The Best Top 10 Sourdough Supplies You Want!

Here’s the list of my top 10 sourdough supplies. Whether you’ve been making sourdough forever, or are just getting into it, here are some tools that will bolster your sourdough experience!

Sourdough is one thing that is so simple, requiring minimal equipment. This post is by no means a list of what you need to run out and buy to get started in sourdough. If you have a bowl, lidded pan and a some oven mitts, you can make sourdough! But if you’ve been playing around with it for a while and want to try some fun things, here is what’s in my toolbox:

Thankfully in our current house, I have a full cupboard devoted to baking equipment. I keep the little things in a canvas tote. The pan and baskets stack together next to the tote. Charlie was sweet and made me little dividers with cardboard!

First things first: Wheat Grinder

Grinding your own flour provides you with the benefit of 75% more minerals, vitamin E and fiber. “As soon as the whole grain is broken open, the nutrients begin to degrade. The exact number and time has been disputed, but sources say that 40-45% of the nutrients deplete after just 24 hours of the flour being milled, and 95% after 3 days.” (source) There’s a lot to be said about why gluten affects people so violently these days, so whatever we can do to keep all the nutrition available, we should do. See this post for a delicious sourdough recipe for freshly ground flour. Also, see more of my reasons for choosing freshly ground flour there, too. (Hint: things that hatch and crawl!!)

Go With Mockmill

I have been grinding our flour since 2009. Over the years, I have used Magic Mill, Wonder Mill, Blendtec Blender, Kitchen Aid attachment, Nutri Mill and have finally settled on the Mockmill Pro 200. The Mockmill is by far the most expensive one, (be sure to buy the “pro” model, because there is a difference) but if you consider how much money was wasted with trying all those other brands, it would have been much cheaper for me to go with the best right off the bat. (If you buy it and decide you’re not into grinding, you could easily sell it for what you bought it for— they are often out of stock, and people want it!)

There were other issues that led me to always be on the search for the “perfect” at home grinder, but one thing that they all had in common that made the Mockmill Pro stand out: too large of a grind. In comparing store bought whole wheat flour to what I had ground with the others, my flour was like coffee ground for French press verses espresso being the goal (if you happen to know coffee!). Flour that course does not turn into light and fluffy bread. I wish I could say I’m sponsored by Mockmill, but I am not. Just a grateful patron to have found something that matches my standard!

Also Pictured: Stand Mixer

Everyone should make sourdough by hand every so often to be able to “know” your dough— what it feels like when things go right…and when they go wrong. But as a baker who (when my house is not a sweltering 90 degrees inside like it is today!) bakes all of our bread foods at home, (artisan loafs, sandwich bread, bagels, English Muffins, doughnuts, puff pastries, cinnamon rolls… the list goes on!) I enlist the help of the mixer. Some of the enriched doughs turn out much better with a good 20 minutes of kneading. Ummm… I do not have that kind of time to spend, nor strength of wrists! A Kitchen Aid is a huge help in making all my freshly ground, soured bread goals a reality. They are easy to find second hand.

Starter Jar

I’m only mentioning this, because I think I’m on to something here! I have spent way too much money on these perfect jars. There’s no ledge for the dough to get stuck in, like there is with a regular mason jar. A glass lid settles on the top nicely, keeping bugs out, but letting gas escape. But for my clumsy self, I’ve spent that pretty penny a few too many times. One day, I saw this common vase at a thrift store, and realized how perfect it would be for sourdough! I got home and happened to have a candle’s lid that fit, (gasket removed) and for only 99 cents, I have the perfect set up for my starter.

Scale

If there was ever a game changing kitchen tool… this is it! I’m not even going to pretend like it’s because I’m a fussy baker and can tell the difference between pastries a few grams off… no. Can you imagine NEVER having to clean honey out of a measuring scoop again? Making mayonnaise right in the jar and not having to dirty a measuring cup with oil? And for those of us with a wheat grinder, you know that one cup of wheat berries provides way more flour than one cup. Side note, here’s my measurements for those three things specifically:

• 1 Cup Flour = 130g
• 1 Cup Honey = 320g
• 1 Cup Oil = 200g

But yes, it does help you get the exact amount of flour to water ratio, which provides you with the best chance of your breads turning out. If you measured exactly to the gram of a recipe and it didn’t turn out, you know that the issue was some other factor. But if you went off “1 cup”— it could have been settled, unsifted flour that made it much more dense. Scales take the guesswork out of baking.

Silicone Bowl Cover

Before I had these, I always used a wet tea towel, which is next best. Anything to not have to deal with Saran Wrap! I prefer this to a tea towel, though, because it keeps the moisture in. Using this, my bread rise overnight without the towel drying out, thus the dough drying out and developing a crust. I love that it is a no-fuss cover. You can plop it on, then pick up the entire bowl from just that little handle, it seals so well! But you can easily get it off by grabbing it from an edge. Such a simple invention that is a game changer!

Mine is from IKEA, but here’s some (cute ones!) from amazon if that’s easier for you.

Bench Scrapers

If there was one tool that I bought for sourdough but use every day, the bench scraper is it!! For sourdough purposes, I use the plastic one to scrape the dough down the sides of the bowl or get it out of the bowl. I use the metal one to divide the dough, scoop it up off the counter, assist in getting the right tension… so many uses.

For other uses, if you have a chronic smoothie-spiller in your house like me, nothing gets it cleaned up better than a scraper! I clean my table with them after pizza-night-dough-fest, or even something like rice that’s annoying to wipe up. Also, it’s the best for cleaning my cast iron pans.

My very favorite plastic one is from the dollar store in Japan. I’m disappointed that I haven’t been able to find another one that is as thin and pliable, yet sturdy here in America. Boy howdy, have I tried! My sourdough supplies kit is loaded with worthless plastic scrapers. When I find a good one, I will for sure come back and link it for you! Here’s a similar metal one to what I have.

Bannetons

Are they really necessary, or are they just a cute, trendy trinket? Well, neither. You could let your dough do its final rise in a bowl lined with a towel and be just fine. But the raw material of the banneton (rattan, wood or cotton) helps draw any condensation that might accumulate, especially during a cold proof in the fridge. I use a few, but my favorite is the one from ikea. It feels sturdier and I prefer its size. Prices range vastly for the baskets on Amazon, but I bought the cheapest ones and they work just fine. Looking for a link for what I bought, and look what I found! A link with almost everything here!

I love using these baskets because they make beautiful lines on the loaves. One of my greatest joys in baking sourdough is the beauty that is on the other side! Thus, I’m highly motivated to use anything that adds to the beauty. That is why I don’t use the liner—the textured lines were almost completely gone. However, the liner can help move the dough onto your mat/parchment paper without any tears. Instead, I use:

Fine Misting Spray Bottle

I love this and use this for so many things in the kitchen! (I initially found out about it from my hairdresser—it’s great for hair! But get a second bottle for that.) When I am kneading or shaping or doing anything on the countertop, I spray a mist of water instead of covering it with flour. There is a place for that in certain breads/cases, but, again due to the whole wheat I use, I try to keep the hydration as high as possible.

Also, going back to the bannetons, where I said I don’t use the liner, I’m able to do that because I give the basket a fine mist of water before sprinkling it with:

Rice Flour

Rice flour is the key to getting the dough to not stick to anything. After misting the banneton with water, I will give it a thorough sprinkling of rice flour, then set the dough directly in it. Every few uses, I will take a butter knife and scrape the build up out of the cracks so my loaves can stay nice and textured.

Another perk of grinding your own flour: you now have the world’s cheapest rice flour.

Shower Cap Cover

I love using a shower cap as a cover for when my dough is rising, because there is plenty of room for it to expand! It’s a no fuss solution to keep the dough from drying out. I used to use plastic grocery bags, but here in California, they make them super thick and they’re just harder to deal with.

Scoring Tools

Using this picture again so you have a visual of what I’m talking about here. Beginning with the paint brush, I use it to dust off excess rice flour, from my dough, from my baking mat, from the counter, whatever! It’s nice to keep a sturdy brush close by for all kinds of uses.

Once the dough is tidied up from the rice flour, I lightly mist the loaf with water (this is why I prefer this specific spray bottle!) then I take my little shaker and dust it with white flour. This is one of few uses I have for white flour. It just makes the loaves soo pretty!

I keep string close by to be able to pre-mark any lines I’ll want to make. I don’t often use the tape measure, but especially for making puff pastry, I love that I have one handy in my sourdough tote for measuring my butter packets and things like that.

The wooden lame (pronounced “lahm”) is handmade by Charlie for me. It’s basically just a handle for a razor blade used for scoring. I love when Charlie sees me fumbling with something, disappears for a few minutes, then comes back with a solution. (That was the case with my cardboard separators in my sourdough tote, too!) But here’s a pretty one you can buy. I also love following these guys on instagram, because they always showcase people using their lames, and that is where I get a TON of inspiration for pretty scores!

The scissors are just an extra tool for scores. Great for something like a leaf or tree— snip the point and it’ll be extra dramatic. See? Not all these are practical must-haves. But fun to play around with!!

Lazy Susan Turntable

Not pictured, a lazy Susan turntable. Being able to spin that bread around to get the perfect angle while scoring without having to contort your body is KEY to a beautiful score! These are often at thrift stores or found inexpensively. Whenever you find one in the thrift store, snatch them up! They are an amazing help for kitchen organization!

Silicone Baking Mat

Great shot, huh!? This is just here to show you what you don’t need to bother doing, basically.

If you watch any sourdough reels or YouTube videos, you’ll know that everyone has this mat. Despite how much I hate dealing with parchment paper, I couldn’t justify the price of the mat. So when I saw that Trader Joe’s had silicone mats for just a few bucks, I bought one and cut it to fit my pan. However, since I did that, the idea has taken off on Amazon, and you can buy them for $2.50 now. They are a great tool because they act as a “sling” to allow you to lower your bread into a deep pot without the traumatic “plop” that occurs without one. (Mine does not. But also, I have a shallow pan.) I like to put a few ice cubes between the pan and the mat, and that creates steam without gluing the bread to the pan.

Shallow Cast Iron Pan

This one might really be considered fussy. But I cry a little every time I see a YouTuber plop a beautifully risen dough from the great heights of the common enameled pot. I see it works out okay for them most of the time. But for me, especially using whole wheat, I want to give the bread every chance it can to get a good rise. I like this one from Lodge because you can use it both ways. There is less chance for getting burned, which is a big deal to me regarding the help of my young bakers!

Speaking of Hot Pans… Oven Mitts!

Quality oven mitts that can handle 500 degree temps are a must. You can see, I have these old tattered ones from Amazon, but wish I knew about these ones before I bought them. Mine get warm if I hold the pan for very long. I also like that the Lanon brand gloves go further up the arm for protection.

Alarm Thermometer

Man. I know I’ve claimed that so many of these are the biggest baking game changer… but this one might really be. Imagine sticking a turkey in the oven and never having to wonder if you’re over-cooking it, because it alerts you once the thigh, where you placed the probe, hits 175.

I love this for sandwich breads. I bake in a super long Pullman pan, and it’s hard to know when the center is fully cooked. Before having this thermometer, I had so many doughy centers. Now, I set the temperature to 200 degrees, and it lets me know when it’s fully cooked. (Most sources say bread is fully baked once it hits 190, but I’ve still had some doughballs at that point, and going to 200 doesn’t dry it out at all.)

The wire is a bit annoying to store, so if you have any of the little skincare or jewelry bags that come with the product, this is a great use for those! I only have the alligator clip on for the picture, because the cord was so wily. 😉

Cake Stand

It’s fun to have a beautiful place to store your bread besides wadded up in a cloth bag on top of the fridge! (Am I the only one who stores it up there?) The bonus of having one with a sturdy wooden base is that it doubles as a cutting board. It’s a welcoming, hospitable sight, seeing that comforting snack waiting for you! Mine was $20 from Home Goods, but here’s one that’s similar on Amazon.

Let’s Connect!

Comment below, and let us know what your favorite sourdough supplies are! Are any of these new to you? Let us know!