Trusted sourdough tools
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New to sourdough? This is the short list.
Complete Sourdough Starter Kit
Everything the first bakes ask for in one box, which saves working out what you need before you have baked anything.
What's in the box
- 5QT enamelled cast iron Dutch oven
- Banneton proofing basket
- Dough scraper
- Bread sling
- Dough whisk
- Bread lame
- Cleaning brush
- Heat-resistant gloves
Prefer to buy piece by piece? These are the ones to get first.
Kitchen scale (0.1g)
Sourdough is ratios, and accuracy to 0.1g is what makes a small starter feed repeatable instead of approximate.
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Start hereGlass starter jar
Straight sides and a wide mouth let you read the rise at a glance, which is the whole point of watching a starter.
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Metal Bench Scraper + Bowl Scraper
Dividing and lifting dough with a blade instead of your hands keeps the surface tension you just built.
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iDutch oven (cast iron, 5 L)
The lid traps steam for the first part of the bake, keeping the crust soft long enough for the loaf to spring.
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Starter tools
For keeping a starter alive and readable.
- Start here
Glass starter jar
Straight sides and a wide mouth let you read the rise at a glance, which is the whole point of watching a starter.
Check price on Amazon Kitchen scale (0.1g)
Sourdough is ratios, and accuracy to 0.1g is what makes a small starter feed repeatable instead of approximate.
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Instant-read thermometer
Dough temperature drives fermentation speed more than anything else, so knowing it turns timing into a decision rather than a guess.
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iLarge Glass Storage Jar
Mixing your feeding flour ahead in one jar makes every feed identical, which removes a variable when a starter misbehaves.
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Mixing and shaping
From first mix to a shaped loaf in the basket.
Large mixing bowl
Glass lets you read the rise from the side, and a lid means the same bowl goes straight into the fridge.
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Danish Dough Whisk
The open spiral moves through wet dough with far less effort than a spoon, and a one-piece whisk has nowhere for dough to hide.
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Flexible dough scraper
A flexible edge follows the curve of the bowl, so the dough you mixed is the dough that reaches the loaf.
Check price on AmazonMetal Bench Scraper + Bowl Scraper
Dividing and lifting dough with a blade instead of your hands keeps the surface tension you just built.
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Banneton (round, 23 cm)
Rattan wicks moisture from the surface during the final proof, which forms the skin a loaf needs to hold its shape.
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Banneton (oval, 25 cm)
Worth adding once you want to shape a batard, which slices more evenly and suits some Dutch ovens better than a boule.
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Silicone Spatula Set
Different sizes cover everything from folding discard batter to scraping the last of the starter out of a jar.
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Baking tools
Steam, heat and a clean score are what happen in the oven.
Bread lame
One clean stroke gives the loaf a place to open, where a dragging knife deflates it.
Check price on AmazonDutch oven (cast iron, 5 L)
The lid traps steam for the first part of the bake, keeping the crust soft long enough for the loaf to spring.
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Silicone Bread Sling
Lowering a loaf into a hot pot by the handles is safer than the parchment shuffle, with nothing to throw away afterwards.
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iBaking steel
Earns its place if you bake without a Dutch oven or make pizza often, where the faster heat transfer genuinely shows.
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iBaking stone
A gentler and cheaper alternative to steel for bread and flatbreads baked straight on the rack.
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Scoring Twine
Pressing a line into the surface first takes the nerves out of a score you cannot undo.
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iUnbleached baking parchment
The coating is worth checking: unbleached paper without PFAS keeps the bake as clean as the ingredients.
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Storing and slicing
Keeping the loaf good after it comes out.
Flour, salt and pantry
The ingredients worth being deliberate about.
iStrong bread flour
Protein is the one number that matters: 12g or more per 100g is what builds the structure a loaf rises into.
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iFine salt (in dough)
Any salt works: fine grain earns the recommendation because it dissolves evenly through a wet dough, where coarse crystals leave salty pockets.
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Whole wheat flour
Ten per cent in a white loaf adds flavour and depth, and a spoonful in a feed keeps a starter livelier.
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Rye flour
Rye carries more wild yeast than any other flour, so a little in a feed wakes a sluggish starter quickly.
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Organic Matcha Powder
Shade-grown matcha with no fillers holds its colour and flavour through a bake, where cheaper blends turn grey.
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iOrganic Vanilla Powder
Ground bean survives the oven where alcohol-based extract evaporates, so the vanilla is still there when you taste it.
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Pumpkin Seeds
Pressed into the surface before baking they toast as the loaf bakes, giving a plain loaf a finish that looks deliberate.
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Mixed Baking Seeds
One jar covers toppings, seeded crusts and cracker dough, which is more use than four separate bags.
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Dark Chocolate Callets
Callets melt evenly and hold their shape in a batter, which is why they behave better than chopped bar chocolate.
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White Chocolate Callets
A higher cocoa butter content melts smoothly instead of seizing, which matters more in white chocolate than in dark.
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