I know better than anyone that it’s hard to get started when you don’t have any of the right materials. I get questions like, “What do you use to mix your dough with?” or “How do you store your bread?” To address these questions, I have listed the materials and ingredients that I use and love. You can keep the process as simple as you like but these are the following “toys” and modern conveniences to make life a little easier. Skip googling answers and reading through reviews! I’ve got you.
Here are just some options from Amazon. Please note that these are affiliate links, and I can earn a small commission if you decide to purchase these options! *
The Ideal Tools for Sourdough Bread Baking:
- Weck Jars
- These are great jars in various sizes for storing your sourdough starter.
- Sourdough Starter Home
- Ideal if you have fluctuating temperatures or want to control the fermentation temperature of your starter all year round.
- Danish Whisk
- Mixes better and more efficient than using your hands or a spatula.
- Berkey Water Filter System
- Don’t forget that CLEAN water is very important for your health and the health & quality of your starter and baked creations.
- Kitchen Aid Mixer
- Ideal for making one loaf or multiple loaves instead of hand mixing, it is great for mixing high hydration sourdough bread, bagels , baguettes and cookies.
- Cambro 2 Quart Container (for 1 loaf of sourdough), 4 Quart Container
- Makes it easier to watch how high your dough rises to help you determine when your dough is ready to shape.
- Bread Proofer
- This foldable bread proofer allows you to control the fermentation temperature for consistent results year round.
- Dough Scraper (plastic)
- Helps with mixing dough and scrapping all the flour off the bowl as well as removing the dough from the bowl.
- Bench Scraper (stainless steel)
- Useful in shaping, transferring and cutting your dough.
- Banneton Oval & Round or Combo Set
- These two shapes are ideal and hold the correct weight of your average one loaf sourdough recipe (800~1100 grams).
- Gram Scales
- Silicon Bread Slings
- Reusable and helpful in loading your dough into your baking vessel.
- Lame to Score Sourdough
- This straight handle lame is sturdy to use.
- The round lame is great for precision scores and designs.
- Sourdough Baking Kits
- Ideal if you are on a budget and need some basic tools to get started.
- Cloche, Dutch Oven, or Challenger Bread Pan
- A Cloche (enameled stoneware) is my preferred baking vessel as it will deliver a softer crispy crust as compared to cast iron vessels.
- A Dutch Oven needs to be large enough to bake your loaf when it rises. The hot cast iron can produce a thicker and harder crust.
- The Challenger Bread Pan is larger, user friendly and easier to load although it is heavier than most Dutch ovens.
- Thermometer to check internal dough temperature.
- Cooling Racks
- Oven Gloves
- Lanon gloves are my favorite for a perfect fit and different lengths.
- Bread Knife
- Mercer Culinary is a high quality standard knife.
- Electric Slicer
- This is a good home use electric slicer for even bread cuts and precise thickness.
- Bread bags
- Some of my favorite Bread Baking Books:
Quality Ingredients for Your Baking Creations:
- Organic Flour
High Quality Affordable Healthy Foods & Products From Azure Standard
Azure Standard is where the majority of my micro bakery products come from. Think of them as a farm and warehouse distributor without the middleman offering two delivery options: mail delivery or cost-saving drop locations delivered by a truck usually monthly (similar to a food co-op). The biggest difference is they offer organic foods or natural products (they have 50+ banned ingredients). Azure supports independent and family owned ventures, promote healthy food from healthy soil, and strives to keep it clean and sustainable. I am also one of Azure Standard’s Drop Coordinators and help organize our monthly deliveries to my beachside town. It’s free to join and there is no obligation to order monthly. Following is the link connected to my “Share Azure” program. I can receive rewards credit to my account if you choose to purchase products from Azure Standard using this link:
https://www.azurestandard.com/?a_aid=7ecbeb6bfe
Thank you!
*Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.