Ingredients: The Basics

Once you have some of the most basic tools--a bowl, a pan, a mixer, some measuring cups and spoons, an oven--you'll need to stock up on the most basic ingredients. I'll go into a little detail about the ingredients, and subsequent entries focused on specific ingredients will be charming little essays that go into further detail.

Stuff You Need

-Flour: all-purpose

The be-all and end-all of baking. There are very few things made without flour; running out of flour in a bakery is like running out of your own hands. Wheat flour is the most common flour, as it makes the most gluten, the protein that creates the structure of bread and other baked goods. There are several kinds of wheat flours: all-purpose (AP), cake, bread, whole wheat, rye, pastry. Then there's non-wheat flour: corn, rice, almond, potato, barely, oats , and so on. Non-wheat flours have either less gluten, or none at all; they're usually used with some amount of wheat flour to make breads. You only need AP flour, unless you're feeling fancy.

-Sugar: granulated, powdered, and brown

Something's gotta make that cookie too sweet to resist. While you can get away with only one kind of flour, you'll need at least three kinds of sugar: granulated sugar, powdered sugar, and brown sugar. Granulated sugar is the usual ingredient: many recipes shorten granulated sugar to just "sugar." If it doesn't specify what kind of sugar you should use, it's granulated sugar. Powdered sugar is required for many icings, and some kinds of cookies and pastries, as its microscopic grains are better suited for certain recipes and methods. Brown sugar has a unique taste that gives your baked goods a slight caramel-ish, molasses-like taste.

-Butter: unsalted

You cannot account for the exact amount of salt in salted butter. Some people wave off using it by saying, "Oh, I just don't put any salt in the batter," but how can they know if they're putting the right amount of salt in? They don't, and you don't, just like I don't, so don't use salted butter unless there is absolutely no choice. It doesn't take much salt to overpower the taste of plain, fresh, delicious butter. A buttery taste is the end goal of some baked goods; don't drown it out in salt.

Margarine and vegetable shortening aren't exact substitutes for butter; if you're making vegan baked goods, look first for specifically vegan recipes. Swapping out butter for margarine wholesale will change the chemical make-up of the recipe. For example, I made vegan chocolate chip cookies that were pretty good, but very, very crisp.

-Eggs

Many recipes call for egg whites, egg yolks, or separated eggs that are eventually incorporated together. You can buy egg whites (not the egg substitutes, but real egg whites) when you make angel food cake or buttercream icing in large quantities, and have no use for twenty egg yolks. Otherwise, though, buy whole eggs and save the leftover whites or yolks in the freezer.

-Salt

-Milk and Cream

Skim milk is useless for baking. The removal of all fat makes it milk-flavored water. 2% has enough fat to use, and performs as well as whole milk. Cream is very versatile, and finds its way into many recipes. It's also handy to have it around for whipped cream, which you can use as a last-minute icing, topping, filling, or garnish. And if you keep milk and cream in the fridge, you don't have to buy half-and-half: you can make your own.

-Leaveners: yeast, baking soda, baking powder

Gluten, the protein formed by mixing water and flour, is the basic structure for most baked goods. Leaveners shape the batter, filling it with pockets of air. Yeast is a fungus that has been cultivated over thousands of years by bakers and brewers. Using yeast requires paying attention to time and temperature, as it's alive and will flourish, go dormant, or die accordingly. Baking soda and baking powder are chemical leaveners, and don't require as much time and care as yeast. Baking powder is basically baking soda and cream of tartar, which is a misleading name, as it's a powder, not a cream. Anyway, it's good to keep cream of tartar handy, too, to either make a sort of baking powder, or to keep whipped egg whites stable.

-Chocolate: semi-sweet chocolate chips, cocoa powder

Oh, chocolate, my life blood. (Almost literally; my doctor is very concerned.) Everyone has a personal preference for dark, milk, or white chocolate (which isn't even chocolate), which vary in the amount of sugar, chocolate liqueur (not the kind that gets you drunk), and milk solids. Since you usually use a good amount of sugar and fats in your baking, most recipes will call for semi-sweet chocolate. It's best to use baking chocolate, but you can improvise: the vast majority of chocolate chips is semi-sweet, and their small shape makes them melt faster. Just keep in mind that chocolate chips will set a bit more firmly than baking chocolate. As for cocoa powder, there are a few varieties: regular, Dutch-processed, and even a "special dark" blend that turns your batter black. You can usually swap one for the other, unless specified in the recipe.

Chocolate burns very easily. Very, very, every easily. Never put chocolate over a direct flame. If you don't have the patience for a double-boiler, you can melt it in a microwave in short, ten-second long intervals. Heat it, take it out, stir it up, and repeat.

-Vanilla

Vanilla is the most common flavor used in baking. (It's also the second-most expensive, after saffron--go figure.) It provides a smooth "blank canvas" for other flavors, or can be enjoyed on its own. I use real vanilla extract for "good" baking--anything for special occasions or sale--artificial baking for "fun" baking and hot chocolate (I have a great stove-top recipe), and vanilla powder, which is used for some good baking. (I haven't used it a lot, honestly.) You can also buy vanilla beans, which are often steeped and then split open, then scraped of all the vanilla seeds.

-Spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, pepper, cloves

These are the four most basic spices. Cinnamon is used by far the most, so pick up a big ol' container, it'll go fast. I like to use dashes of pepper in my baking, which complements many flavors, including chocolate, and gives it a little bite. You'll want to keep a well-stocked spice and herb collection as you go on: dill, thyme, rosemary, mace, sage, chili pepper, cumin, orange peel, etc.

-Extracts: almond, orange, lemon, mint

Just as the four spices I listed first are the most commonly used, the four extracts above are the ones you'll use the most. A pastry chef from Tennessee told me that she got a kick out of how much us Northerners use almond extract; according to her, lemon and orange are used more often to flavor cookies and cakes where she's from. I s'pose when it comes to things like flavored angel cakes and sugar cookies, it's a matter of preference. Just like with spices, you should start with these, and build a collection as you.

-Sweeteners: honey, corn syrup, molasses

Sometimes you need a liquid sweetener, for texture and taste. Liquid sweeteners make your baked goods more moist and chewy, and ingredients like honey lend their distinctive flavor. Corn syrup is handy for cooking sugar--it prevents re-crystallization of the sugar--and Southern staples like pecan pie. Molasses is strong stuff, and a little goes a long way, but there's nothing that can compare to its strong, smoky flavor and ability to drown people.

-Corn starch

Corn starch is probably the most commonly used thickener--pies, gravy, pudding, whatever.

-Gelatin

Another thickener you'll want to keep handy. Gelatin stabilizes mousse, marshmallows, pies, jams, and whipped cream that's being used as cake icing.

-Food coloring/gel

Let's make colors! I really love playing with different colors and hues when I make icings, glazes, meringues, and even cakes. Maybe too much, I don't know, but until my boss tells me to knock it off and get back to making scones, I'm going to keep doing it. Coloring gels are the jam, and I highly recommend them, as they're thicker than food coloring, and won't water down your batter/icing when you're trying to get an intense color.

-Patience: for the process and yourself

Baking is time-consuming, and nobody gets everything right the first time. Learning and perfecting something like baking isn't always easy and fun, but push through the bad days and be forgiving of yourself. Focus on the basics, as annoying or boring as it may be, before you dive headfirst into something complicated. It'll save you a lot of tears, if you're anything like me. And if you're baking for anyone besides yourself, they'll appreciate the time and effort you put into that batch of cookies or birthday cake, even if it looks a little sloppy or tortured, unless they're jerks; in that case, the hell with 'em.