I’m a Former Pastry Chef and This Is the Baking Set I Rely on for Both Meal Prep and Making Treats
If you could describe me in one word, it’d have to be sugar. Let’s be clear, this has nothing to do with my personality, it’s really about what I eat (and drink). I know my sweet tooth is a habit I should kick (sometimes I don’t have a single savory item until dinner… ), but the former pastry chef in me just won’t quit. My body remembers all those 4 a.m. slices of cake that I just had to taste test for quality — don’t knock it ’til you try it, it’s a great way to start the day.
Now that I don’t work in a restaurant or have my doughnut business anymore, the tools I use in my home kitchen are all the more important. I want my baking essentials to be multitaskers, long lasting, and worth the price tag. That’s why I turn to editor-favorite brands like GIR when I’m looking to expand my bakeware arsenal. I try to be a socially conscious consumer, so I love supporting DTC brands that put out responsibly made goods crafted from top-quality materials. When I got my hands on GIR’s 3-Piece Baking Set, well, it’s pretty much exactly what I would design if I had a kitchenware brand of my own. And by purchasing the tools as a set, you save 20 percent off the a-la-carte price, which comes out to less than $10 a piece — it doesn’t get much better than that!
The set consists of the baking mat that I fall in love with time and time again, along with the editor-favorite (and cult-followed) Spatula and Mini Spatula. All three components are crafted from 100 percent platinum-cured, pharmaceutical-grade silicone, which means they’re not only durable as all get out — heat resistant up to 550 degrees and dishwasher safe — but also resistant to stains, odors, and microbes. I plan on using these tools for years to come.
The well-thought-out design of the silicone spatulas was first brought to our attention back in 2019 when editors, over at our sister site The Kitchn, realized the shape and grip could master any sort of scraping, folding, flipping, or stirring. In fact, our love-at-first-use was so world changing that they just had to interview the founder who got it right (G: get, I: it, R: right) with that single spatula. She explained how creating the spatula from a single piece of silicone results in easy clean-up, with extra-supported flexibility and no gunk stuck between the blade and handle.
Of course, when I took my 3-Piece Baking Set for a whirl, I had high expectations. Which were met. Right away. Just holding the spatula, I could feel its quality. The comfy grip melted into my palm yet was still stiff enough to hold its own against some hefty carrot cake batter, getting every last drop thanks to the blade’s thin and slightly tapered tip. (Got a smaller task? Grab the Mini Spatula.) But what really I fangirl for is not using these tools for baking, but for cooking. I can sauté onions, walk away, forget I left my spatula in the pan, and come back without a worry. Not only will the spatula not be damaged, but it will also be, at most, warm (if heated at all) to the touch. Goodbye burnt fingers and melted plastic!
But my favorite piece in the set is the mat. If you bake or cook even semi-often, chances are you run through a lot of parchment paper. Beneath sweet potatoes, jelly roll cakes, and broiling broccoli, a layer of papery protection between your food and your baking sheet makes the clean up just that much easier. The mat replaces parchment as a reusable alternative that’s good for the environment, dishwasher safe, easy to roll up and store, and affordable. Plus, it’ll never burst into flames under the broiler…
Bottom line: Whether you’re baking, cooking, or even just hanging out and admiring this set, I think you’ll find the tools to be some of the most relied-upon essentials in your kitchen. They definitely are in mine.
Buy: GIR 3-Piece Baking Set, $28
This post originally appeared on Kitchn. See it here: I’m a Former Pastry Chef and This Is the Baking Set I Rely on for Both Making Treats and Meal Prep