Baking Essential supplies

Given you're stated goals, KK, the only specialized equipment you'll need is a jelly roll pan. This is basically a 9x13 inch cookie sheet with a raised edge. Being as it doubles as a cookie sheet, there's no need to buy any of them as well.

Historically, when making any rolled cake, you line the sheet with wax paper, pour in the batter, and bake the cake. Unmold it onto a kitchen towel and, leaving the wax paper in place, roll the cake. Let it cool. Gently unroll it, remove the wax paper, spread your filling, and reroll the cake. Set it seam-side down and ice & decorate as desired.

How are you with meringue? The signature decoration of yule logs is small meringue mushrooms.

Oh, yeah. Baking supplies are available wherever cookware is sold. Even some supermarkets have what you need (look in the housewares isle). Certainly the box stores carry them.

Given the limited use they'll get, you don't need anything fancy. Locally, Walmart has jelly-role pans (without non-stick coating) on sale at 96 cents each. You certainly won't need anything better than that.

My standby is the "half sheet" pan, roughly 13" x 18" and sturdy aluminum.  You can get silicone liners sized to fit, which save a lot of trouble.  You'll also want several cooling racks.

9x13 cookie sheets ("quarter sheet") are great too -- it's really a question of your batch sizes, oven size, and counter space.  If you're doing any volume, it's worth getting a half dozen baking sheets.

I shop at restaurant supply stores -- if you're near a big city there should be one or two available.  All this stuff is also available online.

happy baking!

Posted by Koukouvagia 

"Jelly like consistency?"  No.

Meringue 'shrooms?  One uses a piping bag.

BDL

Actually, KK, meringue can be one of the most difficult easy jobs in the cooking world. You're essentially drying egg whites, rather than cooking them, and it's easy to not get the balance right.

Jelly roll pans are just as stiff as any others. They're named that because they're specifically designed to make sheets of cake destined to be rolled. As Colin points our, fractional sheet pans work just as well. So, too, do any lipped baking sheets.

Which do you prefer, a long, thin log or a short, fat log

I'd tend to a short, fat log.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koukouvagia 

In that case I have a few short lipped 9x13 baking sheets.  Which way would I roll a yule log, the long way or the short way?

My preference is to roll from the short side, using a quarter sheet pan I'll end up with a 9" log, giving me 9 to 12 slices, 3/4" to 1" thick and, to me, more filling per slice.

Conversely, starting from the long side results in a 12" log with 12 to 16 slices of the same thickness, but less filling per slice.

Which is easier? It is a toss-up, IMHO.

Neither is particularly more easy or difficult. And it's a fast learning curve----once you've done it once you'll have the technique down pat.

I prefer rolling from the long edge. IMO it makes a more impressive overall presentation, once you're done decorating it, and makes portion control easier.

That last may not be an issue, though, because I guarantee all your guests are going to say, "surely you're not going to slice that thing." So you may need a back-up dessert.