4 Staple Baking Ingredients to Have in Your Pantry

If you’re a fan of baking and foresee yourself baking quite a few more times in the near future, there are a few staple ingredients you should always have in your pantry in case you feel the sudden urge to bake spontaneously. The baking ingredients that we’re about to share with you can easily be purchased at a supermarket or online websites that sell baking supplies online. One such website that offers tons of high-quality baking supplies at an affordable cost is Essentials Malaysia.

Without further ado, here are the list of staple ingredients that every baker should have in his or her pantry:

1) Flour

One of the most important ingredients you should have at all times is definitely flour. Flour is commonly used in many types of baking goods such as cakes, pastries, cookies and more. There are a variety of flour that can be used depending on what you want to bake. Some of the popular types of flours in the market are cake flour, self-rising flour, all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour and more. If you’re looking for a diverse flour to keep in your pantry that can be used for a large variety of baking products, all-purpose flour is definitely the go-to choice. Besides all-purpose flour, corn starch is also a recommended addition to your pantry as it is perfect for mixing with all-purpose flour to create pastry flour.

2) Sweeteners

Without any sweeteners, baking goods as we know it may not taste as nice as they currently do. Most baking recipes usually contain some form of sweeteners such as sugar, maple sugar, high fructose corn syrup and more. However, there are exceptions. For example, if you’re an adventurous baker and like experimenting with ingredients that already have a sweet taste such as oreo crumbs, lotus biscoff spread, ovomaltine crunchy cream spread, chocolate and fruits, then sweeteners may not be required unless you really enjoy super sweet baking products!

In general though, common sweeteners that you should have in your pantry are granulated sugar or brown sugar. They can be used in a diverse range of baking goods such as cakes, cookies, pastries and more. If you prefer an ingredient that is more on the healthier side, honey is an excellent substitute as a sweetener. Although the taste of your baking goods may differ, if used correctly, honey can actually make them taste better!

3) Leaveners

Other staple ingredients that should always be present in your pantry are baking powder and baking soda. Although it can be tempting to keep things simple and just stick with one leavener, this can be quite tough due to the fact that baking powder and baking soda provide different effects and functions. For example, baking soda does not have its own acid and usually needs to be mixed with an acidic component like sour cream or citrus. In contrast, baking powder already contains acid which is why it is commonly used in recipes that have no acidic components. Another essential leavener are eggs. Yes, they have short shelf life but since eggs are so diverse you can just cook them as one of your meals!

4) Fats

Another common ingredient in baking is fats. There are a number of choices when it comes to selecting the right fats for baking. Some of the more well-known options are butter, margarine and shortening. Depending on your recipe, one type of fat can be used as a substitute for another type of fat. For example, butter and margarine can be used interchangeably unless the recipe you’re using says otherwise. Be careful though when substituting these ingredients as they may affect the taste and texture of your baking products slightly. So which type of fats should you have in your pantry? If you had to choose only one, butter is the recommended option as it is the most common type of solid fat used in baking.