You don’t need to spend a lot of money or fill your kitchen with fancy tools to bake amazing things with sourdough. Whether you’re making sandwich loaves, bagels, pizza dough, or rustic boules, the basics are more than enough to get you started. Below are the tools I consider essentials for sourdough baking, along with a few nice-to-haves that can make the process smoother or more enjoyable as you go.
Sourdough tools: Essentials
- Food scale for measuring ingredients
- Mixing bowl for mixing dough and proofing
- Sturdy mixing spoon
- Bench scraper for shaping
- Round bowl and towel/cheesecloth for proofing
- Jar for sourdough starter
- Sharp knife for scoring
- Baking container, Bread pan or covered roaster
- Bread knife for cutting bread, simple
Sourdough tools: Nice-to-haves
- Bannetons for proofing
- Dough whisk for mixing dough
- Plastic wrap for covering dough during bulk fermentation and final proofing
- Bowl scraper for cleaning up bowl edges
- Small spatula for sourdough starter feedings
- Dutch oven or bread cloche for baking
- Food thermometer for checking dough temperature
- Bread lame and razors for scoring
- Tea strainer for dusting loaf with flour before scoring
- Water mister for spraying loaf before baking
- Pastry brush for egg washes and removing excess flour on loaf before baking
- Bread bow knife for slicing sourdough
- Cutting board
- Parchment paper
- Rice flour for dusting loaf before baking to make scoring design pop
