Because you can make that bread AND bake that bread.

While I’m in the kitchen wrist twisting like it’s stir fry trying to perfect the crumb and rise of my sourdough loaves, here are some of the tools and resources that helped me get started on my sourdough journey and then some.

Essential Tools

Dutch Oven – This comes in handy for baking sourdough, making soup, frying, the list goes on and on.

Proofing Set – The utmost essential items in this kit are the banneton and scoring blade, so if you don’t need all of the bells & whistles, feel free to buy those individually.

Air Tight Glass Container – A 24 oz Mason jar works just fine too.

Non-Essential (But Incredibly Helpful) Tools

Silicone Bread Sling – This makes it easier to get the loaves in & out of the Dutch oven. I personally don’t own any and get along just fine with parchment paper but have heard raving reviews about them nonetheless.

Shower Caps – A secret trick to trapping the heat so the dough can get a good rise is by sealing the bowl you’re proofing it in with a shower cap – who would’ve thought!

Resources to Get You Started

Starting a Sourdough Starter – Getting this right is arguably the most important step, but it isn’t as hard as people make it out to be.

Beginner’s Step-by-Step Guide – This particular guide is so helpful because it gets into the nitty-gritty of how to complete each step, while also getting into the ‘why’ behind it.

Resources to Help You Perfect The Craft

Learn from The Pros – Tartine, the San Fransisco bakery attributed to sourdough’s rise to fame, released their world-acclaimed ‘Country Bread’ recipe so you can make it in the comfort of your own home.

Tartine Bread – Speaking of Tartine, the mastermind behind their bread-baking efforts, Chad Robertson, released a cookbook that’s chock-full of tips to make the perfect loaf while providing different recipes to experiment with.

Breadsong: How Baking Changed Our Lives – As if you needed another reason to start baking, this touching memoir acts as a source of both inspiration and easily replicable baking recipes.

Resources to Go Beyond the Sourdough Veil

Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies – Adding sourdough starter to your go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe makes them taste like you got them from a bakery in New York City without leaving your kitchen.

Sourdough Chocolate Chip Muffins – And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, the same case goes for muffins.

💘 Hanna