Sourdough Starter Tools & Supplies
Before you can start baking sourdough bread, you will need a sourdough starter. It is quite easy and rewarding to create one from scratch, watching your starter growth from just a mixture of flour and water into something that has the rising power to make delicious bread all from the comforts of your home.
Below are the list of tools and supplies to get you started.
Flour
Wholegrain flour (rye/wholemeal) and high protein flour.
One of the key ingredients for an active starter.
Water
Chlorine free tap water, filtered or mineral water.
One of the key ingredients for an active starter.
Glass Jar
A wide mouth, straight sided glass jar with a lid.
To store the starter.
Digital Weighing Scale
Reads and display weight of the ingredients.
Measure ingredients accurately.
Silicone Spatula
Largely inert (chemically inactive), soft and flexible tool with smooth edges.
Mixing the starter and scraping the sides of jar.
Mixing bowl
Any small inert (chemically inactive) deep bowl.
Mixing the starter before transferring back into the jar.
Sourdough Baking Tools & Supplies
Sourdough "Essential" Tools
Listed below are the “Essential” tools and supplies to get you started.
Digital Weighing Scale
Reads and display weight of ingredients.
Measure ingredients accurately.
Digital thermometer
Temperature monitoring device.
Monitor dough temperature.
Mixing bowl
A large deep bowl
Useful when hand mixing ingredients.
Bulk fermentation container
Round or square container with clear sides.
To see the rise in dough.
Dough Scraper
A flat rectangular plastic or silicon device.
Remove sticky dough from the bench, fingers and mixing bowl. Also used to for scooping up the dough during shaping.
Dutch oven
A heavy duty round or oval cast iron pot with a lid.
Designed to trap heat, steam and encourage maximum rise in dough.
Sourdough "Nice to Have" Tools
This section of “Nice to Have” are for the more seasoned bakers, looking to up their game and improve their baking outcome.
Bread Lame
Double sided sharp razor blade attached to a handle of various sizes.
Score (slash) the dough before putting it in the oven.
Baking Steel
A heavy duty rectangular stainless steel plate.
Heat retention and even out the heat in the oven.
Banneton Basket
Small rattan basket of various sizes (round, oval, long).
Keep shape and structure of dough during final proofing stage.
Bread Knife
A knife with long blade and serrated edges.
A good bread knife will assist in sawing through different types of bread.
Pullman Loaf Tin
Straight sided pan with a slide-on lid and three holes at the bottom.
Provide structure for the bread to rise, mostly used for sandwich and rye bread recipes.
Dough Whisk
Consists of 3 coils of different sizes stacked on top of each other.
Ideal for mixing no-knead bread and batter recipes to prevent overmixing.
Oven thermometer
Stainless steel with a clock face dial.
Measure oven temperature accurately.
Bread Sling
Silicon baking mat with handles.
Easy loading and unloading of dough into the dutch oven or oven.
Ambient thermometer
Displays temperature and humidity.
Measure temperature and humidity of the surrounding environment.