Baking Staples - things for the pantry!

Note: In this post, by "baking" I mean: making cakes, cookies, slices, breads and other things you'd find in the baked goods section at your supermarket, or at the bakery.

If you want to be able to bake "at the drop of a hat", it pays to keep a set of baking staple items in the pantry. That way, when you suddenly realise you need something extra for the lunchboxes in the morning, or feel like treating yourself for Sunday lunch, you'll be able to choose your favorite recipe and be ready to go in minutes.

It means no special trip to the supermarket too - and we all know the dangers of those "special trips" when you're on a budget. "I'll just get one of those"... perhaps the worst words ever to pass a penny-saver's lips! I bet everyone reading knows exactly what I mean there...

So without further ado, what items do *you* need in your pantry to be ready to bake?

Flour
Plain white flour is what I buy myself, with a small bag of wholemeal on hand as well. There are lots of wholemeal and wholegrain flours available and I'm sure they're all excellent, but healthy-choices not withstanding, my family prefers white. And while I'd *love* to get them eating better, I'm weaning them off store-bought sweet treats, so I figure white flour is a compromise I don't mind making - for now!

Choose your favorite brand of flour - I buy what's on special myself - and if you prefer to use a wholemeal flour, substitute at will.

When it comes to self-raising flour, I don't buy it. Why not? Make your own.**

• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Cream of tartar
  
• Salt
• Sugar - many recipes use brown sugar, raw sugar, caster sugar etc. Now, you *can* buy all those kinds of sugar if you want, but pretty much, you can use whichever kind you have on hand. I try to keep white sugar and either brown or raw sugar in my pantry, but on those tight weeks, I stick to just plain old versatile white.
• Cornflour or cornstarch - a lot of recipes use it for thickening. It's a nice to have; you can do without it - but it *is* handy for thickening savoury dishes and sauces, and I do try to keep it myself.

With these basic items, you can pretty much consider yourself baking-ready. As well, a lot of recipes use eggs, butter and milk, but you can find plenty of egg-free recipes if you look - our own Honey Loaf is an example. And butter can usually be replaced by margarine or any other fat you have on hand (sour cream, yoghurt, or even cooking oil, to name 3 I've used in a pinch), and milk can often be replaced by water.

Flavouring Pantry Items

These definitely come under the heading of nice-to-haves, but most of them last a long long time - often you'll need only tiny amounts of these items. I try to buy one every second shop, and then I have a stack before I know it, without having a huge outlay all at once. And of course, your family may not like some of the flavours (chocolate and peppermint are big in my house, but orange rarely goes down well, for example) so that will also determine what you buy.

Flavoured essences to keep on hand:

• Peppermint
• Vanilla
• Lemon

These are the only three I consider *essential* for myself - but essences come in all flavours. Others you might like to try include:

• Almond
• Brandy
• Rum
  

If you have kids, the investment of a couple of dollars in some food colouring can really pay off - both in interesting kids in cooking, and in getting them eating the results! I like to keep green and red food colouring at home, blue is also a popular choice.

The other key food flavouring I keep is cocoa. Essential for chocolate cakes!*

Of course, you can also keep ingredients like dried fruit, crushed nuts and cooking chocolate to hand. But you don't *need* them to bake successfully!

**TOP TIP: To make your own self-raising flour, add one and a half-teaspoons of baking powder and a half-teaspoon of salt for every cup of plain flour. Simple, huh? :)

*TIP: If you run out of cocoa, you can substitute instant chocolate drinks such as Drinking Chocolate, Milo or NesQuik. The flavour will be slightly different, but if your wee one or significant other really wants their favorite chocolate snack, it can save your bacon!