How to Create a Baking Center in Your Kitchen Renovation

If you love to bake, you know it’s a double-edged sword.

Crafting delicious treats from flour, butter, and sugar can seem like magic, but the prep and clean-up aren’t quite so sweet.

To make life easier for yourself, why not include a baking center in your kitchen renovation? That way, everything you need will be in one spot. This will make it easier to indulge in your favorite hobby, or even to whip up a special dessert for an event or holiday.

3 Steps to Add a Baking Center to Your Kitchen Renovation

Here are some basics for planning your baking center.

1. Choose a Nook, Corner, or Special Spot

When planning your baking center, choose a spot that makes sense.

If your kitchen is small, choose a corner near your deepest cabinets and drawers. If you have more space, think about dedicating a whole section of counter/cabinets exclusively for baking.

Don’t have any extra cabinet space? Purchase a small rolling island or cart that can be neatly moved out of the way, or stuck in a closet, when you need room for other purposes.

Also, make sure your baking space is located near plenty of electrical outlets. You know from experience there’s lots of mixing, chopping, and whipping with your stand or handheld mixer and food processor.

2. Corral Your Ingredients and Plan for Organization

Once you have a spot scoped out, you need to know how much pantry space you’ll actually need. Start by doing an inventory of your ingredients – flours, sugars, flavorings, decorations, baking soda and powder, and other dry/non-perishable items you use for baking. Throw out anything that’s old or expired.

Now that you can see how much you have, you’ll know how much cabinet space to set aside. If you can, store ingredients in bulk in airtight, glass jars. Group like items together, and keep most-used items at the front, where you can easily grab them.

3. Gather Your Tools and Eke Out Storage

There are lots of kitchen tools you use exclusively for baking. It makes sense to store them all together.

For example, your baking sheets, muffin tins, and other pans can live together. These go along with your rolling pin, offset spatula, measuring cups, and large spoons. Appliances like the aforementioned mixer can also stay in the baking area.

Once you gather these tools together and see what you have, you can get rid of stuff you don’t need or duplicate items. Then you can plan the right amount of cabinets and drawers you need to properly store them.

Put It All Together in Your Kitchen Renovation

Once you have the space for all your supplies and tools, you can tuck them away in your designated spot. Then, when it’s time to make cake, pie, or cookies, all you have to do head straight to your baking space, and everything will be at hand. Smart, right?