Food Cooking Tips & Techniques Baking We Tested All the Best Bread-Baking Products—Here Are Our Favorites Everyone is loving loaves these days. We considered dozens of items to recommend six bread winners. By Phoebe Fry Phoebe Fry Phoebe Fry is a graduate of Barnard College, where she studied English Language & Literature, and Ballymaloe Cookery School in County Cork, Ireland, where she completed a 12-week certificate course. Throughout her college years, she took advantage of her location in New York City and held various roles at companies in the food media space, from the James Beard Foundation to Real Simple, to a position as cookbook author Vallery Lomas' assistant. She has experience in marketing, foundation work, social media, recipe development, recipe testing, editorial, and more. Phoebe presently works as a line cook in New York City. She also writes a Substack newsletter, and contributes to Real Simple as a freelance food writer. Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines and Betty Gold Betty Gold With more than a decade of experience writing and editing food and nutritional content, Betty Gold is the former senior digital food editor at Real Simple and acting senior food editor at Well+Good. Betty has also spent time working in product analysis at Good Housekeeping and in food production on The Martha Stewart Show. Highlights: * Bachelor of Science in Food Studies & Nutrition from New York University * Industry professional for 11 years * Served on mastheads at Food Network, Bon Appetit, and Good Housekeeping Magazines * Worked in publications department at James Beard Foundation Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines Published on September 11, 2020 Share Tweet Pin Email Of all the popular pandemic pastimes, from-scratch bread baking gets the gold. And why not? It's methodical, soothing, and allows us to have a constant supply of carb-filled comfort food on hand at all times—not to mention the fact that kneading is our ideal way to tame tension. That being said, your skills are only as good as your ingredient and equipment arsenal. Here are the goods and gadgets we love that'll make baking those homemade loaves a cinch. 6 Major Mistakes You're Making When Baking Bread, According to One of the World's Top Experts 01 of 06 Best Dutch Oven: Le Creuset 5½ qt. Signature Round Dutch Oven Courtesy of manufacturer $360, williams-sonoma.com For a golden, crackly crust, bake your loaf in a Dutch oven with a tight lid to retain steam. This splurge-worthy classic comes in 19 colors and will last forever, thanks to its cast-iron construction and lifetime warranty. 02 of 06 Best Bowl Covers: Dot & Army Reusable Bowl Covers Courtesy of manufacturer $66 for 6, food52.com Ditch the plastic wrap and cover your rising dough with these adorable, eco-friendly fabrics (in three sizes). Just throw them into the washing machine and air-dry between uses. 03 of 06 Best Hand Mixer: Black + Decker Helix Performance Premium Hand Mixer Courtesy of manufacturer $30, bedbathandbeyond.com No pricey stand mixer required! The dough hooks included with this powerful tool let you skip kneading by hand and still turn out a smooth dough for softer breads. Plus, it comes with improved beaters and a wire whisk. 04 of 06 Best Scale: OXO 5-lb. Food Scale Courtesy of manufacturer $30, amazon.com With this user-friendly scale, you'll have no fear of the precision that baking demands. Recently upgraded with a decimal readout and a bright display, it ensures exact measurements. Even better, it means fewer measuring cups to wash. TO BUY: $30; oxo.com. 05 of 06 Best Flour: King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour Courtesy of manufacturer $4 for 5 lb., target.com Bread flour has more protein than all-purpose, resulting in a stronger dough, loftier rise, and tighter crumb. It also gives pizza crusts and many artisanal loaves their nice, chewy texture. 06 of 06 Best Bench Scraper: Chef'n Pastrio 3-in-1 Bench Scraper Set Courtesy of manufacturer $10, amazon.com This snap-together set helps you deal with many bread needs: Use the metal piece to cut or score dough, the plastic one to clean rolling pins and surfaces, and the curved one to lift every last bit from your mixing bowl. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit