Sourdough Baking Tools
If you are just starting your Sourdough Journey, figuring out what tools you need to make sourdough baking easier can be a little overwhelming. The truth is, our ancestors were making sourdough long before any of these tools existed, so all you truly need is flour, water, salt, a jar, a good sturdy spoon, a cookie sheet, and an oven.
But… if you are looking to make sourdough baking a little easier than our ancestors had it, here is a breakdown of all of the tools I have found super helpful on my journey from barely being able to toast store-bought bread to running a sourdough micro-bakery out of my home.
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Sourdough Starter
You can absolutely begin your own sourdough starter from just flour and water, but if you want to get started quickly, there are several ways to obtain a sourdough starter. You can ask friends to share, check out places like Facebook Marketplace, or you can purchase some of my “Lola” in both Dehydrated Sourdough Starter which can be shipped worldwide, and Active Sourdough Starter for Pensacola locals.
When you start with someone else’s starter, the yeast and bacteria are already active, so you can begin baking right away.
Start baking your favorite sourdough goodies right away with Active Sourdough Starter from Lola – the Pauline Manor Bakery Starter.
Begin your sourdough journey with Dehydrated Sourdough Starter from “Lola” from the Pauline Manor Bakery.
Glass Jar
Having a clear glass jar for your active sourdough starter is recommended so that you can easily see when your starter peaks after feeding. If you are baking often, I really like this one-gallon jar with a lid that is available at Walmart.
If you are thinking of starting a micro bakery, it is also available in a 2-gallon option. Just remember the larger your jar and starter, the more volume you will need to feed it to keep it active.
Strong Spatula or Wooden Spoon
You need a strong spoon to mix your starter – especially if you keep a lot on hand. I absolutely love this set of wooden spoons and use them for pretty much everything in my kitchen.
I am also a big fan of having several different sizes and shapes spatulas – I find myself grabbing different ones for different recipes. This colorful spatula set has a variety together in one simple set and they are sturdy enough for even the thickest of doughs.
Bread Flour
This may be a bit controversial, but I have spent the last year trying out all different types of flour, and in my opinion, the way to get the best-tasting, best-texture sourdough… is with King Arthur Bread Flour. I get mine from BJ's in bulk for my microbakery, but you should be able to find it in 5-pound bags at your local Walmart.
Food Scale
If you are in the United States, you are probably used to recipes being measured in cups and tablespoons… but I have to admit, when I started weighing my ingredients and measuring everything in grams, my sourdough game got much easier.
If you are making one loaf at a time, this stainless steel scale come with the perfect bowl to do all your mixing and proofing in one. Super convenient and easy to clean and my loaves turned out great!
If you want to do more than one loaf or maybe a couple dozen cookies at once, this digital food scale holds up to 33 pounds!
Temperature Guage
Temperature and humidity make such a big difference in the timing of your sourdough, this is a great little inexpensive tool to keep on hand. This lightweight Hygrometer Thermometer syncs with your phone so you can easily see the temp and humidity at a glance. You can even set up a preset range and the app will send you an alert when your room goes out of that set range.
Measuring Cups & Spoons
I know, I just said that grams are the way to go, but having a good set of measuring cups and spoons on hand is always a good idea. This super cute and inexpensive measuring cups and spoons set comes in a variety of colors and has every size you will need for perfect recipes every time.
Tea Towels
Having a tea towel to throw over your bowl while your sourdough recipes proof just simply makes “dough days” a little bit easier. I ordered this set from Amazon because they were cheap… and I absolutely love them. So much so that I ordered a second set.
These have become my “everything kitchen” towels – with one set for my sourdough stuff and the other for all things kitchen.
Plastic Bowl Covers
I live in an incredibly humid location so while I use tea towels during the bulk proof, I prefer to use a plastic cover when I cold-proof to maintain the moisture in the dough. This plastic bowl cover set comes with 200 covers that stretch perfectly over the bannetons and give room for the dough to expand.
Bannetons
Another touch of controversy here as bannetons can be a bit pricey, but I find they hold up so much better than little wicker baskets – which are also quite popular with other microbakers.
If you are just making sourdough leaves for yourself, this two pack of 9″ bannetons is perfect. For my microbakery, I purchase a couple of sets of six. I fond 9″ to be the perfect size for a boule, if you are wanting more of an oval loaf they of course some in oval shaped as well.
Scoring Lame
Scoring your sourdough bread is not only fun and makes your loaves gorgeous, but it plays a big role in how the bread will cook as well. When I first started my sourdough journey I grabbed these cute little cloud shaped bread lames. If you are just getting started or maybe you have a little baker at your feet, these are a great option since the blade is retractable. However… they go dull very quickly and I do not think it is possible to change the blade.
So I upgraded to this round wooden bread lame that allows me to replace the blade over and over again.
Food Thermometer
Ambient temperature and humidity are important as well as the temperature of our actual ingredients. So many recipes call for “warm” water… but how warm is warm, really? This superfast Food Thermometer is a lifesaver, and I find myself using it for everything sourdough… as well as everything else around my kitchen.
I love it so much that I actually purchased a backup just in case. It is some of the best $15 I have spent on my kitchen.
Silicone Lined Cookie Sheets
Part of your Sourdough Journey will include having “discard” when you feed your starter. Sourdough Discard Cookies are one of my favorite ways to keep a no-waste sourdough journey, and these Silicone Liner Cookie Sheets make baking the perfect textured cookies a breeze every time.
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2.5L Volume, Electronic Stainless Steel Food Scale for Cooking Baking, Room Temperature, Alarm Timer, 12lb 5.5kg, Batteries Included
1g/0.05oz Precise Graduation, USB Charging Kitchen Scale, Waterproof Stainless Steel with LCD Display, Ounces and Grams for Weight Loss, Cooking, Baking (red)
Banneton Basket Set of 2, 9 inch Sourdough Proofing Basket Round Proofing Bowls Handmade Rattan Baskets and Liners, Artisan Sourdough Bread Making Kit
1+10 Pcs Best Bread Lame Cutter For Sourdough Bread Lame Wooden Bread Lame Dough Scoring Tool Include 10 Razor Blades and Storage Cover
[4 PCS], Retractable Razor for Sourdough Bread Baking & Bread Making Tool - Cloud Shape [White + Pink + Purple + Blue]
Round Bread Banneton Sourdough Bread Kit with Cloth Liner Plastic Scraper Dough Proofing Bowls for Home Sourdough Bakers Bread Making Supplies (9 Inch)
Bread Proofing Basket Rattan Oval Banneton Basket Dough Proofing Bowls with Liners and Scatters for Home Sourdough Bread Baking
Thicken Plastic Covers Elastic Bowl Covers for Bread Proofing, Picnic Food Leftover Covers Stretch Plastic Cover Food for Family Outdoor Picnic
28" x 28" Ring Spun 100% Cotton Dish Cloths - Machine Washable - for Cleaning & Drying - Beige
Cookie Pan , Set of 6 (2 Sheets + 2 Racks + 2 Mats), Non Toxic, Heavy Duty & Easy Clean
Ambidextrous Backlit and Motion Sensing Kitchen Cooking Food Thermometer with Instant Read Thermometer
Sourdough Whisk for Baking with Dough Cutter/Scraper Included
