Sourdough

While you don’t need a bench knife for making sourdough, it makes the process easier, especially for higher-hydration doughs. Plus this one is handcrafted and makes you feel like a sourdough rockstar.

While fresh-milled flour is NOT necessary to make amazing sour dough bread, it sure is a nice bonus. If you’ve been thinking about grinding your own flour, I can’t recommend this mill enough. I’ve been using it for years.

This tool is definitely not necessary, but it works so much better than a knife for scoring I thought I’d add it to my list. (This particular one includes a protective leather cover and extra blades too.)

A proofing basket will keep your sourdough dough the right size and shape during the final rise before baking. This awesome set includes a dough scraper and a proofing basket with liner. But proofing baskets aren’t required. In a pinch, you can line a 9-inch bowl or colander with a tea towel that you’ve generously dusted with flour.

This handy little tool will help you scrape the dough out of your bowl without ruining those precious air bubbles in the dough. But you definitely don’t need a dough scraper; you can use a stiff spatula instead.

While you do not need a dutch oven to make sourdough bread, using one results in an amazingly crisp crust and decadently soft insides. I personally use enamel cast iron dutch ovens, but just plain ole cast iron is great too.

While I have never made gluten-free sourdough, so many of you have asked me for help in this area, I was elated to find this option to recommend!