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    Home » Baking 101

    Published: Jul 21, 2018 · Modified: Aug 24, 2022 by Sylvie · This post may contain affiliate links.

    10 Essential Baking Ingredients for Beginners

    10 Essential Ingredients for Baking

    Whether you are completely new to baking, looking to expand your home baking skills or are just interested in creating delicious desserts and baked goods, it all starts with one thing: Ingredients! And to begin, you will only require these 10 Basic Baking Ingredients!

    Fresh sliced Citrus Fruits and Passon Fruit on a round cutting board over an orange napkin
    Jump to:
    • Why using the Right Ingredients for baking matters
    • 10 Must-have Baking Ingredients
    • Comments

    Why using the Right Ingredients for baking matters

    When I talk about my love for baking, most people instinctively say "I can't bake!". Can't you, or won't you? Baking can seem intimidating, but I truly believe that with the right tools, a little bit of practice and the right ingredients, every one can become a home baker!

    Baking cakes, breads or other desserts can sometimes be a complex process. Other times, it can be ridiculously easy. If you are new to the baking world, you may feel like you don't know where to begin.

    I believe that getting on a baking journey require three things:

    • The Right Tools
    • The Right Recipes
    • The Right Ingredients

    The Right Tools: in a previous post, I have shared my top 10 Essential Baking Tools and Utensils. These are the basic tools that I believe every baker should have in their kitchen, whether they are beginners or more advanced!

    The Right Recipes: you obviously will want to start with easy, no-fail recipes. Take it one step at a time!

    The Right Baking Ingredients: most baking recipes can be achieved with only a few baking essential ingredients. Get the right tools, find the right recipes, have the right essential ingredients and get ready to bake!

    And if you do not know where to start... here are 10 Ingredients every baker should have in their pantry. These Baking Essentials for Beginners are just what you need to get started!

    One slice of Cheesecake topped with fresh strawberry and a strawberry sauce over a pink plate

    10 Must-have Baking Ingredients

    1. Flour

    There are no more Essential Ingredients for baking than Flour. Without it - and the gluten it creates - your baked goods won't get the right structure: it is the ingredient that binds everything together.

    To start baking, simply use All-Purpose Flour. This wheat flour can basically be used in any recipe. When you get more experienced - or want to try other things - you can start looking at more specialised flour: Bread Flour, Whole Wheat Flour,...or even Gluten-Free Flour like Rice Flour. 

    But Flour is not only about the gluten. In many recipes, you can also use Flours made from ground Nuts like Almond Flour, Hazelnut Meal or from Legumes, Fruits and Grains like Quinoa Flour or Coconut Flour!

    2. Rising Agent

    Most recipes require a raising agent. The most commonly used one is Baking Powder. You will need baking powder for most cakes and baked goods, although some recipes recommend using Baking Soda in addition to an acid that will activate it.

    What is the difference? Baking Soda starts working instantly, while Baking Powder has a delayed rising reaction. You usually want the rising action to start in the oven and not while you are making the batter, which is why Baking Powder is more commonly used.

    To make bread, you won't use Baking Powder but Yeast. The easiest one to used is Instant Dry Yeast that you can keep in your pantry or in the freezer.

    3. Sweetener

    If you are baking sweet goods, you will want to add a sweetener to your batter.

    There are a few different types of sweeteners:

    • Processed Sugar, usually found in the form of a Powder or Granule.
    • Natural Powdered/Granulated Sugar like Coconut Sugar or Stevia.
    • Natural liquid Sweeteners like Honey, Maple Syrup or Agave Syrup.

    Most recipes recommend using Granulated White Sugar, which is probably the main one you need in your pantry. I personally like to substitute White Sugar for Granulated Brown Sugar. If you want to make Frostings, Buttercreams or Icing, you will use Icing Sugar.

    Depending on the recipe, you can also use liquid natural sweeteners such as Honey, Agave Syrup, Maple Syrup or Malt Syrup.

    Stack of 3 Lemon and Poppy Seed Muffins

    4. Fats

    It would be great to imagine a world where every cake and dessert don't contain fat. Unfortunately, most desserts do. Butter is the main source of fat used in baked goods, but you can also use Oils.

    For a neutral taste, use Canola Oil or Sunflower Oil. You an also replace butter with Olive Oil like I did for my Peach Almond Olive Oil Cake.

    Olive Oil will bring an interesting flavour to your desserts, but make sure to use a good quality one because low quality olive oil tends to become bitter when baked.

    5. Eggs

    Eggs are essential when it comes to baking. The Egg Yolk is what binds fats and liquids by emulsifying. They are also used as a way to bring air into a cake batter and make it nice and light.

    Some recipes use the whole egg, other require you to separate the egg yolk from the white. Try to use good quality eggs when possible - free range, cage free, etc... It will only make your desserts better!

    6. Salt

    I know, I know. If you are really new at baking, you may wonder why is Salt here. Salt is actually a really essential baking ingredients.

    It helps balance - and enhance - the flavour of your creations and shouldn't be overlooked. Avoid using Sea Salt, Flake Salt or other thick salts and rather choose a thin, fine Salt that will mix better with the rest of the ingredients.

    Chocolate Chip Scones topped with a chocolate ganache drizzle on a grey surface

    7. Milk or Cream

    Milk is really important in baking, as it is the liquid element that binds all the ingredients together, brings some fat and is able to bring flavour too.

    You can use whatever milk you have in your fridge but I personally prefer to use Full Cream Milk that will make your baked goods nice and rich. Although Dairy-Milk is the one most commonly used, you can often substitute it for Plant-Based Milks.

    Other than being non-dairy, milk such as Almond Milk or Coconut Milk can be used to bring a subtle flavour to your batters.

    Creams are also often used in addition to (or as a replacement to) Milk. That includes Heavy or Thickened Cream, Sour Cream, Double Cream, or even Yogurt!

    8. Chocolate and Cacao Powder

    Most people who like sweet love chocolate. Other than fruits, it is the most used ingredients to flavour desserts. Depending on the recipe, you will want to use Cooking Chocolate or Cacao Powder.

    Cooking Chocolate is used melted while Cacao Powder is kept as a dry ingredient. I highly recommend getting some good quality Chocolate and Cacao Powder - you will really taste the difference!

    Go for Dark Cooking Chocolate over Milk Chocolate for a richer, less sweet taste and make sure you use Unsweetened Cacao Powder.

    I personally try to use Belgian Chocolate when I can because they are the best one you will find!

    crumb shot of the Chocolate Loaf over a wooden board.

    9. Spices and Flavouring Extracts

    Spices

    No easier way to bring flavour to your baked goods but with Spices! When baking with fruits, the most used spice is Ground Cinnamon. It is the main spice that I use and can really transform your cakes.

    Other spices often used in baking include Nutmeg, Ground Ginger, Ground Cloves, Star Anise,... If you have never used spices in your cakes, you can check out my Spiced Red Wine Poached Pears recipe!

    Extracts

    You can find hundreds and hundreds of flavour extract: Coffee Extract, Almond Extract, Rose Water Extract,... The only one that I regularly use is Vanilla Extract.

    It is an easy way to flavour any cakes and batters, but be careful to only use natural pure extracts. Also be careful with Extracts; they can be extremely powerful in taste so only use a few drops at a time. If you prefer, you can also use Fresh Vanilla Beans or Vanilla Paste.

    10. Fruits

    What would be desserts and baked goods without fruits!? When it comes to fruits, you can use either Fresh or Frozen Fruits (when possible), although fresh will always be better for taste, flavours and texture.

    Make sure you use seasonal fruits for the freshest taste possible - or freeze your favourite fruits when they are in season to use later on in the year!

    More Baking 101 and Baking Tips

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    1. Ivorn says

      January 20, 2023 at 4:42 pm

      Nice stuff u got here

      Reply
    2. Nagginda Anitah says

      December 10, 2022 at 7:43 pm

      5 stars
      What should I need to add in a cake to live for some good time. without getting bad.

      Reply
    3. Nagginda Anitah says

      December 10, 2022 at 7:39 pm

      Thank you so much for the essential baking ingredients, for Sure I have learnt something good. And am going to add them in my baking skills so that I bring out a good product.

      Reply
    4. Gilbert says

      August 20, 2022 at 4:43 am

      Wonderful and helping article.
      Thank you.

      Reply
    5. April says

      July 28, 2018 at 9:41 am

      I need to up my spice game. Do you have a post about those?

      Reply
      • thefoodiejourney says

        July 28, 2018 at 6:27 pm

        Hi April, unfortunately at this time, I don't have an article on spices. If you are looking for baking spices, then this article should give you a good starting point. For savoury recipes, my go to spices are (other than salt and pepper): cumin, turmeric, garlic powder, curry powder, paprika, mustard seed powder and 5 spices powder. Hope that helps!

        Reply
        • April says

          July 29, 2018 at 1:10 am

          No worries! Thanks for the tips. 🙂

          Reply
    6. Mrs. 50 says

      July 28, 2018 at 5:09 am

      Love it! Make it easy for beginners!

      Reply
      • thefoodiejourney says

        July 28, 2018 at 6:25 pm

        If I can encourage anyone to start baking, then I have succeeded 😉

        Reply
    7. Annelise Lawal says

      July 28, 2018 at 2:20 am

      Very useful article.

      Reply
      • thefoodiejourney says

        July 28, 2018 at 6:24 pm

        Thank you Annelise, glad you found it helpful!

        Reply
    8. Deanna says

      July 27, 2018 at 1:24 am

      This list is just what I've been needing! Time to stock up!

      Reply
      • thefoodiejourney says

        July 27, 2018 at 7:06 pm

        So happy that it could help 🙂 Happy baking!

        Reply
    « Older Comments

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