egg

This kind of measuring cup comes in handy for making apricot bread.

16.5 by 11.75 inch baking and cooling rack – After reading reviews about racks that rusted, I chose one that has stayed bright and shiny. A reliable cooling rack is worth it for consistency and durability.

Here's a loaf of eggnog bread with raisins instead of cranberries.

Here’s the cooling rack in action under a loaf of eggnog bread.

Zester – For recipes that call for citrus zest, a zester makes the job quick and easy. It’s inexpensive and far more efficient than trying to use a peeler or knife.
Zester
The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook – This cookbook is a great resource with hundreds of recipes for different machine sizes and helpful sections on ingredients and troubleshooting.

The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook

Bread Knife – A sharp, quality bread knife is essential for slicing homemade loaves cleanly without crushing the crumb. It gets used nearly as often as the bread machine.

Bread Knife

Bench Scraper Set – Bench scrapers are indispensable for handling sticky dough and dividing portions for rolls or buns. A nested set with metal and plastic scrapers covers most tasks.

Bench scrapper

Challah dough can be very sticky. A bench scraper makes handling it much easier.

I recently reviewed an enameled cast iron Dutch oven. It’s sturdy and versatile—great for baking machine-made dough in the oven for a crusty loaf.

Kook Dutch Oven Review

Gamma Lids – Two-gallon buckets with Gamma Seal lids are my favorite way to store flour and other bulk ingredients. The lids make opening and closing easy, and smaller buckets are simpler to lift and handle than five-gallon buckets.

Gamma Lids

Using Gamma Lids makes storing flour in bulk much more manageable.

Pizza Stone – A pizza stone improves the crust and overall bake quality. It made a noticeable difference in our homemade pizzas and is a simple upgrade for better results.

Pizza Dough in the Bread Machine

A pizza stone helps produce a crispier crust when using bread machine dough.

Wondering what bread machine to buy? I recommend a Zojirushi machine. These models are well built and consistently produce excellent loaves.

I use a bread machine several times a week for loaves, buns and rolls; in my experience, a quality Zojirushi can last several years under frequent use.

Two popular Zojirushi models:

Virtuoso Plus

BB-PDC20 Virtuoso Plus — Popular and feature-rich.

Pros:

  • Gluten-free setting

Cons:

  • More expensive
  • No quick dough setting

Zojirushi BB-CEC20 Home Bakery Supreme 2-Pound-Loaf

BB-CEC20 Home Bakery Supreme — A solid choice for most home bakers.

Pros:

  • Less expensive
  • Quick dough setting

Cons:

  • No gluten-free setting
Wondering What Bread Machine to Buy?