Fewer have had more of an impact on the contemporary field of baking than French pastry chef Dominique Ansel. Not only was he crowned the World’s Best Pastry Chef by World’s 50 Best, but he also invented the viral and delicious croissant donut crossover, the Cronut.
If you dream of similar baking accolades, you're in luck. Homes & Gardens spoke with Ansel to learn his top tips for home bakers to use in their own kitchens. They're so easy to recreate. Aside from using the best flour (Ansel swears by his recently launched Dominique Ansel x Grands Moulins de Paris Pastry Flour), the right tools are the best way to guarantee culinary success.
Ansel tells H&G: 'If you're a home baker and looking to take it to that next level, a scale, a stand mixer, and a digital thermometer are worthy investments in the long run.' Rather than fixating on fancy, specialty tools used for a specific dish, he is all about general use kitchen appliances that can be applied to a variety of recipes. Notably, all of these pieces focus on precision.
Though he uses all of these tools, the one appliance Ansel can't live without is a good kitchen scale. He says: 'Pastry is a science - everything must be measured and precise, oftentimes down to the gram. My one tip for home bakers and professional bakers alike is to invest in a proper digital scale. Measurements are so much more accurate with a scale, and you don't have to think about or worry about how densely to pack your measuring spoons or cups (yes, it really does make a difference).' If you're looking for one that will look nice on your countertops, we absolutely love Smeg's new kitchen scales.
In addition to using the right tools, Chef keeps his kitchen tidy with a simple technique: reading. He recommends: 'Read. The. Recipe. Read it fully through from start to finish, read it multiple times even, before you dive into step one. It'll help you understand the timing and pace, what tools are needed, when certain ingredients have to be added (i.e. cream needs to be very cold, straight from the fridge, for it to whip up well...there's no point in trying to whip cream that's been sitting on your counter for hours getting warm), how long the wait time is between steps, etc.'
He continues, 'Then you can plan ahead and know when to start other tasks during the down-times. And in our kitchens, we mise out (or measure) all our ingredients in advance. That way, we can mentally check off one by one, know that we have the correct quantities, and that makes the actual steps of mixing and baking that much more simple and efficient.'
Shop Ansel's Recommendations
Based on the items Ansel swears by, we did our own research to find the best versions of each item. This Salter Scale is one of the most highly rated on the internet. Homes & Gardens editors ranked the KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer is the 'Best Overall' pick on our list of the best stand mixers of 2024. The waterproof Lonicera thermometer is a highly ranked, but also accessibly priced option.
This classicly designed digital kitchen scale combines ultimate accuracy with style
For an iconic, American-made stand mixer, we'd always choose this. With 10 power settings, it mixes everything from cake batter to bread dough and whipped cream, effortlessly. To learn more, you can read our 5 star KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer Review
This useful digital thermometer is perfect for testing the internal temperature of all your favorite breads, cakes and cookies
We're not saying that reading the recipe and buying these three appliances will turn you into Dominique Ansel, but it certainly doesn't hurt.
