Fred’s Toolbox

If you’re just in the beginning of your sourdough journey, you might be wondering just exactly what you need.

When I was starting my journey with Fred, all I saw were videos where creators used hundreds of dollars worth of special equipment that was specially made for sourdough. To someone who is still deciding whether or not this hobby is something they want to continue, buying all of that seems like way too much of a commitment.

But here’s the reality: basically all of those fancy tools aren’t actually necessary. Yes, they can make things easier, but you don’t need them to make a good loaf of bread.

So here are some of the tools that I actually use, what they do, and some alternatives.

The Kitchen Scale

Practically every single recipe using sourdough starter has measurements in grams. Yes, there is a way to convert it to cups, but using a kitchen scale keeps everything consistent. Using a kitchen scale ensures that your ratios (whether that’s for feeding or making a loaf) are as accurate as possible and can help you understand what may be having an effect on your sourdough.

For Fred and I, a scale is the most important thing we have in our kitchen. Here is the scale we use.

The Dough Whisk

Most of the time, you’ll see people mix their sourdough with a Danish Dough Whisk, which is said to mix ingredients without overmixing them. The most popular ones have metal bottoms with loops. Personally, I hate those because the small spaces between the layers of metal can be almost impossible to clean. Instead, I’ve been using this wooden dough whisk, which I’ve found is much easier to clean due to the openness of the middle section.

If you don’t want to have another piece of equipment that gets pulled out of the drawer only once in a while, having a dough whisk isn’t necessary. If you have a stand mixer, you can mix your dough with that, and it also replaces the need to do stretch and folds. A fork is also a perfectly good replacement for a whisk, or even your hands if you’re in a pinch.

The Bowl

There are a lot of different opinions on which kind of bowl is best for mixing sourdough in. Some people think that using coated ceramic bowls are the best because of the temperature control that they allow for.

Personally, Fred and I love our Mason Cash bowl, but that’s basically because it looks cute sitting on the counter.

In my experience, the container that your dough rests in does not actually make a difference. I’ve made dough in ceramic bowls, glass bowls, plastic mixing bowls, and even old plastic food containers. If you’re just beginning, I’d recommend using something with clear sidewalls so that you can see the bubbles and have a better understanding of the bulk fermentation process.

The Dutch Oven

Using a dutch oven is what can create a nice crust on your bread. It traps steam so that your bread is able to rise before the crust becomes hard. Most home bakers use something like a Le Creuset, but spending $500 on a really heavy pot isn’t something everyone wants to do.

I’m lucky enough to have parents that bought me a nice dutch oven (her name is Sally), but I’ve also open-baked my sourdough before, and it has turned out just fine. Sure, the oven spring wasn’t as good, but it still tasted amazing. I’ve also baked my sourdough in a regular loaf pan, if that’s what you have. If you can, I’d recommend getting a dutch oven because it’s very versatile for other cooking things too.

Different Types of Bread Ovens. Baker Bettie. https://bakerbettie.com/the-best-dutch-ovens-for-bread-baking/

Fred’s Extras

• Bread Lame: you can use a sharp knife or even kitchen scissors to score your bread, but something with a razor will give you more control over the score and allows you to make beautiful patterns like this:

“Bread Art”. Sourdough Fever. https://sourdoughfever.com/how-to/sourdough-art-9-tips-to-improve-your-scoring

• Shower Cap: whenever your dough is resting, it is important to keep it covered. If you’re using a bowl that already has a lid, use that. If your bowl doesn’t have a lid, I’d use a (clean) shower cap to ensure that my dough doesn’t dry out. There’s no need to buy a fancy bowl cover.
• Bench Scraper: I’ve found that using a bench scraper when shaping my dough helps with controlling where my dough goes and making sure that it doesn’t look like a bag of flour threw up all over my kitchen.
• Bowl Scraper: Whenever I’m doing stretch and folds or mixing my dough, using a bowl scraper really helps me get everything off the sides of the bowl and incorporate all of my ingredients.
• Thin Spatulas: I love using these smaller spatulas when feeding Fred because they fit in smaller jars and clean the sides well.

Final Thoughts

Fred and I have come to the understanding that you do not need all of this to make sourdough. There are always other ways to do things, and bread making has been a thing since before Amazon Prime was a thing.

These tools don’t make good bread, they just make the process of it easier and a little more fun. Sourdough isn’t about having the perfect kitchen or a glittery dutch oven.

At the end of the day, Fred doesn’t care if your bowl has flowers on the side. He cares about whether or not he’s been fed.