My Pantry & Most-Used Ingredient Notes

Jump to:

• All-Purpose Flour
• Bread Flour
• Instant Yeast
• Can I use Active Dry yeast instead of Instant Yeast?
• Salt
• Butter
• Eggs
• Vanilla
• Olive Oil
• Finishing Salts
• Honey
• Milk
• Baking Soda
• Baking Powder
• Herbs and Spices
• Can I substitute almond flour in your recipes?
• Does gluten-free flour work in your recipes?
• Can I substitute whole wheat flour in your recipes?

All-Purpose Flour

I use King Arthur Baking's all-purpose flour, which has a slightly higher protein (aka gluten) content than other brands of flour which makes it a little closer to a high protein (aka high gluten) bread flour. I get the big bags at Costco, but you will probably be just fine with the regular 5lb bags. If you're using a store-brand flour and finding that your doughs are turning out drier than you expect, you may see better results using their bread flour.

Bread Flour

I use King Arthur Baker's bread flour in all of my recipes that call for bread flour. Bread flour has a higher protein (aka gluten) content than all-purpose flour, which makes it great for recipes where you want a chewy, elastic dough that holds its shape well. Bread flour absorbs water better than all-purpose flour does, so while you can use it in most bread recipes that call for all-purpose flour, you may find you need a bit more water to get the dough to feel right.

Instant Yeast

I use SAF instant yeast in all my bread recipes that call for yeast. Instant yeast (sometimes called “rapid rise” or “quick rise” yeast) is one of two types of dry yeast. I prefer it because it can be added directly to your dry ingredients without being bloomed in warm water first.

PRO-TIP: Store your yeast in the fridge or freezer to add a year or more to its “best by” date! You can use it right out of the freezer, no need to defrost or let it warm up first. 

Salt

Unless otherwise specified, I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt in all my recipes. Diamond Crystal Kosher salt has larger, irregular, airier crystals that are easier to pinch and sprinkle. Because of the airier structure, when you measure DC kosher salt by volume (teaspoons, tablespoons), it is half as salty as other brands and types of salt (table salt, fine sea salt), including other brands of kosher salt like Morton’s, which have a denser, finer crystal structure. As long as you measure your salt by weight, you can use any type of salt you want since the air doesn’t weigh anything. But if you're measuring your salt by volume and the air takes up space in the measuring spoons, you may want to cut the amount of salt in the recipe in half.

Butter

Unless otherwise specified, I use American-style (e.g. not European butter) unsalted butter in all my recipes. If you’re using salted butter, cut the amount of salt in the recipe in half. 

Eggs

I use large eggs in all my baking. In the US, large eggs weigh about 50 grams without the shell, and a large egg yolk weighs about 18 grams. If you’re using a different size egg you can always weigh them to get the right amount! If you need only a portion of an egg, whisk it well and then weigh out what you need. 

Vanilla

I use Heilala vanilla bean paste in all of my recipes that call for vanilla. You can use vanilla extract without modifying anything in the recipe, but I like vanilla bean paste because it has flecks of real vanilla bean in it. I usually order the big jar of vanilla bean paste online, which lasts me a year or more (and I probably bake more than you do), but I’ve also seen Heilala’s small jars at HomeGoods/TJ Maxx/Marshall’s, so keep an eye out! 

Olive Oil

My favorite brands of olive oil are Kirkland, Brightland (use code PRACTICAL for 15% off!), and California Olive Ranch. I use mild-flavored olive oils in recipes that need just a little bit of oil to provide tenderness and elasticity, but in recipes where the flavor is more prominent, I like to use more robustly flavored oils or even flavor-infused oils like rosemary olive oil, garlic olive oil, or even chili oil.

Finishing Salts

Maldon Flaky Sea Salt is my favorite finishing salt. This salt does not get mixed into the dough; it is sprinkled on top before or after baking. 

Honey

In some recipes, I use honey instead of sugar for sweetness. Sometimes this is because the recipe is traditionally sweetened with honey, other times it’s just preference. Honey is a fairly dense liquid ingredient and weighs a lot by volume. Most of these recipes only use a very small amount; add it slowly — a drop or two at a time — so you don’t accidentally add too much!

Milk

I use whole milk in all my baking, unless otherwise specified. The fat content in whole milk is important for developing a soft, tender, fluffy texture. Substituting a low- or non-fat milk will result in baked goods that are drier and more crumbly. Your dough or batter will also be wetter, stickier, and harder to handle. I haven’t tested my recipes with non-dairy milk alternatives, so experiment cautiously if you do!

Baking Soda

Baking soda (aka sodium bicarbonate) is a chemical leavening agent often used to help cakes and cookies rise. In the world of bread doughs, it’s used to give pretzels their signature brown crust and to help leaven some biscuit doughs and flatbreads. Baking soda must be activated by an acidic ingredient in the dough, which is why so many biscuit recipes call for an acidic ingredient like buttermilk. Baking soda only has a shelf life of about six months, so make sure yours is fresh!

Baking Powder

Baking powder is another chemical leavening agent. It’s a combination of baking soda, a dry acid like cream of tartar, and a starch to keep the first two ingredients from interacting until you want them to. Baking powder is double-acting; it reacts first to moisture and then again to heat, providing a slower and more gentle rise than baking soda.

Herbs and Spices

I buy most of my herbs and spices from reputable spice sellers online like Burlap & Barrel, Spicewalla, and Curio Spice Co. In particular, I’m a big fan of Burlap & Barrel’s royal cinnamon, Curio’s smoked paprika, and Spicewalla’s whole nutmeg. King Arthur Baking also sells excellent blends like this pizza seasoning blend. I make my own salt-free everything bagel seasoning.

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Can I substitute almond flour in your recipes?

No. Almond flour is just finely ground almonds. I actually hate that it’s called almond flour because even though it's got a floury texture, it can’t be swapped in for wheat flour in most recipes. Ground almonds don’t have the starches or gluten-forming proteins needed to support most bread and baking recipes that call for wheat-based flours. If you want to use almond flour in a recipe, look for a recipe that is written to use almond flour. 

Does gluten-free flour work in your recipes?

I haven’t personally tried it, but if you check the comments on a lot of my recipes you’ll find people have had success using certain brands of cup-for-cup (aka 1-for-1) gluten free flours from brands like King Arthur Baking and Bob’s Red Mill. I can’t personally vouch for them or if there are any other necessary modifications to make them work, but I do know people have shared with me that they work! If you give them a try and have success, please leave a comment and let me know!

Can I substitute whole wheat flour in your recipes?

Whole wheat flour contains the bran of the wheat berry which is sharp and can cut through the gluten network you’re trying to build when you make bread and most baked goods. It’s also more absorbent than white flour. These two things make it harder to develop strength and structure in your recipe without making other modifications (basically, a whole new recipe). So, no, whole wheat flour doesn’t work as a 1-for-1 swap in my recipes that are written to use all-purpose or bread flour, but you can usually substitute up to 20% of the white flour for whole wheat if you want some of that great nutty whole wheat flavor without compromising too much of the texture in the final bake.