Baking & Pastry Editor
Bea Kowalski
- Stand mixers
- Bakeware
- Kitchen scales
- Hand mixers
- Baking tools
About Bea
Bea trained in classic pastry at culinary school and then spent six years running the pastry station at a neighborhood bakery, where the stand mixers ran from 4 a.m. and a broken scale could sink a whole morning of production.
That experience shaped how she tests. Stiff bagel doughs to strain mixer motors, delicate macarons to expose hot spots in bakeware, and repeated gram-level checks to keep scales honest. If a tool drifts, wobbles, or overheats, her recipes find it.
Bea writes our baking guides and translates pro pastry habits into advice for home kitchens, starting with her firm belief that a $20 scale improves your baking more than a $500 mixer.
How I test. I bake the recipes that punish equipment: stiff doughs for mixers, delicate meringues for ovens and bakeware, and gram-level checks for scales. Gear that drifts or overheats does not make the list. Read more about our testing process.
Articles by Bea
17 articles from Bea, newest first.
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Appliances
KitchenAid Stand Mixer Review: Is It Worth It After Real-World Testing?
We tested the KitchenAid stand mixer on bread dough, cookie batter, and egg whites, rating power, durability, and value to help you decide if it's worth it.
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Recipes
Soft, Chewy 4-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies (No Eggs)
Craving peanut butter cookies without eggs? These soft, chewy cookies need just 4 pantry staples and 20 minutes. No mixer, no flax egg. Vegan-friendly!
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Appliances
The 7 Best Lemon Juicers We Tested This Year
We squeezed hundreds of lemons to find the 7 best lemon juicers of 2026, ranked for juice yield, ease of use, and quick cleanup. See our top picks.
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Kitchen Tools
The 10 Best Pastry Blenders for Cutting Butter Into Flour
We tested 10 pastry blenders for pie crusts, biscuits, and scones. Compare wire vs blade designs, grip comfort, and the best picks for flaky dough in 2026.
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Recipes
Anti-Inflammatory Bread Recipes: Whole-Grain, Low-Sugar Loaves for Gut Health
Try anti-inflammatory bread recipes that boost gut health and energy: whole-grain, low-sugar loaves anyone can bake.
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Recipes
Easy Chocolate Chip Sticks Recipe You’ll Bake Again!
Bake crispy, chewy delight with this easy Chocolate Chip Sticks Recipe! Perfect for family desserts or gifting. Quick, simple, and delicious!
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Recipes
Easy Guide to Baking Ina Garten’s Baby Lemon Pies
Ina Garten’s Baby Lemon Pies are the ultimate treat: zesty, delicate, and simple to bake. A tiny pie that delivers big flavor in every bite.
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Recipes
Pillsbury vs Aashirvaad Atta: Which Is the Best for Your Roti
Pillsbury vs Aashirvaad atta compared: Pillsbury makes softer rotis that last 6 hours with 12.3g protein, while Aashirvaad offers more variety.
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Kitchen Tools
Baking Pan Conversion Calculator
Convert a recipe between any two baking pans: get the scale factor, pan volumes, adjusted bake time and scaled ingredients in one calculator.
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Recipes
Our Honest Laxmi Chakki Atta Review: Pure Joy!
Our honest Laxmi Chakki Atta review: how this stone-ground, non-GMO whole wheat flour performs for soft rotis and parathas, plus its downsides.
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Recipes
Swarna Chakki Atta Review: Honest Take After Daily Use
Swarna Chakki Atta is a stone-ground whole wheat flour with no additives that makes soft, puffy rotis, but it absorbs a lot of water.
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Recipes
Ohio Fair 2025: Sweet Cookie Dough Deviled Eggs Recipe
Sweet cookie dough deviled eggs inspired by the 2025 Ohio State Fair, made with cream cheese, brown sugar, vanilla and mini chocolate chips in 30 minutes.
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Recipes
Banana Bread Recipe Starbucks
Make Starbucks-style banana bread at home with simple ingredients. This recipe delivers soft, sweet, nutty bread every time you bake.
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Recipes
Neiman Marcus Cake Recipe
Get a reliable Neiman Marcus cake recipe with easy steps, ingredient notes, and helpful baking tips so you can recreate this classic, gooey butter cake.
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Kitchen Tools
Pan Size Conversion Calculator
All-in-one pan size conversion chart, instantly swap baking pan sizes with perfect measurements. No guesswork, no ruined recipes. Fast, accurate, and beginner-friendly!
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Recipes
Claire Saffitz’s Pumpkin Pie Recipe
Claire Saffitz's pumpkin pie uses caramelized honey, browned butter, and a slow oven cool-down for a silky, crack-free custard.
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Kitchen Tools
Recipe Scaling Calculator
Free recipe scaling calculator: scale ingredients by servings, paste a whole recipe, adjust cook time and temperature, and convert between pan sizes.
Meet the rest of the team
Every reviewer brings a different specialty to the test kitchen.