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Sourdough bread making can be a difficult road to navigate, especially when it comes to needed supplies. What is essential? What can you go without? This list of sourdough supplies was crafted to help you make that more informed decision on what to spend your budget on when it comes to improving your sourdough craft.
Disclaimer: You can make a great loaf of bread using your basic cooking supplies at home if you are testing the waters to see if this is the way to go. I started out using a mixing bowl, spoon, and boiling water using a more open-bake method. I gradually added the crock pot, and other supplies as I felt more confident and secure in my want to continue making bread.
Without further ado, here are my top picks for sourdough supplies that I have found incredibly helpful in my bread journey. I hope you find them helpful too!
Ceramic or Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls:
The mixing bowl is the tool you will use the most when creating sourdough bread (especially if you opt out of the banneton). I would suggest finding a mixing bowl you LOVE, and is big enough that if you wanted to batch multiple loaves of bread at the same time, its capacity would hold it.
I really like this ceramic bowl set. The bowls are big and the design is beautiful.
This is another pretty set that has lids, if you like to have the lid option.
A Good, Quality Mixing Spoon:
I really love wooden spoons for mixing my bread. I don’t know why. Always have, and always will. I have this really great spoon I love, and I always use it for mixing. I’m not exactly sure where it came from, but this spoon is a similar style.
Danish Dough Hooks are always a great option too for mixing your dough. This is especially true if you don’t want to worry about scrubbing crusted dough off of a wooden spoon. (If sourdough dries, it pretty much becomes cement).
Food Scale:
THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE ESSENTIAL! Not only because a food scale will help you be more accurate, but most sourdough recipes, like my delicious brioche cinnamon rolls, are measured in grams. This is the best way to ensure you are not adding too much flour or too much water to your bread.
This food scale is the one I have used for years. It’s affordable, and as long as you treat it with care, it will last for years.
Bench Scraper:
All I can say is that I underestimated the power of a good bench scraper. It was a game changer when it came to working with delicate doughs and even helped quicken the clean-up process. I love to use it especially with pastry dough when it sticks a little too much to the bench. Plus if you have a lot of left-over flour and crusts on the counter from shaping….simply use your bench scraper to pull that right off the counter and into a pile to dispose of. (Believe me when I say it made so many things about baking much easier). Definitely part of essential sourdough supplies!
Parchment Paper:
Now, you can go without parchment paper, but it does make the baking process much easier. I’ve noticed that using parchement paper reduces the risk of the bottom of my loaves burning or sticking to the bottom of the Dutch oven. It also improves the flow of creating your loaf (as it creates an easy way to get your loaf in and out of the very hot dutch oven). Hence, it being added to the list of essential sourdough supplies.
Dutch Oven:
This investment was a game changer for me. Using a good quality dutch oven improved the overall quality of my bread. The crust was crustier, the inside became that perfect texture.
My baking process was way more streamlined as well, and I had to use less tools overall to create a great loaf. I simply warm up dutch oven, add my loaf on parchment paper, and that’s it! Whereas before, I had to have a pan of water in there plus the baking sheet, plus the parchment paper, and sometimes even a spray bottle to keep the steam going. In my opinion, it was a pain I was willing to invest in a dutch oven to get rid of.
Extra Plus: You can use your dutch oven for other things like soup and casseroles. It acts as a great non toxic switch to your regular non stick pot.
Banneton:
While I think you can still create a beautiful and delicious loaf of bread without a banneton, there is value in them. They are a great way to keep a shape while final proofing your bread. Virtually all you have to do is plop the bread on to your parchment paper, score, and bake.
I haven’t had great luck with bannetons, because I didn’t learn how to properly prepare bannetons for proofing. Make sure to properly prepare the banneton before placing your dough in it, or it WILL stick….and you will be sad.
If I were to invest in a good proofing basket, it would be this one as there aren’t as many crevices and cracks to seal before placing your bread.
Bread Score:
There are different types of scores for different techniques. In order to perform all the basic scoring techniques, you will need a straight scoring knife and a curved scoring knife.
Conclusion
Sourdough baking can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. But, there are a few essential steps and materials you need to be successful. I hope this list helps you understand the essential sourdough supplies needed to make beautiful and delicious sourdough bread.
