Baking Basics: My Must-Have, On-Hand Ingredients

Welcome back to another Baking Basics installment! Today, let’s talk about how I stalk my pantry for Baking with a little Cooking mixed in.

Most people keep the basics on hand… flour, sugar, eggs, butter. You can make a lot of things with those four ingredients. But, I keep a large array of ingredients on hand. I have some favorites too. I live fairly close to town, but especially this day in age, I try to avoid Walmart at all costs, and where I live, that IS our grocery store. I wish more grocery stores would move into the area… please read this and follow suit!! Once I start to get low on something, I put it on my grocery list so I can re-stock it before I’m completely out.

Below is everything I keep in my pantry on a regular basis, along with brand recommendations and links, where applicable. Is there anything you would add to the list?!

FLOURS

• All-Purpose Flour
• Bread Flour
• Cake Flour
• Almond Flour
• Coconut Flour
• Whole Wheat Flour

SUGARS

I buy my sugars in bulk at Sam’s Club. 

• Granulated (white) Sugar
• Light Brown Sugar
• Powdered Sugar

CHOCOLATE

• Unsweetened Chocolate (Baker’s Choice)
• Dark Chocolate (Hershey’s Special Dark)
• Semisweet Chocolate (Nestlé, and I prefer mini chips)
• Milk Chocolate (Usually Hershey’s)
• White Chocolate (Usually Ghiradelli)

COCOA POWDER

• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (Hershey’s)
• Unsweetened Dark Cocoa Powder (Hershey’s or from our local Amish store)
• Dutch-process Cocoa Powder (This is harder for me to find in stores so I use from our local Amish Store)

CHIPS

I use a variety of brands for my chips, all of which I buy at the grocery store.

• Dark Chocolate Chips (Ghiradelli or Hershey’s)
• Semisweet Chocolate Chips (Nestlé)
• Miniature Chocolate Chips (Nestlé or from the Amish store)
• Milk Chocolate Chips (Hershey’s)
• White Chocolate Chips (Ghiradelli)
• Peanut Butter Chips (Reese’s)
• Butterscotch Chips (Nestlé)

VANILLA AND EXTRACTS

These are all purchased at the grocery store, except where noted below. 

• Whole Vanilla Beans (Amazon)
• Pure Vanilla Extract (Homemade or Amish Store)
• Vanilla Bean Paste (King Arthur Flour)
• Almond Extract
• Coconut Extract
• Lemon Extract
• Mint Extract
• Food Coloring (definitely go for the Gels)

SPICES

While not all of these are baking spices, this is more of a comprehensive list.

• Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute
• Accent Seasoning
• Allspice (ground)
• Ancho Chile Powder
• Bay Leaves
• Baking Powder
• Baking Soda
• Basil Leaves
• Cajun Seasoning
• Cardamom (ground)
• Cayenne Powder
• Celery Seed
• Chili Lime Seasoning
• Chili Powder
• Chives
• Cilantro
• Cinnamon (ground + sticks)
• Cloves (ground and whole)
• Cream of Tartar
• Crushed Red Pepper
• Cumin
• Dill (seed & weed)
• Espresso Powder
• Fennel Seed
• File
• Flaxseed
• Garlic & Pepper Seasoning
• Garlic Powder
• Garlic Salt
• Garlic Salt with Parsley
• Ginger (ground)
• Greek Seasoning
• Habanero Pepper Powder
• Italian Seasoning
• Marjoram
• Mustard (ground & seed)
• Nutmeg (ground and whole)
• Onion (chopped, powder, & salt)
• Oregano
• Paprika (regular & smoked)
• Parsley
• Pepper (white)
• Pumpkin Pie Spice
• Rosemary
• Sage (dried)
• Salts – Table Salt, Kosher Salt, Sea Salt, Seasoning, and Pink Himalayan
• Sesame Seeds
• Taco Seasoning
• Tarragon (leaves)
• Thyme
• Tumeric
• Wasabi
• Xantham Gum

MISCELLANEOUS BAKING INGREDIENTS

If not purchased at the grocery store, a link is included. 

• Breadcrumbs (plain, Italian, and panko)
• Candies, such as Mini M&M’s, Reese’s Pieces, Hershey’s Kisses, Nestlé Crunch, etc.
• Cornmeal
• Cornstarch
• Corn Syrup (light and dark)
• Evaporated Milk
• Graham Crackers
• Honey
• Maple Syrup (always use pure maple syrup for baking, not imitation such as Log Cabin, Aunt Jemima, etc.)
• Marshmallows
• Molasses
• Non-Stick Cooking Spray (i.e. Pam or Baker’s Joy for Baking)
• Oats (old-fashioned and quick-cooking)
• Peanut Butter
• Pumpkin (canned)
• Shredded Coconut (sweetened and unsweetened)
• Sweetened Condensed Milk

REFRIGERATED INGREDIENTS

I purchase all of these at the grocery store.

• Butter (salted and unsalted)
• Cream Cheese
• Eggs
• Sour Cream
• Whole Milk
• Yeast (I usually have Active Dry Yeast on hand and just by rapid when needed)

OILS

These are all purchased at the grocery store.

• Coconut Oil
• Olive Oil
• Sesame Oil
• Canola Oil

VINEGARS

Again, these are all purchased at the grocery store.

• Apple Cider vinegar
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Red Wine Vinegar
• Rice Vinegar
• White Vinegar