Sourdough Tools That Are Helpful To Have

Sourdough has been all the buzz lately and I understand the hype. I have been working with sourdough for two years and although there’s a learning curve that comes with it initially, it is so good and worth the effort! Whether you’re just starting your sourdough journey or you’ve been on it for awhile, there are some kitchen tools that can make the job easier. Although not all are necessary, as time goes on, these might be tools you may want to invest in.

Kitchen Tools for Sourdough

• Dutch Oven. This is an item I didn’t own when I first started. After making a few sourdough artisan loaves, this was one of the first items I invested in. The Dutch oven holds heat, bakes the bread evenly, and allows steam to be present when baking, which is important. Plus this has so many other great uses, not just for baking bread.
• Kitchen Scale. Many sourdough recipes are written out in grams for measurement. This proves to be more accurate. This is a cheaper purchase that you will use nearly every time you are baking with sourdough.
• Wide Mouth Mason Jar. By having a jar with a wide mouth, it makes the cleaning process much easier. Washing sourdough dishes can be a headache, especially if you let it dries on, so having a wide mouth jar makes it easier to wash and get all the crevices. Not only is washing easier, it also makes it easier for feeding your starter since there’s more room to stir.

Tools That Aren’t Necessary But Are Helpful

• Stir Stick. This is definitely a tool that isn’t a necessity but it sure makes mixing and feeding your starter easier. The long, skinny stick makes it easy to combine your flour and water. A wooden spoon handle works great too but if you’re looking for another tool to have, this is one of my favorites.
• Dough Whisk. This tool is not a need but it does make mixing dough much easier and less messy. Your hands make a good alternative.
• Bread Lame. This is what you use to score your bread. A kitchen paring knife works as well but a lame is great if you’re looking to do more with your scoring designs.
• Bannetons. These are what you can proof your dough in. You can either proof them directly in the banneton and get the ring design or put the burlap cloth cover over it and proof the dough that way. Bannetons can help the dough also hold it’s shape a bit better when shaped.
• Bench Scraper. After having this tool for over a year, I have come to really enjoy this handy gadget. If doubling a bread recipe, making buns or cinnamon rolls, this tool is fantastic for cutting the dough. I have both a metal and plastic one and I prefer the metal one. It’s also great for cleaning the kitchen counter after you’ve shaped your dough. It picks up all the small pieces of dough left behind.

Replacements If You Don’t Want To Purchase Anything

Here are some alternative tools you may already have on hand that you can use instead of what is listed above.

• Roaster Pan. When baking traditional sourdough loaves, creating steam is necessary and that happens when the bread is covered. A roaster pan, or any baking dish that has a lid that is big enough for rising bread, would be a good alternative. If you don’t have any oven safe dishes with a cover, there are ways to bake a loaf of bread without a cover but that requires an extra dish with water in it in the oven. You can google exactly how to do that.
• Measuring Cups. If you choose not to purchase a kitchen scale, some recipes will have the cup measurements written out but most like will say, for example, “about 4 cups”. This is because my one cup of flour might have less flour than your one cup of flour. So if you want the most accurate measurements, stick to the scale. And if a recipe doesn’t have the cup measurements listed, searching for the conversions also works.
• Any glass jar or bowl with cover. This is for your starter. You’ll want something that has room for your starter to grow in it after you feed it. A quart size jar is a great size to use but any size can work, you may just have more of a mess depending on how small it is. If using a glass bowl, you’ll want to make sure it has a cover that fits tightly on it. This is because when putting your starter in the fridge, it needs to be sealed tightly.
• Mixing bowl or Colander. This is what your bread can proof in if not purchasing bannetons. Flour a tea towel, place dough on towel and place the towel and dough into the mixing bowl or colander.

I’ve listed off different tools that are helpful to have when working with sourdough. And while you can bake with sourdough with the tools you already own, over time, these are some items that I would invest in. Christmas and birthdays are great times to add to your collection as they make easy gifts for others to gift you! I didn’t list any that I don’t think are worth purchasing so just know there are more out there but I don’t find them to be necessary by any means. Get creative if you don’t have a certain tool that a recipe may call for. Don’t let the lack of keep you from starting.

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