Baking trays

To my mind, these are some of the most indispensable, important and widely used items in the
kitchen. You will be calling upon them practically every day to either, bake biscuits and scones, cook oven chips or
just warm a pie. The more substantial the better, as cheap thin tins will simply just buckle when subjected to high
temperatures after only having been used a few times and you will need to
replace them far too regularly!

Choose at least two oblong baking trays with a raised edge to prevent things sliding
off when in use, with a wider, protruding rim at each end so that you can
easily tuck your fingers underneath even when wearing oven gloves. Holding tins securely in both hands will, as
far as possible, help to balance the food when you’re carrying it from oven to
worktop, making it less likely that accidents will occur. A good size for these is 8 inches wide, by
12 inches long, (20 by 30 cm. This size
tin can also be used to make a Swiss roll.

Roasting tins

Over the years I’ve found that the larger and deeper the better when it comes to buying roasting
tins. I’ve ended up giving away or discarding smaller ones, I either didn’t feel they were safe to use, because they felt unbalanced
or unstable, or simply became too full when I carried joints or dishes
containing gravy.

Choose one with deep sides and a good wide rim so that you can
cover it with kitchen foil, but please make sure that as with the baking
trays, it is good quality, with flanges or an extended rim at each end so it
can be held properly when you’re wearing oven gloves.

Enamel covered roasters with integral racks are quite a good idea if you are only cooking for one, but
again be careful, sometimes the lids don’t fit too well, and they have very
narrow bases, making them awkward to stand safely on oven shelves, so check
this before you buy!

Other Baking Tins

There are far too many others to mention individually, you may like to
buy a round pizza pan, non-stick about 11 or 12 inches, (28 to 30 cm in
diameter. A non-stick oven chip tray with shallow sides and a slotted base for more even air distribution. Quiche
tins, are like the Victoria sandwich tins, (but they have loose bases and come in
various diameters). Patty tins with 12 holes for mince pie and fairy cake
making. A 4 hole Yorkshire pudding tin, just to name but a few. Have a good rummage around your
local kitchen shop, and check the amount of ingredients and size of tin for your
favourite dishes.