Best French baking tools, professional gear for home bakers

There’s a reason French bakeries produce such consistently brilliant croissants. Part of it is skill, yes. Part of it is butte,the good stuff, with a high fat content and flavour. And a surprising amount comes down to equipment.

When I started baking at home, I quickly realised that the right tools make all the difference, not just in the outcome, but in the whole experience. After years of experimenting, I’ve found a handful of French baking essentials that have become my kitchen staples. Here’s a look at the ones I swear by, with a few personal touches and honest reviews.

The equipment that makes a difference

Le Creuset Madeleines Tray

If you’ve ever tried to make Madeleines at home, you know the struggle: getting that perfect golden shell, the soft, pillowy centre, and the classic hump. The Le Creuset Madeleine Tray has transformed my baking game. Made from heavy-duty, non-stick metal, these trays conduct heat evenly, so each madeleine bakes to perfection. After years of using silicone moulds, I can honestly say these are a step up. The only downside is the price, but if you love madeleines, it’s an investment worth making.

Le Creuset Cooling Rack

After baking, cooling your bakes properly is just as important as the baking itself. The Le Creuset Cooling Rack is one of those unsung heroes in my kitchen. Made from non-stick carbon steel, it’s sturdy and easy to clean. The silicone inserts on the rim make it easy to lift, even when it’s hot. I use mine for everything from brioche to Financiers, and the raised feet allow air to circulate, so your bakes don’t get soggy.

Le Creuset Fluted Dish

A good fluted dish is essential for any French baker, and the Le Creuset Heritage Fluted Dish ticks all the boxes. Made from enameled stoneware, it heats evenly and retains heat beautifully, which means a perfectly crisp base every time. I’ve used mine for everything from tomato tarts to tarte au citron, and it’s never let me down. It’s a little pricey, but the quality and durability make it worth every penny.

Westmark Dough Scraper

For those of us who love working with proper, buttery dough, the Westmark Pastry Dough Scraper is a very handy little workhorse. It’s designed for cutting and dividing dough cleanly, whether you’re portioning brioche, tidying the edges of tart dough, or cutting neat strips for a galette. The stainless steel edge does a neat job of lifting sticky dough off the work surface too, which is a lifesaver when you’ve slightly overdone it with the water or the room is just a bit too warm.

Relaxdays Rolling Pins

For rolling out every French pastry doughs like pâte brisée or a delicate pâte sucrée, these Relaxdays Rolling Pins earns their place on the worktop. The two sizes, 65cm for big jobs (and tall husbands), and 40cm for finer work, give you proper control. The cone shape is straight out of old French baking traditions. It lets you roll from the centre outwards with even pressure, perfect for getting those thin perfect pastries.

Stonewashd Linen Towels

No French kitchen is complete without tea towels, and these stone-washed linen tea towels are the ones that quietly get the job done day after day. That stone-wash treatment means they’re soft and pliable right out of the packet, and they just keep softening with every spin in the machine, developing that lovely, rumpled character over time. They’re perfect for draping over rising dough and absorbent for any kitchen mishaps. And yes, they also look the part slung over your oven handle in a proper country kitchen.

Le Creuset Pastry Brush

A good pastry brush is essential for basting, glazing, and spreading butter. The Le Creuset Pastry Brush is one of the best I’ve used. The silicone head is removable, so it’s easy to clean, and the wooden handle feels comfortable in your hand. The brush is stain-resistant and doesn’t absorb odours, so you can use it for both sweet and savoury bakes.

Le Creuset Spatula

Right alongside it, the Le Creuset Silicone Spatula handles the folding and scraping side of things with real finesse. That flexible silicone head gets every last bit of batter from the bowl, think perfect genoise or choux paste, without scratching. It’s sturdy enough for tougher jobs like mixing your Camembert croquette mix, yet gentle when you’re folding in whipped egg whites for a soufflé base.

Silicone Oven Gloves

Oven mitts are non-negotiable when you’re pulling a bubbling Tartiflette or Brandade de Morue from the oven, and these KitchenAid Silicone Gloves have become my absolute favourites. Instead of wrestling with a fabric mitt that’s now a cheesy mess and headed for the laundry, you just rinse these under the tap, give them a shake, and they’re dry and ready in minutes. No more dirty mitts lurking around, they’re tough, quick to clean, and always there when you need them for the next French bake.

Whisk

A good whisk is essential for any baker, and the KitchenAid Whisk is a classic. The stainless steel construction is durable and easy to clean, and the ergonomic handle makes it comfortable to use. The whisk is well-balanced and lightweight, so it’s easy to whip up everything from chocolate mousse to galettes bretonnes.

De Buyer Pastry Bag and Nozzles

When it comes to piping, the De Buyer Piping Bag and Nozzles set is simply ideal. The bag is made from high-quality, tear-resistant silicone, and the nozzles are stainless steel, so they’re durable and easy to clean. I love that the bag has a smooth inner surface, so creams and doughs slide out easily. Whether you’re making Mimosa Eggs or Pommes Dauphines, this set is a must-have.

De Buyer Baking Mat

Pair it with the De Buyer AIRMAT Perforated Silicone Mat (40x30cm) for baking to perfection. The perforations let steam escape for crisp bases on Massepain or savoury biscuits, while the non-stick silicone means nothing sticks and cleanup is just a rinse. It’s tough enough for oven temps up to 280°C, rolls up neatly for storage, and gives pro results on any tray.

De Buyer Sieve

Sifting flour for your next batch of Madeleines or dusting icing sugar over a blueberry tart? The De Buyer Stainless Steel Mesh Sieve is the tool that catches every lump without letting fine powder through, and the sturdy stainless construction holds up to heavy loads like straining custard or rinsing berries for Clafoutis.

Double Boiler

For the delicate end of French baking, like tempering chocolate for ganache or gently melting butter for a sabayon, the Double Boiler Pot is spot on. Used au bain marie style, nestled over a pan of gently simmering water, it gives you soft, indirect heat that warms slowly and evenly, instead of shocking your mixture and causing it to split. Once you get used to working au bain marie, you start wondering how you ever made delicate sauces directly in a pan.

Pyrex Measuring Jugs

The Pyrex Set of 3 Glass Measuring Jugs are a godsend for precise French recipes. You get three sizes, 0.25L, 0.5L and 1L, so you’re covered whether you’re measuring. The handles are comfortable to grip, and because they’re also borosilicate glass, they can go from microwave to fridge without a problem. And finally, the red graduations are easy to read and are fused into the glass rather than simply painted on, so they stay sharp and legible after countless trips through the dishwasher.

Pyrex Cake Mould

For simple, honest French-style cakes, like the gâteau invisible for example, the Pyrex Bake & Enjoy Glass Cake Dish is a very safe bet. It’s made from high‑resistance borosilicate glass, so it can handle serious temperature swings, from chilled fruit batter to a hot oven, without complaining, and it shrugs off thermal shock up to around 240°C. Because the glass is clear, you can actually see how your gâteau is colouring at the sides and base, no more guessing whether the middle is still pale while the top looks done.

Le Creuset Mixing Jug

For batters, custards and anything that needs a good whisking without slopping everywhere, the Le Creuset Stoneware Mixing Jug is a bit of a gem. The high-sided jug shape keeps splashes under control while you whisk, and the pouring spout means cake batter or galettes bretonnes mix goes straight into the pan without decorating the hob on the way. It also looks the part on the counter, especially if you’re already building up a little Le Creuset collection.

KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer

Next to it, the KitchenAid Artisan Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl is the natural partner. I don’t really have to tell you about this product though, it’s a classic. It is the obvious sidekick for serious baking sessions. It’s sturdy, and designed so you can get on with the fun part of recipes while it does the hard work of kneading brioche or beating pâte à choux for profiteroles smooth and glossy.​

The investment mindset

The common thread running through all this equipment is simple: it’s built to last. You’re not paying supermarket prices, because you’re not buying supermarket kit. A good baking mat costs more than a roll of baking paper, but over hundreds of trays of Massepain, profiteroles and galette des rois, the cost per bake becomes tiny, and you’re not throwing something away every time you turn the oven on.

There’s also the question of consistency. Flimsy tins warp, thin bases burn, cheap moulds twist slightly in the heat. Every shortcut in the material introduces another variable into your bake, hot spots in a sponge, pale bottoms on your mini quiches, uneven rise on a tray of Madeleines. Solid, well-made kit removes a lot of that guesswork, so when something goes wrong, you know it’s the recipe or the technique, not the pan.

You don’t need to buy everything at once. Start with the pieces you’ll reach for every week, and let the rest follow as you bake more. The right tools earn their place: they make the process calmer, the results more reliable, and the bakes that come out of your oven feel that little bit closer to what you’d queue for in a French pâtisserie on a Sunday morning.

And really, isn’t that the point?