G’day peeps! I’ve been asked a few times to do this, so here’s my list of ‘must have’ ingredients for cooking and baking. (The stuff I always have on hand.)
For Baking:
- Plain Flour (for Yorkshires, pancakes and pizza base)
- Wholemeal Strong Bread Flour (for bread, half & half pizza dough and actually I used it for pancakes once and we decided we like those better)
- Self-Raising (cake) Flour
- Caster Sugar (finer so no crunch of big grains in cakes and cookies- sometimes have soft brown sugar and granulated as well, but always caster)
- Icing Sugar (powdered sugar for those across the pond!)
- Quick Action Dried Yeast
- Baking Powder & Soda (although I’m actually out of Soda as we speak because I used it as a stain remover, works too!)
- Cocoa/Drinking Chocolate powder (the type you make with milk, makes the best chocolate cake)
Oils, Sauces & Sides:
- Light Olive Oil (some of the others are nasty health-wise but you can’t fry or roast with extra-virgin, so light covers all bases)
- Gravy Granules (I know how to make gravy, but rarely do, these are lifesavers!)
- Vegetable Stock Cubes
- Ketchup, Mayonnaise and Vinegar (but whatever sauces you like)
- Vegetable Suet (Dumplings are essential when making Stew!)
- Random herbs, spices and seasonings (I buy as I need them)
Tinned (or Carton) Goods:
- Baked beans (easy side for kids and yummy on a baked potato with cheese)
- Tinned beans of varying types (Black beans, Kidney beans, Chickpeas)
- Passata (I use this loads for pizza base & pasta sauce)
- Chopped tomatoes
- Ready-made soup (usually tomato, mushroom and chicken)
- Tinned Pineapple and Peaches (in juice not syrup)
Dried Goods:
- Oats/Porridge/Weetabix (Mr.B food, I only use them in cooking)
- Cereal (usually kids one, Frosties were on special this week)
- Pasta and Spaghetti (various shapes, my daughter would live off it if she could, so there’s always more than one type!)
- Crackers
- Various bread products (Tortillas, Pitta bread, hot dog rolls)
- Some sort of Chocolate/Biscuits (because we all need a treat sometimes!)
Fridge & Freezer:
- Butter and Margarine
- Milk (by the ton, I usually put 3 or 4 bottles in the freezer too)
- Cheese (Cheddar, Mozzarella and something for crackers)
- Spinach, Carrots, Potatoes, Apples & Bananas (obviously I buy other fruit and veg but these are every week items)
- Frozen Peas
- Meat (at least Sausages, Chicken and Mince….possibly Bacon and Gammon)
- Ice Cream
- Any Milk or Bread I’m not going to use right away
With this stock I can make all my regular recipes and rustle up some quick lunches or extras for unexpected guests. I do not spend a fortune…everything except kids cereal, yeast, suet and stock cubes are supermarket own-brand.
Tip: Buy a bit at a time (a bag of flour will last a couple of weeks so try to stagger which weeks you stock up)……and if you know you need something special for a recipe like Brown Sugar or Soy Sauce, then budget for it.
I hope this helps you plan your stores. Happy baking! x
A Peace of Life 