How to store your baking ingredients correctly

In this post, I will guide you on how to store, organize and arrange your baking ingredients efficiently so you never have to worry about not having an ingredient before baking something. You will also learn how to use your baking ingredients like a pro!

AUTHOR : KHUSHALI PATEL

*For the best results, read the entire post & follow the instructions.

When was the last time you were excited to bake something but you just couldn’t, because at the last moment you realized that you did not have an ingredient that you needed to make the recipe or it has just gone bad?

I am certain this has happened to you because it has happened to all of us at a certain point, even those who are on a journey of being a professional.

But I would like to let you know a secret, something that we pros love following just to prevent this not-so-ideal situation. But don’t worry it’s not so complicated.

I have been following these methods and knowledge that I have gained through the years while working in the food industry but I have added a personal touch making it easier for you and me to bake from the comfort of our homes.

In time, you will be an expert at managing and taking care of, organizing and storing your ingredients that saves your time and eliminates stress.

And the best part?

You won’t even have to physically go and check your ingredients to know if you have a specific ingredient because you will just know what you have by simply just following the method that you will learn in this post.

What are the benefits of storing your baking ingredients correctly?

Food Safety

Food safety is of utmost importance for any baker. It ensures that you use ingredients that are at their best of health so you can prevent any health problems. Organizing helps you to easily be on track of the ingredients you have which in turn helps you avoid this.

Helps increase the shelf-life of ingredients

When you know how to store each baking ingredient the correct way, the ingredients will stay fresh for longer without having the risk of them going bad earlier than usual

Gives you the best baking results

As a beginner baker, you hope to make the best dessert ever that looks good and tastes absolutely delicious. But if you avoid taking care of your ingredients, no matter what you do, the food you bake might lack flavour or simply taste bad. However, there is a way of avoiding this completely and that is by storing your ingredients the correct way.

Clean and beautiful baking ingredient storage

I mean who doesn’t want a clean and stunning storage area that when you enter it, it makes you even more enthusiastic and happy to bake something. The method that I will be discussing in this post will give you the baking storage of your dreams.

How should you store your baking ingredients?

At this point you might be feeling overwhelmed or simply wondering how you can possibly organize your baking ingredients correctly. But I assure you that its quite easy and it just gets easier with practice.

Before getting into the method of storage, I would like to guide you about how each ingredient should be stored. What I mean by this, there are 4 rules that I personally follow to help keep my ingredients the correct way which are as follows:

Air-tight containers

Baking ingredients such as flour, eggs, sugar and especially butter can easily absorb flavours that they are exposed to. Hence, it is essential to always store them in air-tight containers that seal tightly so that those unwanted flavours don’t get into the container. Storing butter correctly is even more important as it absorbs flavours much faster than the rest. So, it should be either stored in an air-tight container or in the packaging they come in. I also recommend using transparent air-tight containers because:

a. You can see the quantity you have very easily and
b. If the specific ingredient has gone bad, you can notice it has easily.

Glass is better than plastic

Plastic has a tendency to retain the flavour and aroma of food especially when you have been using it for a really long time. Even after washing it thoroughly the smell does not go completely or even develops over-time. So, I recommend using glass air-tight containers rather than plastic ones. However, sometimes it’s just not possible to do so. At such times, purchase a new set of plastic containers and assign each container to one specific ingredient. Avoid using them for various ingredients. Label each container with the ingredient name to avoid confusion

Cool, dry and away from the sunlight

This is for those ingredients that can be stored at room temperature aka in the pantry. Why? Heat increases the moisture levels which is one of the crucial reasons for bacteria growth. Hence, make sure that there is no direct sunlight entering your pantry. The pantry space should always remain cool and dry no matter what the season.

Organize with temperature in mind

Ingredients remain fresh when they are stored at the right temperature. But temperature differs from place to place. So, it’s crucial to customize your storage space depending on the temperature of your environment which are follows:

a. In a cold environment – You have the flexibility to store most of your ingredients in a pantry that is ideally between 18-21°C. However, to maintain this temperature, you may need an air-conditioner. More on this in the later sections of this post.
b. In warmer and humid environments – If you live in places that is extremely hot and humid (like I do), you will have to store a majority of your ingredients in the refrigerator but make sure to always keep the containers sealed and away from savoury ingredients to avoid any contamination.

In the next section of this blog post, I will be guiding you to store each ingredient in the correct manner for efficient storage purposes.

How to organize your baking ingredients?

As per ingredients

Ingredient Category	Ingredients	Storage
Dry Ingredients	Flours, salt, spices – ground or fresh, cocoa powder, corn starch, cream of tarter etc.	Store these in a cool, dry place or in the refrigerator (in hot environments)
Liquid Ingredients	Liquid sugars such as molasses, honey, maple syrup etc, oil and extracts	Store liquid sugars and oil in a cool, dry place in their original bottles. Clean the mouth of the bottle after every use to avoid leakage. Extracts are best stored under refrigeration.
Leavening	Baking powder, baking soda, Fresh, active and instant yeast	Leavening agents can be stored in a cool and dry place or under refrigeration. Store them in their original packaging. Yeast should always be stored in their original packaging in the refrigerator.
Dairy	Eggs, milk, cream, cream cheese,	Dairy products have a limited shelf life, for this reason always store them under refrigeration.
Chocolate	Chocolate blocks, chocolate chips, chocolate callets, sprinkles and candy	Chocolate can easily be stored in a cool and dry place even if you live in a hot country (in hot environments, keep it away from the sun and purchase in smaller batches)
Dry Fruits and Nuts	Dried cranberries, figs, raisins etc, nuts such as hazelnuts, cashews, almonds, walnuts and more, nut butters	Dry fruits and nuts should be stored in a cool and dry area or under refrigeration. Nut butters are best stored in the refrigerator.

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As per storage type

Pantry

For storing ingredients in a pantry, always make sure of the following

1. Keep the pantry dry always.
2. Clean weekly or bi-weekly
3. Use sturdy shelving

It is best to organize the ingredients according to the usage with frequently used items at the bottom and the others at the top. Also make sure to store heavier items such as bags of flour on the bottom shelves to avoid damage or accidents.

Refrigerator

When it comes to a refrigerator, unfortunately the temperature is not the same throughout. Each section can differ in temperature. But you can however, organize your ingredients according to the varying temperature. Here is how:

Dairy

Always store dairy ingredients such as milk, egg, cream in the coolest section of the fridge. This can be at the topmost section of the fridge or right next to the chilled tray. However, if you do store your eggs on the top -most shelf, make sure that they don’t break. If you are worried of that happening, there are storage containers made specifically for eggs so they don’t leak if broken accidently.

Butter

Majority of the refrigerators now come with a separate section known as the chilled tray wherein you can store your butter without having to worry about contamination. I recommend storing them in a box or in their original packaging.

Longer shelf-life ingredients

Ingredients such as liquid sugars, jams, nut butters are best stored at the doors of the refrigerator. The temperature fluctuates the most in this section because the cool air escapes when you open the refrigerator. But longer shelf-life ingredients do not get affected. You can also store your leavening agents except for fresh yeast right here.

Sugar and dry fruits

These ingredients can be stored right in the middle where the temperature is not too cold or warm.

Fruits and fresh ingredients

These ingredients are best stored in the vegetable rack in the refrigerator. You can also store your back-up ingredients in the vegetable rack.

Flour and other dry ingredients

These ingredients are best stored in the section where the temperature is not very cold. I usually store them at the bottommost section of my refrigerator

This is how I store my ingredients in the refrigerator
1. Top most shelf – Freezer – cookie dough and other baked products
2. Chilled tray – butter
3. Dairy items (coldest shelf)
4. Middle Shelf – Sugars and dry fruits
5. Bottommost shelf – Flour and other dry ingredients
6. Vegetable rack – Back-up stock
7. The refrigerator door – leaveners, jams, nut butters

How to use your stored baking ingredients?

Now that we have covered how to store as well as organize your baking ingredients, how to use your baking ingredients correctly is another important sub-topic in food safety and organization.

In commercial kitchens, we professional bakers had one essential rule that has to be followed no matter what. This rule is called FIFO or First in first out.

It is quite easy to understand & follow. In simply terms it means that the ingredients that you have purchased first, have to be consumed first followed by the new stock of ingredients you have bought.

At home, you can easily follow guideline in two ways:
1. By arranging the ingredients in that manner wherein the old stock is at the front while the new is at the back.
2. You can also store the new batch in the back-up stock section of your baking storage and when the old stock is over, you can just refill your container with the new stock.

06 tips to store your baking ingredients

Purchase ingredients in smaller batches

It is best to buy ingredients in smaller, manageable batches as you may have limited amount of storage. But it’s also important to have some in your back up storage for emergencies. So how do you store the ingredients without it taking too much space? You can do this by checking the amount of extra space you have and designate a space for the back-up and according purchase the quantity that can easily fit in that space. For e.g. I have a container that stores 1 kg of all-purpose flour. But I designated a space taking into consideration all the ingredients I want in my back-up storage. I then realized that I can store only 2 kgs more in my back-up stock.

Wash your containers every month or as soon as it becomes empty

As I mentioned before, baking ingredients absorb flavours very easily. Hence, you should wash their containers often. I recommend doing it at least once a month or once the container becomes empty. After washing them I prefer air-drying them so they remain fresh.

Always have separate washing equipment for baking

Using the same equipment that you use to wash and clean your utensils (especially savoury) can just contaminate your baking equipment with those undesirable flavours.. For this reason, its best to keep it separate from the ones you use to wash your savoury equipment.

Avoid leaving containers open

Sometimes we all become tired because of which we avoid closing the box completely. Its best to avoid this because in the end it just ruins the ingredients and in turn affects your baked dishes.

Add used vanilla beans into your sugar containers

This is one of my favourite methods to give a lovely scent to the sugar. You can do the same by just putting in the used vanilla bean into the container. This way you can use this lovely spice for longer and also get a heavenly scent every time you open the container.

Keep savoury ingredients away from baking ingredients

Savoury ingredients have extremely strong aromas and flavours which is undesirable for baking ingredients. Hence always make sure to store them separately.

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