Home Baking Essentials (Free PDF Checklist) — Budget Tools to Bake Like GBBO
Get ready for the new season of Great British Bake Off with our ultimate guide to home baking essentials! From must-have utensils and bakeware to ingredients and appliances, this article is for beginners and seasoned bakers alike to ensure a well-stocked kitchen, ready to recreate their favourite showstopper recipes at home from GBBO 2025!
The beloved UK series is returning for its sixteenth season on September 2nd, and I personally cannot wait. I know I'm not the only one: the final episode in 2024 attracted 4.4 million viewers (according to Super TV on X.com) as home bakers and lovers of baked goods tuned in to see the winner be crowned.
Whether you like baking ahead of a weekly watch party, or following the week’s recipe at home (even if it inspires your very first home bake!) we’ve compiled the key home baking essentials to bake along with the GBBO 2025 cast as we kick things off this September.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Savoo article without noting that all the items I've sourced are the best prices, whether that’s a sale, a price comparison, or simply a discount code to apply at the checkout!
Must-have baking utensils
Tools every baker needs to follow The Great British Bake Off recipes at home.
Mixing bowl:
- Ideally two or three of different sizes
- Those cooking with children might consider a plastic or silicone (BPA-free) mixing bowl
- Glass and ceramic mixing bowls are popular options for adults
- Try Robert Dyas for mixing bowls as they often sell them in sets of three, and pick up a discount code before you do to save a little extra cash
A silicone spatula, a rolling pin, a pastry brush, and mixing spoons:
- Mostly self-explanatory!
- You can get all of these items from Dunelm starting from £13 (for all four items bought separately including a three pack of mixing spoons)
Measuring spoon, measuring scale, measuring jug:
- They do the same thing but do have three different purposes!
- Try the Procook set of 5 stainless steel measuring spoons (£7, reduced from £9)
- Procook also sells glass measuring jugs (cheapest, £5)
- The cheapest digital scale at Procook is £14, sans batteries. I have an analogue kitchen scale I bought from a charity shop for less than £10 but some people do claim they can be less accurate.
A sieve and a whisk:
- For adding air into your bakes which helps them rise in the oven
- Beginners may want to use a fork to whisk while getting started
- Otherwise, I love the grey silicone whisk from Sainsbury's for only £2.50
- A sieve is for adding air into flour before it goes into the bowl, but also helps separate any wheat bran (the outer layer of the grain) that may not have been removed
- The stainless steel sieve from Wilko is great because it won't tarnish and costs just £1.45
Tip for whisking
You can actually over-whisk your mixture! Whisking for too long can knock air out of your batter and you whisk it not rising in the oven. Follow the instructions in your recipe carefully to avoid this, as different bakes have different rules on mixing.
Essential bakeware
Cake tins:
- At least two circular trays (I like the ones with removable bottoms) and a loaf tray
- Argos is selling non-stick cake tins for £3, reduced from £6
Muffin and cupcake trays:
- Muffins and cupcakes are supposed to be different sizes, but shopping on a budget I just bought the muffin tray and use it for both muffins and cupcakes
- You can pick up muffin cases and cupcake cases from your local supermarket
A baking tray:
- It is very likely you already have a baking tray: it may have come with your oven or you may have purchased it for cooking dinners
- I use the same baking tray for bakes as well as meat, veggies, potatoes: you name it! Simply line the bottom with baking paper to ensure no cross-contamination of those stronger smells and tastes (this can happen even if the tray looks totally clean!)
Cooling rack:
- As Paul Hollywood might say, no one likes a soggy bottom
- You can purchase these for as little as £5 at IKEA, but I just take one of the shelves out of my oven and rest it on the stove top. Since that has slats in it, it does the job of letting my bakes cool down without getting soggy, and I didn't need to spend any extra money
Tip for essential bakeware
You might read in a recipe that a silicone mold or ice cream scooper is needed to make shapes or balls out of your dough. However from my experience baking on a budget, I've found that a lightly floured surface, a rolling pin and a knife or my hands usually does the job! It turns out 5x more uneven but 50x more charming.
Handy appliances and gadgets
I'll preface this section by saying that, having spoken to my colleague, money-saver and fellow baker, Chelsea Alvarado, this section has ended up as a list of essentials for intermediate bakers and not beginners (read her quote below to discover why!) Chelsea has been baking as a side hustle for seven years, and has more tips for those wishing to make money off their bakes here.
A stand mixer
A food processor/ blender
Piping bags and decorating tools
Thermometer
Top tip for new home bakers on kitchen appliances:
When you’re just getting into baking, you don’t need fancy, expensive tools. Start with simple, budget-friendly equipment so you can learn and make mistakes without worrying about the cost. Once you feel more confident and want to treat yourself to something like a KitchenAid mixer, don’t forget to use one of our deals at Savoo to save some money!
Personally, I've been baking for seven years and am just now saving up to purchase the KitchenAid Evergreen mixer, which should give you an idea of how dedicated to baking you should be before splashing out. Think bulk, speed, and quality: are people expecting quick turnarounds, professional quality, and large quantities? If so, it may be time to invest. Otherwise, your family and friends will likely be more than happy with what you make with a more basic set up.
Chelsea Alvarado, Savoo Money-Saving Editor
Key ingredients for your pantry
These are the key ingredients you will need in your pantry (besides the ingredients with a short shelf life, I recommend you stock up on these only when needed for your recipe so you don't end up with lots of food waste!). I've written a guide on saving money on groceries to help you stock that pantry.
- Flour: plain flour, self-raising flour, and strong bread flour, or gluten-free flour
- Sugar: Caster, granulated, brown sugar, muscovado sugar, and icing sugar
- Long-life oils: rapeseed, vegetable oil, butter
- Other: baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, yeast, vanilla extract
- Toppings: dried fruit like raisins and sultanas, nuts like peanuts and flaked almonds
Non-food pantry ingredients like tupperware for storage, freezer bags (did you know: you can freeze cake!), baking paper, cling film, tin foil, and baking trays, are also essential for the perfect bake.
Tip for frozen cake
This works especially well for leftover loaf cake: cut into slices before freezing and pop in your toaster, or under the grill if it has ingredients that could melt into the toaster. Top with a bit of butter and enjoy with a hot cup of tea! This and more ways to meal prep for money-saving can be found on my other guide.
The supermarket brands you know and love that we have discounts for on-site are:
GBBO-style recipes we've tried and loved
1. Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
These turned out amazingly, I followed the recipe to a T, and have no notes or changes for bakers who are going to give this recipe a go! The recipe calls for the batter to be made around 24 hours before cook time; be sure to heed that and prep your mixture the day before to avoid disappointment (and weird textures!)
Recipe: Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies by wellmadebykiley on TikTok
2. Burnt Basque Cheesecake
I reduced the amount of sugar in this to suit my personal preferences. I'd also recommend going by eye on the cook time as it looked done before the suggested time: everyone's oven works slightly differently!
Recipe: Burnt Basque Cheesecake by Lauren Aloise on Spanish Sabores
3. Lemon Curd Cake
These were delicious! I made them for a friend's birthday, using this and other tips from Savoo article "celebrate a birthday on a budget" and they went down a treat. The only switch I made was to change up the decorations to be more beginner-friendly.
Recipe: Lemon Curd Cake by Michelle Morfett
4. Bagels
Bagels are a classically fiddly recipe; I'll definitely give these another go but after more practice with beginner bread recipes!
Recipe: Bagels by saraelisa.an on TikTok
More places to find GBBO recipes
GBBO posts the week's recipes to their website so you can bake along with the Bake Off contestants each week. You can also find these recipes on the BBC, and on certain Reddit threads. Copies of The Great British Bake Off cookbook can be bought online at World of Books for just £3.50!
More fantastic home baking recipes can be found on micro-blogs dedicated to baking, on TikTok (my go-to), or BBC Good Food (which I personally find to be the easiest to follow).
Final baking tips for a great bake
Some tips I've compiled by trying and testing in my own kitchen (and some GBBO baking advice I've taken from the experts Paul and Prue!)
- Measure your ingredients carefully
- Use substitutions sparingly (E.G., butter for margarine: the ingredients are different so it interacts with the other ingredients in your bake differently)
- Use the cooking time as a guide and go by look and texture
- Simplify the decorating techniques to suit your skill level
- Have fun!
FAQs
ᐅ What are the must-have tools for beginner bakers?
A mixing bowl, wooden spoon, baking parchment and baking tray or cake tray, measuring jug, measuring spoons, weighing scales and a sieve. Download a PDF baking essentials checklist further up this page
ᐅ Can I bake without a stand mixer?
You can absolutely bake without a stand mixer. As home baker and Savoo money-saving expert, Chelsea Alvarado recommends, wait to purchase a stand mixer until you are confident you will get enough use out of it to justify the cost. The cheapest stand mixers are £50 and above! Before purchasing a stand mixer, a spoon and bowl, or using proper kneading techniques, will produce bakes that are just as light and fluffy.
ᐅ What's the difference between measuring cups and scales for baking?
Measuring cups have a smaller capacity than a scale and are better for measuring in precision for small-quantity ingredients like baking powder. You'll also find a lot of American recipes provide measurements in "cups", making them convenient if you take your recipes from US sites. In contrast, a scale offers a larger unit of measurement, commonly up to 15kg. Older UK scales you may find in charity shops will likely display weight in kilograms (metric system) and pounds (imperial system), making them both a cheaper and more convenient option for following both older and newer recipes (the UK unofficially uses both the metric and imperial systems).
ᐅ How can I bake at home on a budget?
- Bake using essential equipment only
- Use tips from my "groceries on a budget" article to get your ingredients, cheaper
- Make the most of supermarket loyalty schemes to get personalised discounts on your frequently-purchased items
- Follow basic recipes which require minimal, low-cost ingredients
ᐅ What are the best affordable alternatives to expensive baking equipment?
The top hacks we found for affordable home baking swaps are:
- Use the built-in oven racks for cooling your bakes instead of purchasing a cooling rack
- Use the built-in baking tray that came with your oven and line it with baking parchment instead of purchasing a baking tray.
- Use a fork instead of a whisk for things like eggs.
- The charity shop is my favourite place for cheap baking equipment; it gets donated all of the time
ᐅ Can I substitute self-raising flour for plain flour?
Yes, you can use plain flour instead of self-raising flour in your recipes. The weight of your substitution should remain the same, but remember to add salt and a leavening agent like baking powder to your plain flour, as these are the ingredients that differentiate the two.
ᐅ Why didn't my cake rise properly?
This could be for a number of reasons:
- You opened the oven door mid-bake, rapidly decreasing the oven temperature while your cake is still setting, causing the centre to collapse. Solution: don't open the oven until the final few minutes on your timer.
- You didn't put enough raising agent into the cake like baking powder or baking soda, these leavening agents produce CO2 which also helps the cake to expand. Solution: follow the recipe exactly, and always add additional leavening agents to plain flour.
- You overmixed your mixture, knocking out the essential air bubbles. Air bubbles are necessary as they expand in the hot temperatures of your oven, causing the cake batter to expand around them. Solution: don't mix your batter for longer than suggested in the recipe.
- You didn't put enough egg, or any eggs (vegan baking). There are several ways that egg contributes to a bake's rise: the main being that the egg proteins form a stable structure which prevent the cake from collapsing. Solution: purchase the right size of egg (small, medium, large, XL) as required by your recipe. Trial different egg substitutes until you find the one that works for you.
ᐅ How do I know when my cake is cooked all the way through?
In the final few minutes on your timer, the surface of your cake should have a golden brown tint, and bounce back up when pressed lightly in the centre. To check the cake innards, use a knife or ideally a skewer, push it directly in to the centre of the cake, and if there is no wet batter on the skewer when you pull it out, your cake is good to go!
ᐅ Can I freeze cakes and cookies?
Yes, you can definitely freeze cakes and cookies. Remember to cut your cake into portion-sized slices before freezing, keep them in a sealed freezer bag, and use cling film wrap to help prevent moisture loss! Thaw your cake or biscuit for 30 minutes before popping it under the grill to heat it back up. Remember not to re-freeze food items once they have thawed. Your cake should be safe to eat for around one month.
ᐅ What baking tools do Great British Bake Off contestants use?
Contestants on GBBO use a combination of self-bought and provided tools. Self-bought include things like special moulds or piping bags, decorations, and stands for presentation. Items provided by the show include the oven, a proving drawer, pans and baking trays, and a stand mixer, among other kitchen utensils like cutlery.
ᐅ What is the easiest baking recipe for beginners?
There are some links to recipes in this article that Savoo's baking beginners have tried and tested. The Victoria Sponge Cake is widely regarded as the easiest bake, try this easy sponge cake recipe by ex-Bake Off judge, Mary Berry.
Disclaimer: Savoo is an affiliate site and earns commission from the links posted! All advice is professional, impartial, and written to inform.
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