I’ve spent years vetting the following equipment. This list is has my favorite bread-making tools to help you make the best sourdough bread at home.
Also, check out my Amazon storefront, where I have all my favorite tools (and baking books!) on one page.
Jump to a section:
Sourdough Starter Tools
These are the best tools to help create and maintain your sourdough starter.
Beginning Baker Tools
A list of a few tools to help you get started baking sourdough bread at home.
More Tools For Better Results
Use these baking tools to help you increase your baking consistency in your home kitchen.
Keeps my starter, levain, and dough at the perfect temperature.
(See my guide.)
The perfect rectangular tub (14″x15″x5″) for 4kg+ batches of dough when you make more dough.
Some recipes here call for “high extraction flour,” this helps sift out some bran/germ.
Flour and Grain
The list below are my most-used flours here at home, but look local first! There are many great farmers and millers scattered all over with incredible flour options.
A custom flour blend I created for any sourdough recipe (here’s mine)!
CM has some incredible flour; this is a workhorse flour for any bread.
Pans and Storage
These tools will help you bake pan loaves and are a collection of excellent storage options for flour and grain.
Grain Mills
Below is a list of my favorite grain mills used to mill fresh flour in my home kitchen regularly. They are all built extremely well and are capable of producing excellent flour.
Mixers and Larger Equipment
Other useful tools when baking sourdough bread at home.
An incredibly well-made oven for larger bakes. My current oven.
(See my guide.)
This sealed oven lets me bake 4 or more loaves at a time from home.
(See my guide.)
Didn't Find What You're Looking For?
Check out my deep dive into the best baking tools with a look at why I’ve picked each one (and how they’ve helped with my baking).
Or, check out my Amazon storefront, where I have all my favorite tools (and baking books!) on one page.
734 Comments
So glad I found you. Bought your book, joined your TPL group, bought all kinds of new equipment, including the Brod and Taylor little home, you cost me a lot of money. Hahahahaha!!! But never mind all that, I do have a two questions. What is the correct size of pan needed tobake a batard, and what size Benetton would I need to accommodate the size pan that you recommend. I also have a 5.5Q Staub round cast iron pan. Its diameter is 10”. What size Benetton should I buy for that particular Cocotte? Thank you so much for all your very hard work.
Welcome, Annick! Thanks so much for joining. I would get an 11" long batard basket (oval). And for the round, I would get a 10" round basket. Those two should be perfect for you!
Kindly add a subject (or share link) on how you use your pH meter, please!
Still working on this!
I made my first loaves and cinnamon rolls from your book on Mothers Day – my head is still spinning! What do you use for big bags to proof (like the cinnamon rolls)? I used a plastic Amazon bag for the rolls. Would the bowl covers be long enough to fit a 9×12?
So glad you like them, Madeleine! I use these reusable 18×24" bags for so many things here in my kitchen, including wrapping the baskets, pans, and more.
Are there any decent bread slicers? Not just the wooden boards with slats. Our bread knife and it is a good one ruins the bread when we cut into it.
I've heard really good things about this Zassenhaus manual bread slicer .
Quick question about parchment paper–we use and waste a lot of it. May I use silicone baking sheets instead? I have backing sheets you can trim to size (amazon) that are thin and bake similar to parchment paper. I use them under your pizza recipe. What do you think about trying them under bread? Modifications?
Yes you can absolutely use silicone baking sheets. Works just fine to trim them or find them to fit!
I like the bowl you use in many pictures. Is it something that can be bought?
Yes, it's the Heath Ceramics large serving bowl. I love it.
The round banneton linked here is 10″ but in the recipe for 90-Rye Bread you suggested an 8″ basket. Is there a specific one you can recommend? Looks like the baskets you use are different than the ones you have linked for all your videos I have seen so far. Curious which ones you use.
Hey, Vera! The baskets linked here will also work very well. I definitely recommend getting an 8-inch basket and a 10-inch, that way you’re covered for larger loaves, too. If you want the wicker baskets, I get them from sfbi.com.
Hi! I love your site, recipe and book! I’m looking at the Rackmaster 2020 and spoke to the sales rep there. He was unsure how many loaves fit on a shelf. I tapes off the shelf size and I think 6 can fit, do you agree? Also he recommended spritzing the oven interior as opposed to buying the steamers (though I dont see these as being available on the site as an accessory any more).
Any thoughts you have I would really appreciate (big purchase 🙂 Thank you!
Hey there, Arden! Sorry for the late reply. I go over everything in great detail about the RackMaster in my guide, here:
https://slimlife.fit/how-to-bake-in-the-rackmaster-bread-oven/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
It’s a wonderful oven! Sorry for the late reply 🙂
Baking apron you enjoy 😀
Oh this is a good one. I’ll post something, but right now I’m using a Hedley & Bennett that I like!
What are the items that are in the oven pan at the bottom, where. you put your ice cubes (for steam)?
Those are culinary grade lava rocks and are optional. I talk about that whole process, here:
https://slimlife.fit/baking-with-steam-in-your-home-oven/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
do you have a recommended bread slicer? (not a knife). Manual or electric. Maybe one that can double for slicing salami. Thank you!
Hey, Jonathan! I don’t have one just yet, but it’s something I’m looking into getting here soon. Some bakers in the TPL Community have this one and love it: https://amzn.to/47FFHOi
Have you used a pH meter to determine when the starter is ready to use?
Diane—I don’t. I find I prefer relying on all the other signs: aroma, visuals, consistency, and experience! I have a lot of info on what I look for, here: https://slimlife.fit/how-do-i-feed-my-sourdough-starter/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
I don’t have a large kitchen and tend to keep my house on the cool side. I am departing your recommended provider, but recently saw your review of their sourdough home. I am intreged due to its lower price, small footprint, and my oven has a proof setting. What do you think? For my situation—proofer vs home?
The Home is perfect if you want to just keep your starter (which I kind of think is a good thing to always have!). The Proofer is great if you need to keep larger amounts of dough warm, though you can also do this in your oven (turned off with the light on!).
Great thanks! So you don’t recommend using the “standard Proofing” setting on the oven? when i check it the inside oven thermometer says its Bout 75-85deg.
If that’s the temp, that’s perfect!
@maurizioleo Sorry new to this! In the Handbook that we can buy for $9, the links to the Baker’s Percentages Downloadable Worksheet , none work. Do you know of any other way to get them, I just bought the book this morning.
Not ready to drop $8K on a dedicated oven. I’m wondering if adding two pizza steels to my home oven might effectively convert it to a deck oven? I have one 16x22x1/2″ steel already for pizza baking. I am wondering if I bought a second, could I bake more loaves than my current Dutch oven method? Thinking I could use a plywood peel and/or parchment to slide multiple loaves in at once then spray with water using a compression sprayer. Would I get a similar rise to your RM2020 or Rofco? Thoughts?
Yes, that’ll definitely work, if you have the space in there! I’ve done this in the past and it works really well.
I use kiln shelves, it’s worked well for me.
Hi again, ElendilPickle asked about buying wheat. I buy mine from AzureStandard. They sell all kinds of wheat berries from various farms and they make sure then are organic and chemically free. And the prices are great. Check out the company. I have been buying from them for almost 3years. There is not shipping because you find a drop near you to pick up your products.
I’ll check this out as well, Diane!
Diane-Thanks for posting this! Very cool pick up option!!!
Do you grind your own flour? I wanted to make your “best sourdough recipe”. but I have a feeling you use the flour you purchase. I didn’t see any wheat berries? Can I use my own ground hard white wheat?
You can definitely mill your own flour! Here’s my comprehensive guide to milling at home:
https://slimlife.fit/how-to-freshly-mill-flour-at-home-for-baking/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
At one time we could get a small discount on this and a few other implements, as TPL members. Is this still the case? Thanks!
Discounts for members, yes. I’m always working to get more and different discounts! You can find it all on your Member’s Perks page.
Hi Maurizio,
I also live in Albuquerque, and I use a Grainmaster WhisperMill to grind my own flour.
In the past, I’ve bought from Wheat Montana, but I’d love to be able to get locally grown wheat. Can you recommend a local source for wheat berries?
Hello, fellow New Mexican! Great to hear from you, love that you’re fresh milling. Unfortunately, I don’t know of any locally grown grain… but I do order from our neighbors at Hayden Flour Mills (AZ) and Barton Springs (TX). Hope that helps!
It does, thanks.
Hi ElendilPickle. I buy mine from AzureStandard. They sell all kinds of wheat berries from various farms and they make sure then are organic and chemically free. They also sell all kinds of organic product. They even carry the flour that Maurizio uses from Central Milling. And the prices are great. Check out the company. I have been buying from them for almost 3years. There is no shipping because you find a drop near you to pick up your products.
Hi Diane, sorry for the delay in replying – I just saw this. Thanks for mentioning Azure Standard; I’ve known about them for years but didn’t think of looking at their products. I appreciate the reminder.
Hi Maurizio,
What is your preferred kneading surface? I have found that kneading on granite is too cold and reduces the dough’s temp too much. I would think wood would be the best but not sure about how easy that would be to clean.
I love your book…it’s like taking a college level course on sourdough…I read it cover to cover and feel even more enthusiastic and educated on bread making. You have the perfect amount of information to help us all understand the process better as well as some amazing recipes! Thank you!
I actually prefer working with wood, a large block of maple is perfect. When doing the slap/fold technique, though, I use granite (I warm the mixing water to offset the heat loss when working on stone).
Thank you, so glad you’re enjoying my cookbook, means so much to hear you’re using it! Thanks so much 🙂
Can you tell me where I can find your spreadsheet that you use. I know when I signed up for your membership you said I could access these
You can find all of your exclusive member perks here:
https://slimlife.fit/membership/perks/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Let me know if you have more questions and happy baking 🙂
Hiya! Wondering how many 800-900g loaves you can fit, in the rofco, at a time. The Rackmaster is quite an investment, but I’m afraid of purchasing the rofco and quickly outgrowing it.
Check out my full guide to using the Rofco bread oven, I go over different scenarios for fitting dough!
The Challenger is way over my budget! Any suggestions for a more affordable pan for baking batards. I love my Lodge combo for boules. Many thanks for all your recipes and tips!
The Breadtopia hearth baker is pretty good.
Also, if you already have a baking stone or steel, a cheap and large mixing bowl inverted over the dough works very well.
Great suggestions there from @ohbadiah:disqus !
I hope I am not the only one with this question so here goes. Making loaves in the round Bannetons and letting it rise in same with a shower cap works great but there are times when a large oval loaf or baguette are needed. My problem is I cannot keep either plastic wrap (oiled) or a floured towel from sticking to the rising dough. The assorted plastic food convers don’t get it done either Any suggestions
Hey there! What I do is puff up the bags with air, then seal them shut quickly. Imagine like a big balloon around your baskets. Then I put a rubber band around the opening to keep that air inside!
I have really good luck with floured linen towels – I get nice linen napkins at the thrift store and flour those.
Are you using the 2 or 2 1/2 gallon bags. I use them in my kitchen all the time. I can even fit a cookie sheet in one if what I’m making isn’t too tall. Anyway, I can fit 2 loaf pans or my banneton in one with extra room. Then find some glasses or such that are taller than the pan or banneton and put them in next to your bread dough to keep the plastic off the surface of the dough.
Check out https://www.wildclementine.co/collections/kitchen for covers! The PUL lining doesn’t let dough stick, plus it comes in a lot of fun designs and sizes. Small business, too!
HI Maurizio, great site and great tips but I have one question that I am having trouble finding an answer for. Since I like a tart sourdough is there a way to short cut the long fermentation or refrigerator fermentation with sour salt? I can find other sites where it is mentioned but the amount is iffy. THANKS
Thank you! Hmm, I have never used “sour salt” and I’m not sure what that is! For a more sour flavor, generally, you need to give the dough more fermentation time.
“sour salt is basically citric acid used in cooking
I’ve heard of adding this, and I believe they do it in some sour, sourdoughs, but I’ve never used it!
Hey Maurizio, I just finished watching your sweet pain de mie sourdough video and in that you are using a very slick flat kitchen timer. Would you mind sharing where you purchased that from? I would love to get my hands on one. Also, just purchased your book – I cannot wait to read through it cover-to-cover.
Hey, Brandon! Sorry for the delay. The timer I use is the Thermoworks Big & Loud Timer. I highly recommend it, I have several and they’re amazing. Hope you’re loving my cookbook!
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond! I’m definitely picking some of these up for the tool kit.
You’re book has been excellent, thanks for taking the time to write it!
Which mill is your favorite for grinding a very fine flour? More for pastas, pastries and a few of your bread recipes that I’ve noticed call out an extra fine grind.
Thanks so much, Briana! Glad you’re enjoying my cookbook. You can get a really nice flour from any of the mills I have listed here. I’d say the KoMo is wonderful for convenience and produces really great flour. I use mine weekly!
Thanks, I ordered the KoMo last week after watching many reviews. They’re on back order though. I use a County Living mill weekly, it works fine, but is super slow. I’m looking forward to something a little faster and more compact.
Your cinnamon babka looks amazing, I’ll be giving it a shot next weekend.
Let me know how it goes, Briana!
Hi there! I follow you on insta and love learning about your projects! I’m interested in your thoughts on mixing bowls. I have a pyrex bowl I got secondhand, but it’s not really big enough (I like to make dough for multiple loaves at once) and the contour seems to contribute to lots of flour escaping, creating a big mess. It seems like a deeper, taller bowl might work better, but I don’t see many of those out there. What do you use for large quantity mixing? I’ve also been really curious about those old fashioned wooden dough bowls that are more trough-shaped. Have you ever used one of those, or do you know why they seem to have fallen out of use? Thank you!
Hey, Angie! I’ve never used a wooden mixing bowl, but I would imagine they are nice after they’re broken in a bit and become super smooth. I think stainless steel bowls work super well, and that’s personally what I use here. Very wide bowls to let your hands and arms get into mixing, and they also clean up very easily.
This is the set of mixing bowls I use for all baking tasks here, from holding soakers to making batters, and finally, the largest size for mixing dough.
Awesome! Thanks for your thoughtful response!
Hi Maurizio! Excited for your book! I am looking to splurge on a fantastic, durable bread knife. It’s a mutual 10th anniversary gift. The bread knife we have was a wedding present. I make a lot of crusty sourdough and we want one that won’t dull within a few months. Thanks!
Thanks so much, Chloe! My favorite bread knife is the Shun Premier Bread knife. I bought this knife over 7 yrs ago and I still use it almost every day (in fact, you see it in many photos here at the site!). I even sent it back to Shun for free sharpening about 3 yrs ago. It’s the best.
Hey Maurizio, any recommendations on bread slicers?
I’ve never used one!
HI Maurizio, I’ve been using the challenger pan for some time now and I love it. Eventually I hope to move up to a Rofco oven, but that will have to wait until we renovate our kitchen. In the meantime, lifting the challenger lid in and out the oven is hard on my back, so I was researching the Fourneau bread baker (http://www.fourneauoven.com). Have you tried it? What are your thoughts?
I use the fourneau oven and love it ! I think it had about the same dimensions as the challenger pan. I place my dough in for 20 minutes and add two ice cubes and fill the most with water before closing the hatch. After 39 minutes I like to bake another 15 with the hatch removed and then 5 minutes for additional color outside the fourneau oven . It’s easy to use and I really love it !!
Thanks so much – this is really helpful.
Hello Maurizio, I love your easygoing approach to baking!! Just curious if there is a reason to transfer the dough from the mixing bowl to a bulk fermentation container. Does stainless have any effect on the bulk fermentation process?
Thank you, Ryan! No, you can absolutely leave the dough in the same mixing bowl for bulk fermentation. As long as the metal is nonreactive (like stainless steel), it’s just fine.
Beautiful!! Thank you!!
Thanks for the superb baking advice Maurizio. One issue, however, is that the flour you recommend is extremely costly to ship. Central Milling, for example, changes $12 for ground shipping of a 5 lb. bag from Utah to California. Maybe you can give suggestions for flour that is available is supermarkets. I use King Arthur bread flour, which has always worked just fine. But it would be nice to see these suggestions as part of your recipes. Thanks!
Yes, KA BF would work just fine for most recipes here, or even their AP flour. But look local, if you have a source nearby that’s great too. In CA you can find flour at Grist and Toll in LA or The Mill in SF. Just a few ideas 🙂
HI Mario – Though the Weck jars do look very nice; they do not fulfill the two criteria I have been looking for. I have been looking for a jar that has graduation embossed. I would prefer a straight side jar. The Weck has a slight taper, but if it is taper and the graduations compensate for the I creasing diameter that would work. The only thing I’ve found so far are straight walled lab beakers. Do know of anything out there that may meet my criteria?
Hey, Jim! I don’t, sorry. It would be great to have markings on the side, yes!
Challenger sells great starter jars , straight sided and with markings and a bamboo lid
Hi Maurizio, apologies if you’ve answered this before, but do you have a recommendation for a pizza oven? Is ooni the one to get?
Cheers,
Paula
I really do love the Ooni, this Ooni Koda is my fav of the bunch 🙂
Thanks! Since I started making your pizza dough, my husband can no longer eat take out pizza!! So I think that a pizza oven birthday gift is in my future!!!
You don’t recommend the multi-fuel option?
Thanks, and I can’t wait for your book!!
Paula
Ha ha, that’s a great problem right there 🙂
It depends on what type of oven you want and what kind of pizza you want to make. Do you want to work with live fire and do wood-burning or the convenience of a gas oven? Of course, dual fuel is the best of both worlds, too. I’d probably do duel fuel if you have the option.
What is the difference between rye flour and pumpernickel flour?
Pumpernickel is 100% whole grain rye. “Rye flour” can be whole grain, or something like “medium rye” which has some of the bran/germ sifted out.
Thank you. Can I use pumpernickel flour instead of rye flour for feeding my starter?
Absolutely.