Baking Center

We enjoy baking on an almost daily basis, mainly because we like eating fresh baked goods on a daily basis. Doing our own baking is also more healthful, economical, and delicious than purchasing store bought goods. When we get home from morning Mass every day we like to have a fresh baked snack, the sooner the better. I've found the ideas in Confessions of an Organized Homemaker: The Secrets of Uncluttering Your Home and Taking Control of Your Life to be very helpful in organizing my kitchen for speed and efficiency. The author stresses the importance of storing items at their point of use, and grouping items for storage that are used together rather than by the type of item it is.

To facilitate everyday baking it really helps to have a 'mixing center', as Mrs. Schofield calls it, set up in the kitchen. I store my two types of flour and sugar on the counter in glass jars. I keep a one cup plastic measuring scoop in each flour jar, and a smaller size in the sugar, so that we can just scoop and measure in one quick step. In the cupboard directly above I keep all of my extracts, honey, cocoa, corn meal, chocolate chips, more measuring cups and the like. I also keep the baking powder and soda here, and I try to keep a measuring teaspoon in the container for quick access. This saves time and also dishwashing, as we don't have to wash these measuring spoons and cups every time they are used. We also keep salt out in a 'salt pig' with a little spoon in it - again it's a lot faster than finding a measuring spoon and pouring salt from the carton each time we use it. (I found mine for a quarter of that price. You can also just use any little decorative crock.) 

Right under this counter spot I keep my large mixing bowls. We like these stainless steel bowls for mixing as they are nice and big and unbreakable, and they were very reasonably priced in the 'restaurant section' at Sam's. We use a bit of non-slip stuff under the bowl to keep it still while stirring, and I store that right there as well. Brown and confectioner's sugar, my nut chopper and other small frequently used appliances are also in here. My other cooking utensils are in the drawers so things like spatulas and whisks are close at hand too.

All of this careful storage makes the daily baking a breeze as there is no running back and forth across the kitchen to gather supplies. Mr. Gilbreth would certainly approve of all the motion saved, and my family certainly approves of all the scones, and cookies, and bread, and muffins...

Comments

[Meredith]

Wonderful, my chief baker is an organizer extrodinaire!! It looks very efficient and tidy!

[Nana]

Anna, you can come and organize my kitchen anytime! (Then we'll go out to a fancy restaurant for lunch....) You are as beautiful as ever! Love, Nana xoxox

[Mary Ellen Barrett]

How lovely and what a great idea!