Sourdough Tools: The Essentials and the Non-Essentials
/Chances are, you have everything you need to make a loaf of sourdough bread already in your kitchen. Naturally, living in a prosperous country and in an age where at every turn you’re being marketed at through ads and influencers, sometimes it can get confusing as to what you need to make sourdough, what will make your sourdough habit easier, and what will just add clutter and stress to your kitchen. This can be highly personal, and may depend even where you are in the world. My kitchens in Italy looked very different than my kitchens in the US.
That’s where this article comes in.
I’ll walk you through some of the different tools, accessories, gadgets, so you can decide for yourself if they’re useful or not for your kitchen and sourdough habits. You’ll discover some that are worth the investment, and where you can save money. You just might discover some tools you’ve never heard of to take your sourdough to the next level!
Keep in mind that everyone has their own preferences, so what might be super handy to one person might feel like a waste of time to another.
This list will continue to grow as more tools and products come to my attention!
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Sourdough Tools, in alphabetical order:
Baking Shell
Not essential, but a lighter alternative to a dutch oven
A baking shell is meant to be placed over the shaped dough while baking in the oven. It helps keep in steam, recreating the ideal environment for sourdough bread to expand and bake well. It can be used instead of a dutch oven.
A baking shell is lighter and potentially easier to store. It costs about the same as a decent dutch oven so won’t save you any money, and different shaped loaves need different shaped baking shells, boule or batard.
Baking steel
Not essential, but could be useful, especially if you already have one
A baking steel is a large piece of food-grade steel designed to be placed in an oven and baked on directly, often used in place of a baking stone. Steel conducts heat more quickly into the product being baked on it, which can be beneficial or detrimental, depending on what is being baked. It preheats quicker than a stone, and is also more expensive.
You can read more about baking steels vs. baking stones on Serious Eats.
While you can bake bread on a baking steel, the quicker conductivity of heat can mean bottoms of bread getting darker quicker, which is not ideal since this is already a problem with sourdough bread loaves.
While making sourdough bread on a baking steel can certainly be done, it was not necessarily made with sourdough loaves in mind, and there may be a learning curve to using it. It also would mean open-baking loaves, unless you have a special loaf-covering lid, such as the Brod & Taylor Baking Shell (see below).
Baking stone
Not essential, useful for open baking
Baking stone, or pizza stones, are a very useful tool for open baking sourdough bread. A large one will allow you to bake 2 or more loaves at the same time.
Open baking on a baking stone can prove to be more challenging than baking in a dutch oven since it can be harder to get adequate steam.
Read “The 4 Best Pizza Stones” on Serious Eats.
Bannetons / Brotforms / Proofing Baskets
Essential
Bannetons are special baskets for proofing sourdough in its final shape. It helps the dough to keep its shape before being tipped out and scored just before baking. They’re often made of rattan, which is breathable and helps the dough to form a slight skin. This in turn helps the dough keep its shape and makes scoring easier.
Bannetons come in different sizes and shapes, primarily round and oval, depending on if you plan on making boules or batards. Bannetons can also come in different materials, such as silicone, pressed wood pulp, plastic, cotton rope, and beyond. A word to the wise, make sure you’re putting the correct amount of dough for the size of bannetons you have.
I prefer the rattan bannetons, as they’re made from natural materials, are easy to clean, and offer excellent results for proofing bread.
For a budget option, I have seen quite a few sourdough bakers use these wicker baskets. They’re much cheaper, but they also tend to come in larger packs. If you don’t plan on baking more than 1 or 2 loaves at a time, I’d go with the more ethically made, higher quality rattan baskets than getting a large number of cheaper baskets.
Basket liners
Not essential, but very convenient
Basket liners can be as simple as cotton or linen kitchen cloths, or elasticized to fit specific sizes and shapes of proofing baskets. Liners keep your baskets clean, and help prevent sticking. Especially with doughs with inclusions, liners keep clean up very easy.
Using a square or rectangular cloth is more versatile, can be used with varying size and shapes of bannetons, and if large enough, can be folded over the dough and be used as a liner and cover, all in one.
Elasticized covers are quick and easy if you don’t prefer to line the baskets. Elasticed covers come in cloth or plastic. I know several people who use disposable shower caps. A word of caution on those, as you would want to check that the shower caps are food grade plastic, or just spring for “shower caps” that are made with bread in mind, and thus made of food grade plastic. But again, why use plastic when you don’t have to? Reusable covers are easy to wash and easy to use.
Bench scraper
Not essential, but very handy
A bench scraper is an indispensable tool you will find in just about any bread bakery. It effortlessly cuts through sticky bread dough with minimal stickiness. Whether or not you choose to invest in one for your home might depend on how often you bake bread and how often you need to divide it. If you regularly bake just one loaf, a bench scraper might not be overly appreciated. If you make 2 or more loaves regularly, or bread rolls, bagels, or any recipe that divides the dough into many pieces, the bench scraper will be your new best friend.
Another big benefit to a bench scraper is that it helps to clean your counter. Dried dough bits, sticky dough bits, flour, all can be effortlessly scraped off in a few seconds rather than fighting them with a cloth or sponge.
Bowl scraper
Not essential, but handy
A bowl scraper is a thin, flexible piece of plastic used to help scrape dough cleanly out of bowls. It is quicker, more efficient, and easier to clean than other tools.
Bread Proofing Mat
Not essential, but can be handy
Bread heating pads can help starter or dough to rise quicker. This can be nice in colder environments where fermentation slows down greatly and you don’t have a proofing setting on your oven. Mats often have a temperature range of 70°-120°F.
If you find yourself unable to settle into a schedule that works for you with longer fermentation, the bread proofing mat could be a good option.
Bread Knife
Essential
A good bread knife with a serrated edge will make your life so much easier when it comes to slicing bread, especially sourdough loaves with their hardy crust. It doesn’t have to be any of those fancier knives that some sourdough bakers use, although it could be. A classic quality bread knife will do the trick.
Bread Slicer
Not Essential
A bread slicer is a contraption similar to a deli slicer, but intended for bread.
It would be very handy for someone slicing large amounts of bread, but I just don’t slice enough bread to justify even thinking of getting this tool. I know of some who are just enthralled with theirs, but it honestly feels a bit silly to me. Maybe I’ll warm up to the idea.
Bread Sling
Not essential, but can be handy
Bread slings are nice to bake your breads on because they reduce waste and ensure parchment paper doesn’t crunch up around the loaf, leaving an imprint as it bakes.
Bread slings are not as nice for breads with inclusions (inclusions can leak out and stick to Dutch oven or baking vessel), if you prefer to use rice under your loaves to prevent sticking (rice can then stick to the edges of your loaf), or if the loaves end up over proofed or poorly shaped (will spread too much to easily transfer to Dutch oven.)
Bread slings were one of those tools I thought I would like more than I do. It’s not that they’re bad, but I love breads with inclusions and I don’t want to have to soak and scrub my Dutch ovens each time I use a bread sling. I much prefer to use a rectangle of parchment paper to easily keep any leakage contained, and easily thrown away.
Cloche
Not essential, but some prefer over a Dutch oven
A cloche is a cast iron baking vessel that can be used for baking sourdough bread. It can also be called an inverted Dutch oven. The Challenger cloche is a commonly used brand and frequently referred to as simply a “Challenger” rather than a cloche.
Cloches can bake bread, pizza, chicken, and more. They are very similar in idea to Dutch ovens. If you already have one, no need to get the other. If you’re deciding between them, Dutch ovens offer more versatility since they can cook soups, risotto, pasta and so much more. On the other hand, baking bread in hot ovens can be hard on the baking vessel, so it’s not a bad idea to have a bread-designated baking vessel (a separate Dutch oven or cloche) so as not to stain, say, your nice Le Creuset.
Danish Dough Whisk
Not essential, but useful
A Danish whisk is specially designed for easily incorporating doughs and batters. It’s not ideal for all mixtures, but it is inexpensive and can help make sourdough baking easier. It can also be ideal for any batter that shouldn’t be over-mixed (muffins, pancakes, etc.), pie fillings, even granola.
Doap
Not essential, but can be useful
A simple piece of food grade silicone in the shape of a bar of soap with bumps is an effective tool for getting that sticky, stubborn sourdough off of hands and dishes. It can help save your sponges and dishcloths from sourdough ruin.
This a tool that seems less talked about in sourdough spheres, at least that I’ve noticed, but because of this, it can make a great gift for sourdough friends. The downside is that it feels a bit pricey for what it is, $25, but the bright side is you’re supporting a made-in-America product and not another cheap Chinese-made something from Amazon.
Dutch oven
Essential, unless you’re already a pro at open baking or have another similar baking vessel (cloche, baking stone + baking shell, etc.)
A Dutch oven keeps bread in a smaller, enclosed area, trapping in steam for optimal oven spring, crust, and ear. It is invaluable for sourdough bakers, as this environment can be much trickier to recreate in an open home oven.
When I first started baking sourdough loaves at home, I wasn’t initially using a Dutch oven, and open baking wasn’t treating me well. Once I switched to a Dutch oven I started to see dramatically better results, despite not having perfect bulk ferment times.
Fiddle Bow Bread Knife
Not essential, can be nice
The blade of a bow bread knife is attached on both ends, giving it more stability and thus allowing the blade to be thinner. It can slice bread easier, and the space between the blade and the wooden bow part makes cutting even slices easier than ever.
With a bow knife you can only cut slices, and won’t be able to slice your loaf in half for that crumb shot. It can also only be used by certain-handed people, meaning, a bow knife used by a right-handed person wouldn’t be able to be used by a left-handed person.
Instant Read Thermometer
Essential for honing the sourdough process
An instant read thermometer can ascertain the temperature of your dough at various stages and while baking, all crucial components to understanding and honing in the sourdough process for beautiful and consistent results.
Sourdough is possible without an instant read thermometer, but without knowing the temperature of ingredients and dough throughout the day, the ever-important bulk ferment will need a more watchful and attuned eye, and troubleshooting will be more guesswork.
You can find instant read thermometers for as little as $15 on Amazon, or get higher quality ones, such as from Thermapen, for closer to $90 or more. I know of several bakers who use and are happy with the more budget options. I have no personal experience with them, as I was fortunately gifted a Thermapen classic many years ago. It’s reliable and still going strong!
Kitchen scale
Essential
A kitchen scale enables the precision necessary for making successful sourdough. It may be possible to make sourdough using cups and spoons, but it is not advisable.
Once you get used to using a scale and comfortable with baker’s math, you will start to understand recipes more, especially the simpler sourdough recipes that utilize as little as 4 ingredients. And once you’re used to using a scale with sourdough, you can use the scale for all your other recipes, upping your baking game and seeing more consistent results, all while actually making baking and cleanup simpler.
For more reasons why you should use a baking scale for all of your baking, read here.
For help converting ingredients from cups to grams, check out this conversion list.
Linen/Cotton Towels
Not essential, can be useful
Linen or cotton kitchen towels are versatile little things that can be used for lining and/or covering proofing baskets, aside from their common uses as kitchen towels or lining serving baskets or bowls.
As covered above under “basket liners”, lining proofing baskets is very useful in keeping them clean, especially when loaves have inclusions that may leak out. It is much easier to wash a few hand towels than it is to wash bannetons. They also help to keep dough from sticking to the basket.
My preferred method is to line and cover each loaf with the same linen cloth. It’s natural, breathable, and easy to clean up.
Loaf slicer
Not essential
A loaf slicer is similar in idea to the the deli slicers used for slicing deli meat, cheese, and such, except it is intended for bread. It cuts large, perfect slices every time, which can be especially handy for those who like to slice bread before freezing.
While I know of at least one baker who is very excited to own this piece of equipment, it is a large, expensive piece of equipment with a sharp blade that is a one-trick pony.
Loaf pans
Not essential, but offers another way to bake bread that is most likely already in your kitchen
Loaf pans may be more reminiscent of baking instant-yeast loaves, but they can also be used just as easily for sourdough bread.
In fact, loaf pans can be used in place of Dutch ovens or any of the other fancy equipment simply by baking the sourdough loaf in a loaf pan with a second loaf pan inverted on top of it, to recreate the enclosed, steamy environment. Some prefer the loaf shape for its ease of cutting.
Baking in loaf pans can also allow more loaves to be baked at once, 5 or 6 or more. It also allows a bit more flexibility with fermentation time and rise since the sides of the pan help support the loaf as it bakes.
Loaf pans come in various sizes, giving you the option to make standard loaves, or even mini or extra large.
Loaf pans also come in nonstick and uncoated varieties. Nonstick provides the easiest cleanup, but also means the dough is coming into direct contact with chemicals. Uncoated does not have the same chemical coating and cleanup can be a breeze if you simply use parchment paper.
Mason jars
Not essential, handy for feeding starter
Mason jars are clear, vertical, and already in many kitchens which makes them an easy choice for storing and feeding starters. They’re dishwasher friendly and come in different sizes for scaling up and down with starter amounts, as needed.
Wide mouth are the most convenient for feeding starter and cleaning jars.
Parchment paper
Essential
Parchment paper is a baking staple, and sourdough is no exception. Even if you use silicone bread slings, you probably use parchment paper for other uses in baking. And if you already have it on hand, you might as well use it for sourdough with inclusions (especially if it’s cheese!!) to keep from having to soak and scrub your Dutch oven.
If you are one of the rare bakers that manages to use only reusable products in your kitchen, silicone for lining all your baking sheets and silicone bread slings and such, kudos to you!
PH reader
Not essential
A PH reader can help you read the alkalinity of your starter to determine its health as well as to determine readiness of starter and dough for baking.
A healthy starter is one that is fed enough and regularly. If a starter is not fed frequently enough or not fed a high enough ratio at feedings, it can become weak and acidic. This can cause problems, including strange crumbs and less oven spring. Knowing the exact PH of starter can help eliminate any doubt with your starter, but isn’t strictly necessary since there is some simple troubleshooting you can do without necessarily needing a fancy tool.
Proofer
Not essential, but a fancy tool used for consistency.
A proofer is a container with controlled temperature to obtain consistent and reliable results every time. It’s similar in idea to an oven’s proof setting or the bread proofing mat. Temperature range is often 70°F-120°F. It can be used for starter, dough, and more.
The Brod & Taylor Proofer as pictured here can also be used as a slow cooker with your own dutch oven or pot, and suitable for making yogurt, sous vide, and other fermented foods. It has optional humidity and folds for easy storage.
Proofing containers
Proofing containers can really pertain to any container that can hold dough during bulk ferment. However, often when bakers refer to proofing containers, they mean the square, food-safe plastic bins of varying sizes with measurements written on the side. These are often used in commercial kitchens for many different things, and are especially handy for bulk ferment since you can easily see how much the dough is rising.
Unlike bread that is made using commercial yeast, sourdough doesn’t always wait until the dough is doubled in size. The rise of the dough depends on dough temperature, and is talked about in percentages. Tom Cucuzza from The Sourdough Journey has really nailed down bulk ferment times based on temperature and how much rise % you want to see. Using a square proofing container allows you to precisely mark a target line or track what percentage your dough has risen. Proofing in a bowl can be much harder to gauge.
If you’re someone who tries to stay away from plastic and would like to find a non-plastic container for fermenting larger quantities of dough, check out these large metal bowls from Webstaurant. They have varying sizes all the way up to 30qt which I believe can easily hold enough dough to make 12-16 loaves of sourdough.
“Proofing” is a bit of a misnomer since these containers hold dough during bulk ferment, not the final proof. Remember that bulk ferment is the first rising of the dough, when it is all together in bulk. When the dough is separated and shaped into its final shape, this second shape is called the final proof, or simply “proof”. For sourdough, the final proof is often done in banneton baskets.
Razor Blade Replacements
Essential
One of the first tools a sourdough baker will want to invest in is a good bread lame. There are a few different styles, but they can be a game changer. A select few bakers might have success using a sharp knife for scoring, but it is not ideal.
Once you have a bread lame, you will need to replace the razor blades periodically to keep your scoring easy and clean. How often depends on how frequently you are making bread as well as personal preference. Some bakers replace their razor blades every 8-10 loaves or so, others only every few months or less.
I have both a stick lame and a UFO lame, and I probably only change the blades every 50? loaves or so. Sometimes I use both lames to score, sometimes just one or the other. Other times I use the stick lame two times for the same loaf, utilizing the 5 minute score method. This method, while wonderful for getting an ear, can be hard on razor blades since the very doughy, partially baked bread gets stuck on there. Cleaning razor blades dulls them, and no one wants sliced fingers trying to get the dough off! I find that I can very carefully rotate the blade, so the clean side scores the bread before hand, then rotate and use the dirtier side to do the second score. Double sided razor blades can also be flipped and rotated in general so that all four corners are being used before being tossed.
Rice flour
Essential for some
Rice flour works well for keeping sticky sourdough from sticking to surfaces, especially bannetons during the overnight retard. If all-purpose or bread flour just aren’t doing the trick, try some rice flour.
Depending on dough and environment, some find using rice flour to coat their bannetons is all but essential to get their dough turned out easily. Others, myself included, find that rice flour is nice, but not essential.
Rice flour is also used for dusting on top of loaves to get that white contrast for scoring more intricate designs.
Shower caps / Plastic bowl covers
Not essential
Shower caps can be used for covering bowls, bread once it’s in bannetons, and more. They’re quick and convenient, and fairly cheap.
That said, I’d encourage you to look into other options. Using linen cloths to line and cover bannetons is a great way to stay away from single-use plastic, and much more aesthetic, no? It also doesn’t support buying super cheap plastic shower caps from Chinese companies on Amazon. If linen dries out your dough too much in the fridge, why not use the plastic grocery bags from the grocery store? Grocery store bags are usually a good bet that they’re made from food-safe plastic, and in many places, are free. Not all shower caps are food grade plastic, so something else to check into if you do decide to go that route.
Sieve, Sifter or Ball sifter
Not essential
Lightly dusting sourdough before it goes into the oven is completely optional, and mostly done for aesthetic purposes such as decorative scoring.
If you choose to lightly dust your loaves, this can be done a couple of different ways.
Fine Sieve: You can use a fine sieve to dust flour over loaves. Many people already have a sieve in their kitchen, which means purchasing an extra tool isn’t necessary. I even got away with using a small metal ball tea infuser in place of a sieve when I didn’t have a sieve for awhile there! The con of using a sieve is that you have to fill and empty it each time you use it, and if you set it down, flour comes out.
Can Sifter: If you plan on doing a lot of sifting, then a ball or can sifter can save time and make the job a little easier. They’re also inexpensive, usually $10 or under. Can sifters often come with a cover so you can keep the flour in the can, and keep the flour from getting all over when not in use.
Ball Sifter: Similar in idea to the can sifter, just a bit smaller and round. Ball sifters sometimes have a rotating feature so they can also be covered, keeping flour contained, or at least one side without holes so it can be set down without spilling flour.
Silicone Oven Mitts
Not essential, but advisable
If you bake enough bread, sooner or later you’ll end up with some burns. While short, cloth oven mitts are fine, long, elbow length heat proof gloves can save you some burns as well as making handling the hot Dutch ovens/baking vessels much easier.
The silicone hot and cold baking gloves are all the rage right now, offering either wrist or up to full forearm protection and extended temperature ranges from in the negative Fahrenheit up to 480°F / 249°C or higher.
Small Kitchen Scissors
Not Essential
Small, sharp scissors can be used to make little cuts in dough for more intricate decorative scoring.
A lame will get most bakers as far as they need in getting fancy with the scores, but for those that want specific and intricate cuts a lame can’t do, then a small pair of sharp scissors might be your next trick. Surgical scissors can be used with great success, along with embroidery or any scissors with small enough and sharp enough blades to cleanly cut dough.
Sourdough Home
Not essential
A sourdough home is a container that looks a bit like a tiny refrigerator. You put a jar of starter inside to be kept at a precise temperature. A sourdough home can heat when it’s too cold, or cool when it’s too hot. This enables consistency in feeding a starter and thus baking times, and with the precision even allows you to adjust the flavor of your starter.
Spray bottle
Not essential, but can be very handy for more intricate scoring or getting more steam into the oven while baking
A spray bottle is certainly not essential for making a wonderful loaf of bread, but for those wishing to score more intricate designs on bread that can be easily seen, then a spray bottle and flour are good tools to have. Lightly spraying the loaf after it has been tipped out of the banneton, then sprinkling with flour, helps the flour to stay on better.
Another good use for a spray bottle is to spray loaves and the inside walls of your oven just before putting in the bread. This is one way to get more steam into a bake.
Spurtle
Not essential, but very handy for stirring
Any spoon or long utensil can be used to stir starter or dough, but a spurtle is designed to have less surface contact thus making it easier to stir and having less to clean. If you know what it is to clean sourdough dishes, then you know that this is a great thing.
Beyond sourdough, spurtles are useful for stirring many things. They were originally designed for porridge and soups and such. A spurtle is really just an unusual wooden spoon, and can be used just about anywhere a wooden spoon can. They’re also inexpensive and a little thing that makes a great gift or a great addition to your kitchen.
Stick Lame
Essential
A stick lame is used for easily and properly scoring bread, allowing bread to rise in a controlled manner, rather than splitting at random as it rises. A sharp knife could be used, it’s true, but if you plan on making sourdough more than just once in a blue moon, than a lame is one of the first tools you should invest in.
UFO Lame
Not essential, but the tool to invest in for more intricate scoring
A UFO lame differs from a stick lame in that the razor blade is usually sticking out of a small wooden circle, or “UFO” shape, rather than attached to a small rod with a handle.
The smaller circular shape allows the baker to get closer to the loaf while scoring, giving greater control and precision in scoring. The UFO lame is usually the blade of choice for performing the more intricate and artistic bread scoring. The UFO lame is a more recent invention by Wire Monkey, my favorite USA small business lame maker!
Weck Jars
Not essential, but very convenient for maintaining starter easily.
Weck jars are another brand of glass jars designed for canning and preserving, much like Mason and Ball, that are very useful for storing and maintaining sourdough starter. The main difference is that Weck jars usually have wide mouths and straighter sides, making stirring in the jar and cleaning much easier.
