Sourdough bread begins with building a strong, active starter.  There are 3 ways you can get your starter. Make one from scratch, buy a mature, dehydrated starter, or have a friend share excess of theirs. However, after you obtain one, establishing a solid feeding routine is vital to maintaining a strong starter.

My first starter was dehydrated which made the beginning stages more manageable as I figured out what I was doing. Now I have “Lilly” – my own starter that I made from scratch – and it serves me well every week for baking.

That’s why I have my starter available for you so you can easily get started too!

Two things you need for successful sourdough – Unbleached flour and the correct protein content. Unbleached flour is simply flour that is not processed with bleach to turn it white. Brands like King Arthur, Azure Standard, & Central Milling Co. provide flour that is processed to a high standard.

As a beginner, start with the two most widely used flours; all-purpose and bread flour. All Purpose is a medium protein content (about 11.7%) that makes it ideal for almost any recipe calling for flour. Bread Flour has a higher protein (about 12.7%) which ensures a higher rise. Once you are comfortable you can begin to try out other types of flours and combinations!

PRO TIP: Save time and money by buying staple pantry items, like flour, in bulk. One 50lb of flour fits perfectly in two 5 gallon, food-grade buckets. This ensures the flour stays fresh for about a year, when stored in a dry, cool place.

Check out Azure Standard for organic, bulk items to build your staple pantry.

Salt is important for 2 reasons – it slows the fermentation process and adds flavor. My go-to salts are Celtic Fine Ground Sea Salt and Redmonds. Make sure you use the fine ground to properly dissolve into your dough mixture.

Harmful Chemicals & Chlorine can kill the good bacteria in your starter, which is why you need to use filtered water. If you have good well water, that should work fine since it is not treated as harshly. I have a gravity filter from ProPur USA that works great.

Having a good set of mixing bowls is always helpful for baking. I like a large ceramic bowl for most of my dough work, but stainless steel works fine too. I have not had any issues with stainless steel affecting sourdough, as some people say that the metal reacts with the rising agents. Just make sure it’s large enough for your recipe, maybe even a double batch.

Linen or Cotton kitchen towels are probably something you already have a good supply of. They are useful to cover the bowl between stretch and folds, clean up, or line a bowl for shaping.

Maybe I am particular, but I prefer to have a few stashed away that are designated exclusively for my sourdough baking. That way my toddler twins do not stain them from finger painting (real life) or my husband with motorcycle grease.

Investing in a quality bread knife is important, especially for sourdough bread. The exterior crust of sourdough requires a good knife to prevent slips and possible injuries.

My personal favorite is the Wusthof 9” Bread Knife.

Any basic Digital Scale is truly essential for successful, consistent baking. To use, place a bowl on the scale and “tare” or “zero” it to account for the weight of the bowl. Add the ingredient to the desired weight, and tare for each new ingredient.

These are for your starter, and it is good to have at least 2 to alternate for feedings. Brands like Kilner, Ball or Weck are great options.

Features for good starter jars are:

• Wide Mouth (Easier to feed & stir)
• Loose Covering (To allow gases to escape)
• Glass (Best non-reactant material)
• 11.8-32 oz Size (11.8oz for regular feedings, 32 oz for scaling up for recipe amounts)

You can bake with a pizza stone and add a steam source to your oven, however I will advocate that a Dutch Oven is such a valuable investment to any kitchen. It is versatile and will last over a lifetime if taken care of properly. For baking, I use the Double Dutch Oven from Lodge because the lid also serves as a skillet. This way I use the lid as a shallow base for baking bread as pictured here. Priced around $60 it is a great start to baking.

The Cast Iron Challenger Bread Pan is designed solely for bread baking. It is truly “one pan to rule them all”.

• Shallow base: Loading your dough is easy.
• Sealed environment: Creates the perfect amount of steam.
• Top handles: Easily remove the cover mid-bake.
• Deep cover: Plenty of room for your oven spring.

It is on my list of baking items to upgrade to eventually as it is an investment piece. For now the Lodge Double Dutch Oven has been a great starter bakeware.

SAFETY NOTE: Make sure you have good, heavy-duty oven gloves for handling the HOT bakeware. Oven temperatures reach around 450F so safety is key.

You can use a bowl lined with a well-floured kitchen towel, but a Banneton Basket is great for proofing. Typically, they are made from rattan cane, which gives your loaves a better rise, uniform shape, and a crunchier crust & texture after baking as compared to a regular plastic or glass bowl.

There are two types of proofing basket shapes you can buy, the Boule is round and the Batard is an oval shape – either one works well for sourdough purposes. You can use it just as the basket, floured to prevent sticking, or use a linen liner for a smoother surface for decorative scoring (my personal preference).

Bread scoring is the process of slicing the dough so that gas can escape as its heated during the baking. Otherwise, the bread will split from the trapped, hot air inside. You can use a serrated knife to do a basic score for this purpose, but a quality Bread Lame ensures precise cuts for decorative bread scoring (my personal favorite).

Check out my Bread Gallery for some inspiration. My favorite bread lames are made by Wire Monkey, use this link for 10% off your order!

This is one of the most underrated of all my sourdough supplies. It is so versatile – diving and working with sticky dough, counter cleanup, shaping, and transferring dough. Plus, you feel like a professional baker with it.