Knowing that we’re all spending more time at home cooking and dining around our kitchen tables, the first annual Unpretentious Holiday Wishlist celebrates home cooks and finding the joy at home centered around food. We will release a new category each day this week starting with the kitchen followed by: baking, cookbooks and pantry, beverage, and gifts for hosts and food lovers.

Gifts for the baking hobbyists 

Baking became a popular pastime in 2020. Many took to baking as a stress-reliever, others as a new hobby — whether it was developing the best sourdough starter, making banana bread, or celebrating birthdays with homemade cakes. We asked a few of Charlotte’s best bakers and pastry chefs which gifts they would recommend to give your home-baker this holiday season.

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Baking

Kitchen Torch
Samantha Allen, Wentworth and Fenn 

Doing more than toast marshmallow or brûlée sugary toppings, Samantha insists that every baker have a kitchen torch in their kitchen. A versatile tool for home bakers, the kitchen torch will expand a home baker’s skills and confidence to make beautiful, elevated desserts including cakes, tarts, and cheesecakes.  

Victorio Apple Peeler 
Becca Rankin, The Goodyear House

The Victrorio apple peeler is an efficient tool, especially for apple pie making enthusiasts. The kitchen tool is easy to operate and quickly cores, peels, and slices apples perfect for pies, tarts, galettes. The tool is also a great way to quickly prep for applesauce, apple butter, and sauteed apples. 

High-Quality Bread Knife
Tanner Fink, Verdant Bread

After spending hours making crusty bread, the last thing a baker wants to do is tear into their beautiful loaf with a dull serrated knife. Tanner recommends investing in a high-quality bread knife for the bread baker in your life, suggesting the brands Shun or Dexter. 

Pampered Chef Donut Pan
Jasmine Macon, Leah & Louise

Making yeast donuts at home can be time consuming to prepare and messy from frying. For those who love donuts but want a less labor involved process, Jasmine recommends making cake donuts using the Pampered Chef donut pan. The 12-count nonstick pan is durable and easy to clean. Donuts made from a quick batter will have a slightly crunchy exterior and pillowy, cake-like interior. Jasmine’s favorite donuts to make with the pan are apple cider, lemon blueberry, and maple cinnamon sugar. 

Tapered Wooden French Rolling Pin
Hannah Woociker, MoonBox Bakery 

Rolling pie dough with an uneven or short rolling pin can be difficult and frustrating. Hannah prefers a tapered wooden French rolling pin and suggests it as a gift for bakers. Its lightweight and elongated shape helps roll dough evenly with minimal pressure and stress on a baker’s hands and wrists. 

Sturdy Sheet Pans
Jossie Lukacik, Sweet Spot Studio 

Flimsy sheet pans are a baker’s nightmare. Once placed in the oven the heat can cause them to pop or warp causing baked goods like cookies and cakes to bake unevenly or spill. Jossie suggests giving a set of three sturdy sheet pans (three quarters, half, and quarter) for bakers –– and home cooks. A durable sheet pan will last a long time and withstand the regular use. 

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Disclosure: The links above are affiliate links, which means Unpretentious Palate earns a small commission on any sales of the items above. Since nearly everything is available on Amazon these days, this has no influence on which items we feature.

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