That’s right.  There are 10 mainstays in the kitchen of all bakers everywhere.  They are the foundation of most recipes. There will be other posts about what intermediate and advanced bakers keep in their pantries later.  You will probably be surprised about how many items listed here you may already have.  Baking is an easy and fun way to pass the time and dare I say delicious? So, let’s take a look at what you have on those shelves and get baking!

Are you ready for this list?  Ok, here it is.

1.  All Purpose Flour
2. Baking Soda
3. Corn Starch
4. Salt
5. Eggs
6. Unsalted Butter
7. Vanilla Extract
8. White Granulated Sugar
9. Dark Brown Sugar
10. Milk

Did you go take a look at your shelves?  Did you do a mental ah ha?  You probably have at least six of these things on hand don’t you?  Baking really isn’t all that difficult.  Now we just have to weed out what’s beyond the expiration dates!  Things like baking soda and baking powder can get old and the reason why you need them in your recipe won’t be active anymore.  Baking is a big chemistry experiment-leave out the baking powder and your cake will be hard and flat-same if it’s too old, it won’t work.  So check those dates!

It’s time to have fun and get in there and do something spectacular!