Hi all, My wife's birthday is coming up and I need gift advice from passionate bakers :-) What tools/gadgets would you love to receive?

Hi all! Thank you for the additional comments! Her birthday was in January, I ended up getting her a number of the "little conveniences" many people mentioned. I found a restaurant supply store and found commercial grade, heavy gauge baking pans (the largest that would fit in our oven) as well as a European style rolling pin and she loved them. I think a Kitchen Aid is probably going to be next year's gift though it will be a hard choice. I can't believe this thread has had 2,363 views! I imagine it is helping a lot of people figure out what to give the baker in their lives. We might as well keep it rolling. Again, thank you for all your help.

Backpackeraz, surely you found something for your wife. What did you choose?
And Re: butter keepers—avoid the fancy overpriced ones that have a glossy glaze on the inside. THEY DO NOT WORK. The glazing makes the butter slide out so then what’s the point?
Better off to find a local art show, or a potter to make one. Unglazed or rough on the inside to help the butter cling, as well as curved in at the lip to hold the butter better. I also love my Swedish wooden spreader as it doesn’t scratch the insides.

Further to Smaug's comments about experienced baker already having tools she likes or little space for big new items.
Back to the ingredients gift idea.
But instead of giving her a big bunch all at once, make it a several month gift; like those fruit or steak of the month, 3, 6, 9 or 12, to taste or budget.
And with each ingredient gift include a tool. For ex:
• whole cinnamon and nutmeg with a microplane
• extracts with measure spoons or graduated shot glass
• specialty sugars or flours with a scale
• quality butters with a glass box to store in fridge or freezer
• flat of premium or hard-to-find citrus with a new reamer or juicer
• decorations like candied violets and an ait-tight canister for them
And when the birthday is past, please tell us what you chose.

Kitchen Aid's are bulky and a real pain to clean... I would suggest 'Baking from my home to yours' by Dorie Greenspan (cookbook) or 'Chocolat' from Alice Mederich.
Cookie stamps are fun too. (Nordic ware has some good ones.) They are small enough to fit anywhere and make unique cookies. :) Lucky Lady your wife is to have someone thinking outside the box for her Bday.

One more consideration, from the department of eternal pessimism, is storage space; a cook who has been in the same kitchen for a while is apt to have it maxed out. I recently threw my entire system into total disarray by buying a skillet with a higher handle angle than the old one. If you're buying her anything bigger than a runcible spoon, good idea to make sure she'll have a place to keep it.

I love having beautiful wooden spoons to mix with, and I've found Bees Wrap to be my new go-to dough coverer. For Christmas, I also received a beautiful homemade bread box from a friend, which comes in handy every week for my fresh loaves. It's the simple (cheap) things that I find myself appreciating most ;)

If she does dough. A pasta machine. A sturdy one "Pasta Queen" or "Atlas" tho get a motor because they can wear you out. And get a bag of semolina flour too.

I used to run into the problem with my mother that she was a serious cook, but also (like most cooks, I think) pretty set in her ways; I would by her kitchen items that I loved, and they were largely ignored (I ended up inheriting most of them,, so that was something). Probably my most successful effort was one Christmas I bought her a box of assorted items that she already had that were variously beat up or cheesy to begin with- measuring cups& spoons, a tube cake pan etc.; of course, cooks may be pretty attached to their beat up measuring spoons, too, but this gift worked out pretty well.

In addition to the suggestions made by other friends(including kitchenware), I would like to offer more creative suggestions:
Cooking and baking books
Laptop or tablet for being able to look for new tutorials on the Internet
Online training courses license
Source: http://cakaneh.ir/best-gifts-for-women/

A beautiful Bundt pan will last forever and help her to make beautiful cakes.

A marble baking slab. And perhaps a matching marble rolling pin while you are at it. :)

If she already has a kitchenaid (assuming she does) than get her a second bowl for it- glass would be great! I personally have been pining after one of these cake collars for trendy "tall" cakes:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LXLCI46/
A good quality baking stone would be nice (Old Stone ranks high in testing). Or, perhaps get her some fun and funky cookie cutters in a theme that she likes (https://www.etsy.com/listing/231912209/alices-adventures-in-wonderland-drink-me?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=&ref=sc_gallery_19&plkey=e5e347d0904a940b1ef1c9ca47915b5604e4ea81:231912209), or cookie stamps/embossers- the ones that say "Hand made" are cool.

Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions! Ton's of great ideas already!

Stand mixer will be best idea :-)

How about a French bread pan or a pop-over pan? The micro plane seater was a great suggestion. Use mine daily. I also think silicone muffin cups and mini muffin cups are a must! Not expensive, but a life saver!

If you chat with my husband, could you let him know I’d love an Ateco 5-wheel or 6-wheel expandable pastry cutter? It’s an unusual but useful gift for cutting dough into even strips to make perfectly shaped scones, cookies, biscuits, cakes, etc. (runs about $35-55).
I can always use more cookie scoops too (AKA dishers or ice cream scoops), which are available at restaurant supply stores or cooking shops and can run anywhere from $5 to $22 depending on the classiness of the store. Good sizes are 100, 70, 40, 24, and 10, although other sizes are available. 10 is good for cupcakes and scones, 40 works well for moderately sized drop cookies, 100 perfect for chocolate truffles. There are charts online that will tell you the volume of each scoop and appropriate applications.
Thanks. I appreciate it.

I love my DoStix, which are used to roll out a particular thickness of cookie dough or pastry (1/8", 1/4" or 1/4"). I also just bought some beautiful but very practical silicone oven gloves from Sur La Table. Small shakers with lids for powdered sugar and flour are also some of my favorites.

Here's a list from Delish that just popped up in my inbox:
http://www.delish.com/holiday-recipes/christmas/g3170/holiday-gift-ideas-for-bakers/?src=nl&mag=del&list=nl_dnl_news&date=110817

An embossed rolling pin for making cookies with patterned tops would be a fun baking gift. There are tons of people selling them in a huge variety of patterns on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/search?q=cookie%20rolling%20pin

If your wife also likes making cakes (and doesn't have something like this), she might like this swirling bundt pan. I got one recently and think it's quite elegant: https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/heritage-bundt-cake-pan/?catalogId=38&sku=5519244&cm_ven=PLA&cm_cat=Google&cm_pla=Bakeware%20%3E%20Cake%20Pans%20%3E%20Bundt%28R%29%20Cake%20Pans&kwid=productads-adid^225852450168-device^c-plaid^368842949173-sku^5519244-adType^PLA&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIm-ai0Jet1wIV3brACh0wkwg0EAYYBiABEgKJdPD_BwE&cm_ite=[[PLA]%20-%20Manu%20Desk/Tab%20-%20(Good%20RPC)]

Depending on her tastes and what she already has, some gift-level spices would be saffron or smoked cinnamon (available here: https://shop.laboiteny.com/products/smoked-cinnamon-n-18)

If she has a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, Check out SideSwipe mixing paddle. My wife used to have a cupcake business. I gave her one as a gift and she loved. Available at sideswipeblade.com or Amazon. She shut down the business, but, still loves the SideSwipe.

If she doesn't have one already, a cake stand with lid would be a nice way to display her baking creations.

Does she have a Microplane zester? I love mine so much. And I recently bought a heavy duty lemon squeezer that I use almost every single day:
https://www.ebay.com/p/E-PRANCE-Lemon-Squeezer-Manual-Hand-Press-Citrus-Juicer-With-High-Strength-Hea/1951834656#UserReviews
{They come in all price ranges and the best ones are the heaviest. The light ones aren't great.}

If she likes to bake layer cakes and bring them to potlucks, one of these magnificent carriers would be a charming gift:
http://www.mackenzie-childs.com/search?q=cake+carrier&lang=en_US

A nonstick 'cakesicle' pan (Amazon has them), pastry brushes, marble rolling pin, big Pound Plus 72% chocolate bars..I use these like crazy!
I'd suggest buying a big mixing bowl and fill it with items.
dodoburd.com has a list of great baking gift ideas. Happy Birthday to your wife! I think she already has a great gift....you!

I would agree...I think this is a very thoughtful approach to a gift! If she doesn't have these, I would also recommend: a good digital scale, a standalone oven thermometer (e.g. to see if your oven is *really* set to 350), or a digital thermometer ( to be able to accurately assess the temp of soft ball/hard ball stage, etc.). This is also a fun site to visit- you might get some good ideas here, or even a gift card is heaven! (http://www.lepicerie.com/GIFTS). On the expensive side, if your wife does not have a stand mixer (Kitchen Aid preferably for ease of purchasing cool attachments later), that is a quintessential item she will use a LOT. (But if she's a passionate baker, I'm guessing she has one.) On a less expensive, but almost as practical...flat sheets of parchment! Having a stash to pull out w/out having to wrestle a roll of curvy parchment is a bakers dream!* Truly, worth 10x it's cost for a real baker. IMO, it would be a super thoughtful, VERY practical, lovely gift that doesn't even have to cost a fortune. I wish you luck - your wife is lucky! *https://www.amazon.com/2dayShip-Quilon-Parchment-Baking-Unbleached/dp/B01BDBX1LO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1509678925&sr=8-3&keywords=parchment+sheets+half+sheet+pan&dpID=41JJA2DhTUL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Anything by Iris Hantverk! (https://www.funkis.com/brand/iris.html). I especially like the big handle on their cake tester. Also take a look at their pastry brush, bakers brush or dough scraper. I’ve also had my eye on a pinafore apron (https://www.portlandaproncompany.com/products/pinafore). May the force be with you!

Does she have a kitchenaide?

Good suggestions above. I'd add a Sous chef and someone to do the washing up.

If she doesn't have some silicon baking mats, a good quality scale, or a good quality thermometer those are definitely highly useful baking supples. A cooling rack is also nice addition. On the more fun side, the King Arthur Flour shop has tons of fun gadgets, decorating supplies, and beautifully shaped pans. They also have lots of basics. https://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/pans/cake-and-cookies

If she doesn't have a couple of Silpat mats, that's a nice basic but also feels kinda luxurious being really from France and all. Does she like tea, maybe you could buy a tin to have with her scones and cookies? I consider Mariage Freres a real splurge (their Marco Polo is a black tea classic and will set you back $25 a tin, they have some lovely fruity ones as well, Pleine Lune is a romantic name!), to go with the french Silpats if you're grooving on the french theme.
And I agree on the digital scale being a must if she doesn't own one. And ditto that you are a supercool thoughtful husband!

First of all, let me commend you for being such a nice husband! Your wife is a lucky gal.

There are a lot of great ideas here: http://www.seriouseats.com/2017/08/guide-to-essential-baking-tools.html On the advice of Stella Parks, I got a pastry docker - a low ticket item but ever so handy, not just for pie and tart crusts, but also a variety of cookies, crackers, etc. for which Parks has published some great recipes . . . . speaking of Stella Parks recipes, you should consider getting Parks' excellent "Brave Tart." Her recipes are meticulously tested and winners, every one, while her writing style is delightful. I highly recommend it! ;o)

P. S. Sandra is spot on with her suggestion to get your wife a scale. I have the OXO one recommended by Parks and can't imagine baking without it.

If she bakes scones and cookies, get her some good quality ingredients---the best you can afford of good quality chocolate, good quality vanilla, unusual spices and/or flavors. These things really change the end product. If she's a serious baker, a digital scale is about the only real tool that matters.

If she likes to decorate with frosting, I just ordered myself these nozzles,
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KJZSK4S/ref=asc_df_B01KJZSK4S5245910/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=395033&creativeASIN=B01KJZSK4S&linkCode=df0&hvadid=194965293534&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17244051479501702601&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9032135&hvtargid=pla-316244307278

I can't wait to start playing with them.