I love baking from scratch and this week I had the ingredients to make a loaf of Cranberry Orange Bread. I usually don’t purposely go out and purchase ingredients to make a specific item. I just take inventory of what I have and figure what ingredients can be combined. It helps to have a supply of ingredients in my pantry that I regularly cook with and keeping my pantry stocked allows me to be creative in my baking. It’s also always nice to occasionally add some things to the pantry or freezer that will make a special baked item. We frequently make peanut butter cookies at my house, but my kids get tired of these and want something different every once in awhile.
One of the main reasons I enjoy baking is the quality I get out of the baked goods without a huge expense. I could probably purchase something similar at Panera Bread or Starbucks (I love both), but of course I would be charged for the charm of their establishment. Why pay for their ambiance when I can enjoy the charm my own home offers with my son’s toys scattered from his bedroom into the living room? It looks like I’ll be baking Banana Bread in a couple of days since the bananas are quickly beginning to look like a science project.
Here’s a list of what I keep in the pantry and what I try to keep on hand in the pantry and the refrigerator:
- Sugar
- Flour
- Salt (Iodized & Kosher)
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Vanilla
- Almond Extract
- Powdered Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Sweetened Condensed Milk
- Evaporated Milk
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Cream of Tartar
- Instant Coffee
- Almonds
- Pecans (stored in freezer to keep them from going rancid)
- Honey
- Peanut Butter
- Light Corn Syrup
- Jell-O
- Cornstarch
- Cream Cheese
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Unsalted Butter
- Milk
- Eggs
(Recipe posted in above link in first paragraph from All Recipes)