Thrift Store finds

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am a bit of a thrift store junkie. OK, maybe more than a bit! I am in thrift stores ALL the time. You never know what you might find. The trick is to go frequently and to know what you are looking for. If you wander aimlessly, browsing through everything, not only will you be there for hours, you will have a cart full of stuff you don't need.
I was on the search for a programmable bread machine for many months, probably close to a year, before I scored this Zojirushi machine for about $7.00! It works perfectly and has all it's accessories. I was able to download a free copy of the manual on-line.

 Other finds include a muffin top pan for $3.00

A doughnut pan for $4.00.

 I already had one that was gifted to me by my dad, now I can bake a dozen at a time!

My curly fry cutter for $6.00

and my everyday kitchen scale for $3.00

A big point to remember is that if you are gluten free and want to use a kitchen item that has been used, you MUST clean it very thoroughly or you will constantly contaminate whatever you are making. Look for items that don't have nooks and cranny's that dough might have gotten stuck in. The bread pan on my bread machine was of concern. I took the paddle out and soaked the pan and scrubbed it several times.
Also, when you see an item that you want, don't plan to come back for it later. Grab it right then. I am still kicking myself over not getting a flour tortilla maker. I had not priced it before-hand and wasn't willing to pay the $9.00 for it. I came home and looked it up. They start at about $65 new!
By grabbing these items at thrift stores, I have been able to stock some "specialty" baking tools that I otherwise would not have.