Essential Baking Tools
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The following are a list of tools I always utilize when preparing and baking sourdough.
Using a scale is the only way to have consistently delicious bread. Once you become familiar with weighing ingredients, your baking game will take off.
Maintaining the ideal temperature can have noticeable benefits for optimal fermentation. See my post about Temperature as an Ingredient.
This tool allows you to delicately divide, shape, and transfer dough to and from your work surface.
Control how the dough expands during baking by scoring your loaf with a sharp blade. Also great for accenting the dough with decorative marks.
These fermenting baskets are usually made of wicker or bamboo material to allow the dough to “breathe” during bulk fermentation. I always bake boules so the dough is shaped according to the banneton size, usually 8” - 10” in diameter.
I use this pyrex glass mixing bowl with a lid to bulk ferment dough before it is divided and shaped. The lid is important to prevent dough from drying out and to keep unwanted critters from getting in.
These jars are ideal for feeding and maintaining starter and/or discard. I always have one on the counter ready for the next bake and one in the refrigerator for any of my favorite “discard” recipes.
These containers hold up to 25 lbs of flour and are on wheels for easy portability around my kitchen. They are air tight and a great way to store larger quantities of flour.
I use two 24” x 18” Fibrament baking stones to create “decks” in my personal home oven. This allows me to bake multiple loaves at once and achieve that ideal crust.
When baking a single loaf of bread, the dutch oven is optimal because the lid simplifies steaming the loaf. Bake for 20 minutes with the lid and bake for 20 minutes without the lid to create your perfect golden crust.
This simple little tool is a matter of convenience. I use it to mix starter and scoop small amounts from one vessel to another. They are also very easy to clean!
