Tins & Tools
A banneton shapes nothing, it just holds a shape while gravity argues
The basket is often blamed for a flat loaf and credited for a good one, and neither is fair to a piece of equipment that only…
Tins & Tools
Ovens, scales, tins and the small number of things worth owning.
21 articles · updated August 11, 2026 · page 2 of 2
Tins & Tools
Find your oven's hot corner before you blame the recipe
Ovens are not uniform boxes, and the difference between one shelf and another can be larger than the difference between two recipes.
Tins & Tools
Tapered, straight and heavy rolling pins are three different tools
The choice is usually made on what was in the drawer, and each design changes how evenly pressure reaches the dough beneath it.
Tins & Tools
A warped thin tray is why one side of the batch browns first
Baking sheets are treated as interchangeable, and their thickness, colour and flatness decide how heat reaches whatever is sitting…
Tins & Tools
Piping is a temperature problem before it is a technique problem
Most piping failures are blamed on unsteady hands, and they are usually a filling that was too warm, too cold or too stiff for the…
Tins & Tools
A lame, a razor and a kitchen knife cut dough differently because of drag
The cut you make in a proved loaf is a race between the blade and the dough's tendency to stick to it, and thickness is what…
Tins & Tools
A straight-sided tub turns fermentation into something you can measure
Judging rise in a round bowl is guesswork, because the volume near the top is far greater than the volume at the bottom.
Tins & Tools
A food processor makes better shortcrust and worse bread
The machine is superb at one baking task and actively harmful at another, and the difference is what a spinning blade does to fat…
Tins & Tools
Springform, loose-bottomed and bundt tins each fail in their own way
Specialist tins exist because some cakes cannot be turned out of a solid tin, and every one of those designs trades a solved…