The Best Tools For Gluten Free Baking

I don't have a fancy schmancy Vitamix or a Blendtec blender and I don't think that you need one, either. This Ninja Nutri-Pro blender is powerful enough to do everything I need it to do, even if every once in a while I need to do it in batches if the canister isn't quite large enough to do it all at once. Every time I think I need a Vitamix, I remind myself of the price tag, choke on my coffee, and give my workhorse Ninja a friendly tap.

This Cuisinart 8-Cup food processor is large enough to make our homemade protein bars, and still small enough that it isn't too much of a pain to store in the kitchen cabinet. This one has fewer seams in the plastic canister than some, so it's a little easier to clean. But no full-sized food processor is easy to clean.

A miniature 3-cup food processor from Cuisinart is a tiny little friend in the kitchen that takes care of small chopping tasks, is easy to store, much less expensive than its 8-cup counterpart above, and is actually relatively easy to clean. Keep in mind that it won't fit a full-sized batch of protein bars, and doesn't have the other blades of its big sister, but I find it comes in handy quite often.

A tabletop electric fryer isn't an essential kitchen tool in your well-run gluten free kitchen, but it is incredibly useful if you want to make everything from gluten free donuts and gluten free apple fritters to authentic gluten free egg rolls and gluten free fried chicken. You can keep the smell and mess contained, maintain a steady, even oil temperature during frying, and make cleanup significantly easier. This isn't the model I have, which is a Cuisinart, but that suddenly went missing and this one has great reviews. It's what I plan to buy next, since the fryer I've had for a full 10 years is finally starting to show signs of age.

A one quart Pyrex bowl is important for making gluten free artisan bread. Generally, the mixing bowls you choose to use are low priority for buying recommendations. This one is an exception, though, since it's oven-safe, encourages proper rising, and creates the perfect shape for that particular recipe. It's also a nice size for a Big Salad.

Not everything can be measured by weight, since we aren't getting a scientific scale that measures accurately to less than 1 gram. That means you need something like this 9-piece set of stainless steel measuring spoons. If you're feeling expansive, try also picking up this set with unusual sizes like 3/4 teaspoon.

Silicone liquid measuring cups in 4 cup, 2 cup and 1 cup volume capacities are really handy when measuring liquids, which don't lend themselves to being measured by weight. Here's a general tip about measuring liquids, just for fun: water is the only liquid with an equivalency between U.S. fluid ounces (a volume measurement) and ounces (a weighted measurement). 1 fluid ounce of water = 1 weighted ounce of water. All other liquids are variable.

It's always important to have at least one 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup with a pour spout and lots of markings. It's heat-safe and has a nice wide opening, so you can use it to make things like custards and puddings.

If you're looking for recommendations for mixing bowls, I present this 3-piece set of stainless steel mixing bowls with lids: 1-1/2-Quart, 3-Quart and 5-Quart bowls. They're steady but not heavy, so you can whisk and mix vigorously, but still lift the bowl easily to transfer batter to a pan.

My favorite silicone spatula is actually the GIR brand silicone spoonula spatula. It does everything a spatula can do, but is a bit concave toward the center, which allows you to scoop, not just scrape. GIR has lots of different colors and sizes, too, and they generally don't stain, either, and are dishwasher safe.

I use a small offset spatula so often to smooth the tops of everything from raw cake batters and pie fillings to frosting on something small, like a frosted sugar cookie or cupcake. A small spatula like this is much more sturdy than the long ones, giving you a lot of control.

Instead of a long offset spatula, I usually turn to this straight metal spatula, since the farther from the handle you go, the less stability a long offset spatula has. Ateco is a great brand for all sorts of cake and cookie baking supplies, but Wilton's products work well, too, if that's what you prefer.

Whether I'm portioning gluten free cookies, muffin, or cupcake batter, or this large spring-loaded OXO cookie scoop (3 tablespoon volume capacity) is truly indispensable in my kitchen. It keeps portions consistent, and comes clean in the dishwasher.

Sometimes you need a smaller portion, like if you're making our protein balls recipe without protein powder, and this 50 cookie scoop comes in really handy. The number designation refers to the fact that it takes 50 scoops to make a quart of ice cream.

This is nothing more than a standard 12-inch large metal balloon whisk. The wires are sturdy enough to whisk even something thicker, like raw pancake batter.

This 8-inch small balloon whisk is also sturdy, so the tines never bend, and is ideal for mixing smaller quantities in smaller containers, where you can't fit a 12-inch whisk.

This 10-inch flat whisk is ideal for getting into edges when you're deglazing a pan or making a roux for something like gf gravy or even just the beginnings of a sauce. A balloon whisk is great for aerating things, but isn't the right shape to reach those nooks.

A Danish dough whisk is a really sturdy whisk that makes it surprisingly easy to mix heavier, stiffer, dough together with much less effort.

I do have a standard box grater, but I find that I reach for this OXO coarse grater with a handle much more frequently. It's much easier to clean since the design is so simple, and it has the standard size hole that I'm usually looking for. If I want a different size grater, I usually want a microplane.

This microplane grater/zester is essential for zesting citrus peel, finely grating hard cheese like Parmigiano-Reggiano, grating nutmeg, making fine chocolate shavings, and even grating ginger root.

I always use a French rolling pin, rather than a classic rolling pin with handles since I find that it gives me a much better feel for the amount of pressure I'm putting on whatever I'm rolling. This one is 18-inches long, which is the perfect length since you hold the tapered ends, and roll with the middle section.

A small, double-sided pastry roller makes it easy to roll out smaller pieces of dough, and get into tight spaces (the roller you see in the image here is the wider of the two sides). It's far from essential, but once you use one to roll out pie crust, ravioli, tortillas, and won ton wrappers, you won't want to be without one in your kitchen.

A plain round cookie cutter set, with smooth metal cutters ranging from 3/4-inch to 3 5/8-inches in diameter in a small, compact tin, will help you cut perfect circles in everything from cut-out cookies to tortellini. They're not quite tall enough to cut out biscuits, but they'll do in a pinch!

For the perfect sharp edges on your round biscuits, you'll never need another if you buy this set of 3 metal biscuit cutters: 3.2-inch, 2.8-inch, 2.4-inch. Unlike cookie cutters, they're all 1.4-inches high, so you can cut rounds out of a thick rectangle of dough for mile-high biscuits.

Most ovens run hot, and nearly all ovens are out of calibration even if you're really diligent about keeping them tuned up (are you really?). An instant read oven thermometer is a much more reliable source of information on what the actual temperature is in your oven, and it's cheap and easy enough to replace frequently. As soon as mine gets dirty, I know it's probably time to replace it. Stock up!

Even if you buy the tabletop electric fryer we discussed above, it's good to have at least one classic candy/deep-fry thermometer for cooking sugar to just the right temperature to make marshmallow ice cream or marshmallow fudge.

If you're making angel food cake, there's no way around it: you're going to need this simple metal sifter with squeeze handle (not rotary) to sift your flour. It's not often that we need to sift flours, but when you must, you must. Of course, you can always use a fine mesh strainer, which has other uses as well. I prefer one of these handheld sifters for sifting flour, though, since a strainer is a messier, less-contained way of sifting.

I love every Epicurean cutting board I've ever bought. They don't dull your knives, they stay in place as you're cutting, are dishwasher safe, and don't stain. This one is 11.5-inches tall x 9-inches wide, which is a nice standard size.

As much as I hate to admit it, shaping raw gluten free bread dough is a bit trickier than conventional dough, even with my very best recipes. This 20-inch Bethany pastry board and cloth is one you've seen me using in many how-to videos here on the blog. It's a simple wooden board covered in a canvas cloth, and it creates a semi-nonstick surface for shaping all manner of dough, allowing you to use much less additional gluten free flour during shaping. The canvas is removable and washable, and you can also purchase a replacement canvas if yours wears out.

To help you divide and cut raw dough, scrape down your surfaces, and even measure the length and width of your dough, this 6-inch long metal bench scraper is extremely useful.

A rigid plastic bowl scraper is also useful for cutting dough into portions, scraping down a sticky surface, and transferring dough from one surface to another safely.

This 8-inch stainless steel cake cutter is intended to be used to cut cake rounds out of a rectangle or square, but I use it to create clean edges on homemade tortillas. You'd be shocked how often it comes in handy!

This is a small (the dimensions are 1.85 x 1.65 x 9 inches) metal cut and serve turner from OXO. It's just thick enough to be sturdy, narrow enough on the edge to cut a pan of brownies, and short enough to get up under that corner piece without disturbing the next one.

Every time I post a recipe for any sort of gf tortillas, someone asks if they can use a tortilla press to make the rounds. The answer is usually ‘yes,' but you'll usually have to finish up with some sort of rolling pin afterward since a tortilla press is a great start but it doesn't make your wrap thin enough to bend without breaking.

I really love Fat Daddio brand cast aluminum pans, since they're lightweight but sturdy, have no seams where anything can get stuck, and bake cakes very evenly. Let's begin with this 8-inch x 2-inch round baking pan, since that's the pan I use more often than others.

Almost anything that can be made in an 8-inch round cake pan can also be made in a 9-inch x 2-inch round baking pan, and baked for less time. A larger pan with the same amount of batter means a thinner layer of batter, which bakes more quickly.

The Fat Daddio square baking pans have nicely shaped corners (not too sharp, not too round), and a simple overhanging edge for grabbing with your potholders without disturbing the baked goods in the pan. We're starting with this 8-inch x 2-inch square baking pan.

Next up is the same square pan, but with 9-inch x 2-inch square baking pan dimensions. Same cast aluminum, so be sure not to ever put it in the dishwasher, or you'll ruin your pans. They clean up so easy in the sink, though.

I don't often bake in this 13-inch x 9-inch nonstick baking pan from OXO, since I find that it can be tricky to get baked goods of this size to bake evenly all the way through without burning on the bottom toward the center, where the pan tends to get hottest. If I do, this is the pan I use, though. It's also useful as a roasting pan, too.

You don't really need this 9-inch square English shortbread pan—unless you want to make beautiful gf English shortbread during the holiday season. Then, you need this pan because it's beautiful, and it's the best weight and quality, and has the most beautiful, tasteful pattern.

I'm very, very particular about my donut pans, and this two-pack of 6 cavity nonstick Wilton donut pans is just the best. To make baked donuts, you need a pan with donut wells that have a prominent center column. Otherwise, as the donut batter rises, it seals up the hole. These are nonstick, and have lovely center columns.

A classic 10-cup bundt pan is essential for making, well, a gf bundt cake, and this cast aluminum pan from NordicWare is solid, well-constructed, bakes evenly, releases cleanly, and is made to last.

For a fancier look like we used in our gluten free marble bundt cake, use this beautiful, gold-colored 10-cup brilliance bundt pan from NordicWare. Like its classic cousin above, it's the right material for the job.

If you ever want to make a classic gf angel food cake, you'll need a tube pan. This one from Chicago Metallic is nonstick, since you can't grease the pan, with the little feet that allow you to turn it over and allow the cake to cool upside down once it's finished baking. It has about a 16-cup capacity, which is standard for fluffy angel food cake batter.

My favorite size rimmed baking sheet is this 10-inch x 15-inch x 1-inch jelly roll pan. This one is nonstick from OXO brand, and you'll reach for it again and again, even when you're not making a gf Texas sheet cake or gf pumpkin slab pie.

I bake cookies, biscuits and everything in between in sheet pans, and a quarter sheet pan like this aluminum 2-pack from NordicWare is a good basic option that's easy to store in your kitchen, or even in your oven. Remember that it's not made of stainless steel, so it will stain and can't go in the dishwasher. Stainless steel sheet pans are much more expensive, though, so I stick with aluminum and line my pans.

For larger batches, this 2-pack of aluminum half sheet pans from NordicWare aluminum is really useful. You can usually fit a dozen drop cookies on here, with plenty of space in between for spreading.

Finding the right standard 12-cup muffin tin is trickier than it sounds. These are nonstick tins from Wilton's Recipe Right line, and come in a 2-pack. No matter what you do, they'll stain, but these tins are the right size, the right shape and size wells for beautiful muffins, and they're light in color. If your baking pans are dark in color, they attract too much heat too fast and the outside is likely to burn before the inside is baked all the way through.

This miniature nonstick 24-cup muffin tin from USA Pans isn't perfect but it's the best there is. The wells are just the right depth, the sides are slightly angled which makes a prettier shape, the pan is light in color and heats evenly. The nonstick coating is also quite durable.

This classic 9-inch nonstick pie plate from USA Pans brand with sloped sides is made from nonstick-coated aluminized steel is durable, easy to clean, and I find that it never needs to be greased, making it much less likely to stain or discolor.

When you need a deeper pie pan, I love this 9-inch deep dish pie pan with a ruffled edge from Sweese. The ruffled edge makes it easy to produce a beautiful edge on your gf pie crust, and the cleanup couldn't be easier. It looks just like the Emile Henry pie dish, but it's less expensive.

I've tried so many springform pans for the best gluten free cheesecake, and this 9-inch springform pan from Cuisinart is one of the best. It's reliably nonstick, easy to assemble, and has the light color that you need if you don't want to burn your baked goods.

This OXO nonstick 8.5-inch x 4.5-inch 1 pound loaf pan is light-colored, so your bread doesn't burn on the outside before the inside is baked through. Plus, it has no seams, so your bread doesn't get stuck in any crevices. You can line it with parchment if you like, but it really isn't necessary.

If you'd prefer a loaf that's slightly longer, this 9-inch x 5-inch 1.25 pound loaf pan from Williams Sonoma's Goldtouch line is the way to go. I've had these pans for the better part of a decade, and they're a tiny bit discolored, but perform just as well as the day I bought them!

Chefmade's nonstick Pullman .99 pound loaf pan with lid is my go-to pan for making my everyday gluten free sandwich bread these days, since I love how it makes a tall loaf. You can use the lid to cover the dough as it rises, and then keep it in place for baking, or remove it entirely.

This Pullman 2 pound loaf pan with lid from USA Pans is the best standard double-recipe loaf pan. Don't forget to double the ingredients for a 1-pound or 0.75 pound recipe

Almost every baking recipe on this blog ends with an instruction to remove the cookies, bread, or cake from the baking pan and turn it out onto something like this wire cooling rack from OXO to cool completely. I really like the modest size of this rack (11.5-inches depth x 18.5-inches width x 1.5-inches height), the fact that it's nonstick, and heat-safe up to 450°F/232°C.