{"id":313048,"date":"2025-11-23T06:26:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T06:26:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/recipes\/category-a-b\/bread\/2025-holiday-gift-guide-for-cooks-and-bakers\/"},"modified":"2025-11-23T06:26:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T06:26:21","slug":"2025-holiday-gift-guide-for-cooks-and-bakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=313048","title":{"rendered":"2025 Holiday Gift Guide for Cooks and Bakers"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Welcome to my 2025 Holiday Gift Guide for Cooks and Bakers! When it comes to gifts, nothing beats something useful \u2014 and a little magical \u2014 in the kitchen. These are the gadgets and goodies I reach for all year long. Whether you\u2019re shopping for someone special or treating yourself, I hope you find something delightful here.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Last updated November 21, 2025 \u2013 Originally posted in 2017<\/span><\/p>\n

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Before I get started, I want to let you know that some of the links on this page are affiliate links. That means that if you click through and take action, I\u2019ll receive compensation. You can read more about affiliate programs here<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

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Going through this list of items is like visiting with me in my kitchen. You can see what tools I use as I\u2019m making bread.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get started!<\/p>\n\n

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Measuring Glass<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 The Man of the House said we needed a measuring glass.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t convinced, but it turns out he was right.\u00a0 We use it all the time.\u00a0 It\u2019s perfect for measuring small amounts of honey or other liquids.<\/p>\n

\"Measuring\"Measuring<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Dry Measuring Cup Set<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 People who make bread need two<\/em> types of measuring cups. One set for dry ingredients and another set for wet ingredients. Dry measuring cups are for measuring things like flour and sugar. You scoop things into the cup and then level off with a straight-edged kitchen utensil.<\/p>\n

\"Measuring\"Measuring<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Wet Measuring Cup<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 For measuring liquids like milk or water you need a see-through measuring cup. I have a collection of sizes to accommodate various recipes.<\/p>\n

\"Water,\"Water,<\/p>\n

This kind of measuring cup<\/a> comes in handy for making apricot bread<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

16.5 by 11.75 inch baking and cooling rack<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 In 2019, I needed a new cooling rack.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

As I was reading the reviews for different cooling racks, I noticed that the big complaint was rust.\u00a0 People bought a cooling rack, only to discover that it quickly became rusty.\u00a0 This seemed to happen on every<\/em> cooling rack I read about.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

It made it difficult to choose a rack.\u00a0 I crossed my fingers and ordered this one.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m happy to report that my new cooling rack hasn\u2019t rusted at all!\u00a0 It\u2019s as bright and shiny as the day I got it.<\/p>\n

\"Here's\"Here's<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the cooling rack<\/a> in action under a loaf of eggnog bread<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Zester<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong> \u2013 Some of my bread recipes, like the one for easy orange bread<\/a>, call for zest.\u00a0 When I first started making bread, I didn\u2019t own a zester.\u00a0 I tried to use a carrot peeler instead.\u00a0 What a pain!\u00a0 Zesters don\u2019t cost that much and make zesting a breeze.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\n\"Zester\"\"Zester\"<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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\nThe Bread Lover\u2019s Bread Machine Cookbook<\/strong><\/a><\/strong> \u2013 I received this as a gift a few years ago.\u00a0 It\u2019s a great cookbook with 300 recipes! The recipes are for two pound machines as well as for one and a half pound machines.\u00a0 There\u2019s an orientation section that covers topics like bread ingredients and troubleshooting.
\n\"The\"The<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\nBread Knife<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 If you\u2019re going to make homemade bread, you need a good bread knife.\u00a0 \u00a0Just like my bread machine, I use our bread knife all the time.
\n\"Bread\"Bread<\/a><\/p>\n

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Bench Scraper Set<\/strong><\/a>\u2013 I\u2019ve started using a bench scraper when working with dough.\u00a0 It helps me move sticky dough around and I love it when I\u2019m dividing dough for rolls or buns. This nested set of bench scrapers includes a stainless steel scraper, a plastic scraper and a plastic bowl scraper.<\/p>\n

\"Bench\"Bench<\/p>\n

Challah dough<\/a> is SO sticky. The bench scraper<\/a> helped a lot!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

I recently reviewed the Kook Dutch Oven.<\/a> It\u2019s made of enameled cast iron and built to last. In my review, I show that this pan is for more than sourdough bread. I made dough in the bread machine and then baked it in the oven using the Dutch oven. Fantastic!!<\/p>\n

\"Kook\"Kook<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Gamma Lids<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 We bought this set of eight 2-gallon buckets with Gamma Seal lids to store flour and other food products.\u00a0\u00a0I love them!!\u00a0 (If you\u2019d like to buy them one at a time, here\u2019s\u00a0another link for single two-gallon buckets with Gamma Lids<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

\"Gamma\"Gamma<\/p>\n

See more about how we store flour in bulk<\/a> with our Gamma Lids<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

If you\u2019re not familiar with Gamma Seal lids, you\u2019ll want to check them out.\u00a0 It makes opening buckets of flour a breeze!\u00a0 \u00a0Note the top of the buckets.\u00a0 I can easily grab the top of the bucket and twirl.<\/p>\n

And moving from 5-gallon buckets to 2-gallon buckets makes my life much easier!\u00a0 I could lift the 5-gallon buckets . . . barely.\u00a0 Here\u2019s more information about how we store flour in bulk<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Pizza Stone<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>\u2013 The Man of the House, TMOTH, has always made great pizza.\u00a0 It\u2019s even better now that we own a pizza stone!<\/p>\n

We wondered if a pizza stone would really<\/em> make that much of a difference.\u00a0 It totally did! We\u2019re thrilled that we bought it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Pizza\"Pizza<\/p>\n

This pizza recipe<\/a> has a few shots of the pizza stone<\/a> in action.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

Wondering what bread machine to buy?<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019d buy a<\/strong> Zojirushi machine<\/strong><\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Zojirushi bread machines are well built and make great bread.<\/p>\n

I make all the bread, hamburger buns, dinner rolls, pepperoni rolls and hot dog buns for our household.\u00a0\u00a0That means that I use my bread machine two to three times every week.\u00a0\u00a0In my experience, Zojirushi bread machines will last four to six years under those conditions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Zojirushi currently offers two models of two-pound bread machines.\u00a0 Those are the the\u00a0BB-CEC20 Home Bakery Supreme<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0BB-PDC20 Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Both are good machines.\u00a0 I\u2019m giving you the highlights here, but if you want to know more I\u2019ve got an article devoted to picking out a bread machine<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"Virtuoso\"Virtuoso<\/a><\/p>\n

The BB-PDC20 Virtuoso Plus<\/a> machine is really popular. However, I had questions about this machine, including the usefulness of the special cycles.\u00a0 I wrote about this in my article devoted to picking out a bread machine<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pros of the Virtuoso Plus:<\/strong><\/p>\n


Cons of the Virtuoso Plus:<\/strong><\/p>\n