I'm a full-time mummy

I make a list for everything too.  It helps me focus and know where to start.  I love baking and I hope you love it too.  I don't have any advice on the oven.  Mine came with the house and is digital.  GOod luck!

You have compiled a great list there, very thorough!  Wish I could help you with oven, I'm not too experienced with baking.  Have you heard of freecycle.com?  I'm not sure if it's available in Malaysia but I just heard about it again, where people who don't need what they have can give it away through this website freecycle.  Pretty cool.  Thanks for stopping by my feature post and for your sweet comment, have a super day!  ~Jinnia

Hi kel!
Thanks for your feedback and yes, I hope I'm going to enjoy it!

Hey Jinnia!
I've checked around the Google for freecycle in Malaysia sites... nope... nothing yet... sigh... Thanks for the tips though!

Hi full-time mummy,

1) I am using a Tefal acttivys (conventioanl) table top oven 26L. Adantages would be its self-cleaning function (very useful) and the rubber fittings preventing heat from escaping. The disadvantage would be the small size. Very big size pans cannot fit into the oven. So always measure your oven size before getting pans. I can only do one cake or one batch of cookies at a time. Well it does'nt really bothers me much since I do not make a big batch each time. Baking wise it works quite well for cakes and cookies. Heat distribution is not too shabby. I have been using mine for about 2 yrs. Its good for beginners.

I cannot advise for other ovens. But I heard rowenta ovens are good and they are big enough. When considering size, probably you might want to consider the amount that you will be baking. If you are baking 8 inch or 9 inch cakes most of the time (which is the norm), 30L would suffice.

2)A measuring scale would be good. I do not own any measuring cups. (they can be inaccurate in their calibration). If referring to recipes using cup measurements, convert them to grams using www.joyofbaking.com or other conversion websites. the measuring jug would be good for liquid measurements.

3)You only need a 2 or 3 mxing bowls for cake batter and cookie dough etc. At least one should be heatproof. Use regular bowls for measuring ingredients.

4) flat surface flexible spatula is better than the spoon shaped one.

5) Wooden spoon you probably will need only one or two. I only have one. Use the handheld mixer for better results.

6) one large wire rack should be good.

7) apron is optional. Get the really thick Oven mitts.

8) Pastry brush I would not reccommend those with bristles made from hair. Difficult to dry. Buy those with bristles made from synthetic/ plastic materials.

9) rolling pin cover and canvas are optional.

10) get tart tins with removable base (Pies are higher and are served in the bakeware. Tarts can be removed whole from the tin). Pastry cutter and pastry blender are optional. pie weight is optional. Use heavy dry beans or rice as substitute instead. when cooled, the dry beans or rice can be stored in a container and be re-used. get the medium size hold muffin pans. the handheld mixer will come in handy instead of relying only on wooden spoons.

cheers

just to add on, measuring spoons are needed all the time even though I do not recommend using measuring cups.

for cake pans, basic aluminium pans with no non-stick features works very well. In fact they are the best in my opinion. Non-stick pans are really optional.

the handheld beater is not suitable for kneading bread dough. Bread making requires a very power beater, most often a stand beater.

Oh wow Bakertan!
You are so going to be my baking sifu!!! Thank you so much and really really really appreciate your time and generous advice in helping me! I'm going to update your points into my list (cos I'm going to refer to it for my shopping later)

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Wow. You made a good list. Definitely measuring spoons, parchment paper, aluminum baking sheet. I like glass bakeware. In fact, I broke my glass pie plate this morning, boo. Just start with the basics. And it seems you have it listed already (= good luck.

Hi Lisa!
Thanks for your feedback! Ok, noted on the paper and sheets. Thanks again!

Measuring scale for dry ingredients.
Measuring cups for large-volume liquid ingredients such as oil and water.
I line bake tins with baking paper.
For recipes needing chopped nuts, a manual grinder saves much time and is less messy.

Get ready some airtight containers (I use Tupperware) to store packs of leftover ingredients until the next bake.

Good luck in your new endeavor! I'm not too good in the baking department so I'll be learning from you!

Hi MieVee!
I'll take note on the airtight containers for the leftovers! Thanks!

Hey Steph!
Thanks! I need to speed up things already! Have been dragging this and I don't want to lose the momentum (and the energy) while I still have it!

Hi full-time mummy,

Like what the others have mentioned, baking paper is very useful. you might want to stock up on that. I use it for almost all my bakes.

A citrus zester or grater (with fine holes) might be useful since lemon flavoured baked goods are common and lemon zests will be used.  

Kitchen towels would be useful too. I have 4 of these and I use them to wipe the utensils dry after washing them before I commence baking.

For the oven, regarding the window/door issue, thick mittens will solve it. I have not burnt my hands during baking. Most good oven brands have the temperature in graduation of 10 degrees C. If the marking is not obvious, it probably is'nt worth buying.

Air-tight containers are needed to store cookies too. Cookies lose their crisp fast when the container is not air-tight.

A cake saver/keep might be a good investment. It is basically a tupperware that allows whole cakes to be stored. Comes with a handle and you can tranport the whole cake around. Use it to store cakes at room temperature or whole cakes in the refrigerator if required. If not, you can slice your cakes and store them in smaller containers.

It looks like this:
www.webstaurantstore.com/.../6903900RD.html  

I am not qualified to be your shifu yet, haha. Take it as an exchange of pointers. I will also learn from you too as you progress and improve =]

Cheers

Hey Bakertan!
Ermm... anyone who can bake now, is pretty much my sifu! Thanks again for your helpful tips on the oven windows, mitts and all. I've already added them to my list!

The cake saver is very useful, especially for birthday cakes, since can't cut beforehand. I bought a large one at Robinsons (The Gardens), RM49 during sale.

Hi MieVee!
Yeah, already noted down on the cake saver. Before I get this tip from Bakertan, I never even heard of the word cake saver.. I have wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy a lot of things to learn.... and it's still in the list stage... argghhhhh.....!!!