Gear and Equipment
The following is a collection of items that I own and have found helpful/essential when baking my sourdough at home. Where possible, I’ve show that actual product I own. If I couldn’t find my exact tool, then I posted an item of equivalent quality and price. I specified (Essential) for gear I think you need to get started. I hope you find this page helpful! (I’ll keep adding to it)
The Challenger Bread Pan
Campbell’s Dough Knife
Digital Scale (Essential)
A digital scale is probably the first purchase any serious sourdough home baker will make. You don't need anything fancy. The scale I use is very similar to this one but is no longer made. You could buy a $50 or $100 scale but this $20 model is all you need. This one by Inevifit has great reviews and reads in multiple units including grams, pounds, and ounces.
Bench Knife (Essential)
An essential tool for shaping and dividing dough. Also great for cleaning up floury surfaces.
Digital Meat Thermometer (Essential)
When it comes to naturally leavened bread, you really must treat temperature as a 4th ingredient (flour, water, salt, temp!). The affect just a couple of degrees, warmer or cooler, can have on your final product is huge. I use my thermometer to check water temp and dough temp as I ferment between folds to make sure my dough is right where I want it at all times.
KoMo Mio Grain Mill
Lodge Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven, 6- Quart (Essential)
This is a good multi use tool but is particularly great for baking sourdough bread. Unlike most professional bakers, the average home baker doesn't have a steam injection oven. The cast iron retains great heat and the heavy lid keeps all the steam from the loaf trapped inside where you need it to help create that perfect crust and oven spring.
Oxo Good Grips jar Spatula
This narrow shaped spatula will make your starter feedings a whole lot easier and less messy. The unique shape scrapes the walls of your jar very efficiently. Personally, I like it over a metal spoon because I do a lot of midnight feedings and it eliminates any loud clanking. Stealth mode activated.
Infrared Thermometer Temperature Gun
This gun is not an “essential” but it is helps keep your temps consistent. It works on varying surfaced inside or outside your oven.
UFO Bread Lame by Wire Monkey
Tupperware Thatsa Bowl 32-cup in Rain Drop Blue (Essential for me)
I absolutely LOVE this bowl. It easily holds 4 loaves worth of dough and, with the lid, you don’t ever have to worry about annoying and wasteful plastic wrap while you ferment. It is also SUPER easy to clean, as most of the dough remnants just dry and flake off. No dry on dough cement!
Flour Shaker with Lid
I use this simple flour shaker every time I make bread! I use it for flouring surfaces during shaping and for decorating the loaf just before scoring. Not essential, but I prefer it over my hand because it allows for a more even distribution of flour and I don’t have to get my hand floury if I don’t want to.
Parchment Paper (Essential with dutch ovens IMO)
I use parchment paper for prepping and baking all my loaves when using a dutch oven. I’ll flip the proofed loaf onto a piece of paper, score it, and lift the whole loaf up using the paper and place it directly into the dutch oven. No cornmeal, no awkwardly flipping loaves directly into the hot pot, and no scoring in the pot (i.e. less burnt fingers). I can get 2-3 bakes out of each piece. This Kirkland size will last you forever!
3 Pack 16 x 20" Teflon Sheets
These are my go to baking sheets for my ROFCO. They are always out of stock on the official distributors webstore. These are not a perfect fit but work great. They are also a little thinner than the official brand sheets but for the price you can’t beat them. I’ve ordered them several times.