I think I would have a problem with that scoop/bin unit being hung on the wall over the work space? I'd probably spill more than I scooped!

If you are making lots of candy, then marble would be good, but I think butcher block would be less prone to staining and chipping. Also, wood can be re-surfaced after years of use if need be.

30" deep is fine, but I would like a bigger space than 36" if possible. I like to have my sugar and flour canisters sitting on my work surface.

I keep most of my flours in the freezer so I wouldn't use that type of storage. I do keep white flour and sugar out but all whole grains are frozen.

Each scoop only holds a two pound bag of flour, btw, and who buys that? Almost all my flour is in five pound bags.

I like a large surface area for rolling/kneading and usually use our island area which is sufficient.
A marble surface would be great for pastry but unless you are short, I wouldn't lower it but then, I'm tall.

I bake a lot and have a dedicated baking area in my kitchen. It's 31" deep (there is 1" overhang over the 30" deep cabs) which I LOVE because the KA sits on the counter at the back and I still have plenty of room to work in front of it. I also raised the upper cabs a few inches (and made them deeper over the deeper lower cabs - it makes it easier to reach inside) to give more room for appliances that might have lived on the back of the deep counters (but ended up in the corner cab below instead) however we're a tall family so it wasn't a big deal. The area is a corner so I have about 30 on the one side and 18 on the other plus all the corner space. It's enough for prepping a few things at a time but when you get into Holiday baking or catering, it's definitely no where near enough. I end up with trays on every flat surface including the dining room table but then my ovens can bake a total of 12 sheets at a time. With 3 sheets or 6 cakes the area is probably enough if I also use the cooktop to the right as a landing area. Dh built me a collapsible cooling rack station which holds 6 cookie sheets so that gets them off the counters, too.

All my baking supplies are either in the pull out pantry to the left of the ovens or in the upper cabs above the baking area. Sheet pans, stone slabs, muffin tins and cooling racks are stored above the oven and cake pans and loaf pans are in the drawer below the oven (it's extra deep because it goes into the toe kick space). I have so much bakeware that I have overflow now in the bottom drawer beneath the cooktop.

I don't like clutter so the only thing that stays on the counter is the KA and the roll of paper towels and some plants.

It may be personal but I don't like that storage unit either. I noticed that all the compartments are the same size but as you become more proficient you will notice you stock more of some ingredients (in our case AP flour and sugar) and less of others like SR flour. We also use a LOT of GF flours which need special storage to avoid cross contamination. Finally, and most importantly, those containers do not look airtight. I see moth and weevil problems.

My counters are granite and I love that I can put items directly onto it from the oven. I know some will say it can make the granite crack but I've not seen that with mine. We have very hardy granite that doesn't need sealing and doesn't stain. I make a lot of candy and have a separate very heavy marble board, stored in a little nook near the sink, which I can pull out when I need it.

DH especially but me too - bake bread a lot. We work directly on the counters and clean up with bench scrapers. It's a breeze and the granite cleaner from BB&B cleans it up like a charm and doesn't leave any haze.

My kitchen is in the FKB if you want pictures or more details

Loves2cook, I need a translation!
SR, AP, GF, FKB ?

I do know dh, BBandB and always, KA.

Yes I am vertically challenged.. hence the point about lowering counters (I should have clarified).

I see the point about the bugs.. So back to my old design of flours in deep drawers.

lovestocookfor6.. I did see your kitchen in FKB and it is seriously tricked out for storage.

Bumblebeez --> Here is the translation (I almost feel like I belong now :)

AP - All purpose flour
SR flour - self raising flour
KA - kitchen Aid stand mixer
GF - Gluten Free flour (like the kind from Bob's Red Mill)
FKB - Finished kitchens Blog which has pictures of hundreds of finished kitchens from the kitchen forum which can be searched and viewed by categories. It is maintained by a goddess called Starpooh

Here is a link that might be useful: Finished Kitchen Blog

Thanks! I was in a brain fog last night.

I'm with the others on the storage cabinets you linked. They are to small to hold the amount of flours/sugars you would need to do your baking. I'd pass on them.
All our counters in the kitchen are granite. Fantastic for rolling out all types of doughs right on the counters. Doesn't need sealing and clean up is a breeze. Have had them for over 14 years and don't have any nicks or chips. Great material for counters. The one I use the most is 2'6"W X 7'L. It is an island. I have a baking cabinet at the end of this island (cake pans of all sizes and shapes, silpats, papers,etc. go here. The drawer above it contains my pastry brushes, thermometers, scrapers,etc.) Mixers, bowls, cookie sheets,etc, are stored in the pantry along with specialty/ novelty shaped baking pans, and serving dishes. Oh yea, I also have two junk drawers ;0) NancyLouise

LOL Bumblebeez

lalitha, I don't know if igloochic is still active on the kitchen forum but she did a really clever thing in her son's bathroom that may work for you in your kitchen. She installed a step in the toekick area which pulled out when needed and was hidden when not.

This would allow you to keep all your counters at std height which is also good for resale and to allow for maximum use in a small kitchen. Basically the step is just a solid piece of wood on drawer glides with small rollers underneath as well. The rollers act as additional support for the weight of an adult. Even the most expensive glides won't support more than 100 pounds.

Here's a link for the way Ree Drummond, from The Pioneer Woman, has her baking area set up in her kitchen. I've always thought that would be the neatest set up to have in your kitchen.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pioneer Woman

I don't think those bins are large enough either, I never buy two pounds of anything.

I can't conjecture on counter tops, I still have the old orange formica stuff and I do all my mixing/kneading/rolling/etc. on the counter top of the island because it's really carpy anyway.

Okie, I think Sherry/sheshebop has those drawers in her kitchen and does not like them, but I don't remember why. She also mentioned that she couldn't use them for storing other things because the fronts were see-through. I sugested that she cover the glass fronts with Ann T's pictures and store pots and pans in them!

lalitha, have fun with your new kitchen. i'm also kind of vertically challenged, so reaching to the back of a deep counter is pretty much impossible, LOL. That's why mine are big enough, so if it's too wide/deep you won't be able to reach across it anyway.

Annie

Granite, stone and marble are all shiny. Something others may not think about is the glare from them if the sun shines directly on them. My counters are directly under three windows so those counter materials were not an option.

I originally had Formica but with all the water I slop around while canning, it had warped around the seams and joins. Now I have white, dull finish but smooth, Corian-type counters that I dearly love. Though I have rolled dough on them, I found that a overlarge glass "cutting board" is easier to clean up and confines the mess of flouring when kneading bread. I put stick-on plastic "feet" on the bottom to eliminate any movement of the board. It stores away with my half sheet cookie baking pans - same size, and no way near as heavy as a thick marble slab.

A 12" or 16" piece of marble floor tile would work well for candy making, or for rolling pie pastry, the same as my glass board can be put in the refrigerator to chill when I put in the pastry dough to chill.

Since I do large scale baking, I found three 7-gallon white food-safe plastic buckets with handles and lids for my bread and AP flour, and sugar (I buy 25# bags). They sit on a raised small length of vinyl coated wire shelving. These buckets would also fit on the wheeled platforms that are made for shop-vac's and a cabinet man could convert a base cabinet with an attached toe kick to open fully allowing the buckets to roll into it but still be on the floor and not be in view. I've had deep drawers and I will tell you, they are impossible to keep clean and free of stuff that "falls" off the counter. Now, deep drawers with covered buckets in them might be a better option since those could be removed. And, do you really want to "see" flour and sugar everyday through glass fronts? Something else to keep clean, inside and out. Just a thought.

Nancy

These are similar to what our school kitchens have..
I like them.Rolling Bins
I buy my flour in 50lb bags..I can get most of that in a 5 gallon food safe bucket..most of the rest goes in my barrel style canisters. Holds about 15 lbs..and then I have about 10lbs left in the bag...but with the amount of things I bake..doesn't take me long to get that out of the bag and into the canister.

If I could warrant the $200 expense..I'd buy these bins and roll them in and out of my pantry..or if I had an island..they'd be fashioned to go under that with cabinet doors to atleast "Hide" it away for the most part.

Those storage bins you linked to wouldn't be big enough for me either. I buy AP, WW, and rye flour in 10-20lb bags and freeze/store in 4-5lb portions.

I have granite counter tops and love kneading and prepping on them. I use a stainless steel bench scraper to quickly clean any flour or dough left behind. It cleans up so easily.

I keep all my baking supplies in bins in the pantry, but if I were to do it over, I would maybe put in deep pot drawers where I do my baking prep, and I'd put my supplies in those.

I don't like the idea of having flour and other supplies in drawers or bins that don't have a tight seal, so that kind of setup wouldn't appeal to me.

Look for the Cambro storage containers. I got mine at Smart and Final.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cambro storage containers.

FYI... Marble will etch when acidic liquids get on them. I have an aunt that has marble countertops, she made margaritas one night, and now has permanently etched rings and spill marks on her countertop.
You might already know this... Just wanted to throw it out there though!

I was going to spring for a marble topped pastry surface, but that didn't happen. I ended up with wood instead, and I like it much better. Stone surfaces seem cold to the touch, but they don't really keep the pastry cold - rather they conduct heat so that whatever is in contact with them reaches room temperatures fast. For example, I defrost frozen meat on my quartz counters much faster than they do on the wood surface. Also, I need much less flour on the wood surface to prevent sticking.

I use glass gallon size pickle/mayo jars to store most of my flours and sugars (can you get these in glass anymore? - I got mine for $0.25 each at a garage sale). Each one holds about 5 lbs of flour.

cooksnsews, I'm glad to hear that about your wood counters, I've been kind of leaning in that direction just because I like wood, I'm happy to know they are functional as well as beautiful.

Annie

I don't do a lot of baking, just some breads for meals.

If I were to focus in baking, I would want to have a steam/convection oven.

I would also want to have more than one temperature controlled dough proofing box so that I could have repeatable proofing regardless of winter or summer.

These are my containers for flour. They are air-tight and just the right size for 10-lb bags of flour. They are stackable.

dcarch

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Nancedar - if you get your countertop marble or granite honed, it won't be shiny. French, Italian, Greek and other european kitchens have been using honed marble countertops for centuries.

As to etching, that's an american aesthetic bias. Again, if you go to a french kitchen with marble countertops, the marble is etched, stained by wine, etc. and they don't mind. I mean, the marble IS in a kitchen after all, and used for food prep, so it will show signs of use. Similarly, a wood counter in a traditional french kitchen will scratched and gouged, not babied. But I understand if we are thinking of home resale, and what we prefer, we may not want any etching or patina.

As to flour containers, I am surprised no one has brought up the issue of insects getting into flour containers that aren't air tight. The OP's first link, and the pioneer woman link, both seem to me to be flour containers that are invitations for insects. I like a glass container with a tight screw top, but often the mouth is not wide enough for scoop-and-sweep of flour. I also have an assortment of the big Oxo Pop air-tight containers, the Click-clack cubes, and LocknLock containers. They are all BPA free too.

A friend of mine doesn't like the chore of transferring flour or sugar from the original bag to another container. If anyone reading this thread is like that, there's the air-tight Flour container or sugar container.

Oh sorry Loves2cook4six, I see you did bring up the insects issue!

Cooksnsews - they DO still make those glass jars. Anchor Hocking still makes 'em in the USA. They call them "cracker jars", and they come in 16 oz., 32 oz., 2 qt. and 1 gal. sizes. I will link to the 1-gallon size sold on Amazon, but you can find them on other websites too. Any negative reviews you see on Amazon are due to the price - which doesn't make sense, since the price is for a pack of 4, but I think people thought the price was for just 1. Also, you can get the Anchor Hocking jars at Target and Walmart, but the ones sold there don't have the cool vintage-looking ribs on the jar, if that matters to you.

With these jars, you can't do a "dip-and-sweep" for flour cause the opening is too narrow. Anchor Hocking makes very large glass jars with wide openings, called the "Montana" jars. But I don't think the Montana jars are air-tight, though they are a tight lid.

Here is a link that might be useful: Anchor Hocking 1-gallon Cracker Jar