Essential Sourdough Equipment

What You Really Need (And What You Don't)

Looking at lists of baking accessories can be overwhelming. Between banneton baskets, lames, Dutch ovens, and bench scrapers, you might think you need a second mortgage to start baking sourdough.

Here's the truth: you can bake exceptional sourdough with surprisingly little equipment. People have done it for thousands of years. But having the right tools makes the difference between frustration and success.

Let's separate the essentials from the nice-to-haves, starting with the most critical piece of equipment that most guides overlook.

Note: This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you.

The Foundation: Your Starter and Its Home

The Most Important "Equipment": A Vigorous Starter Culture

Before any physical tools, you need a robust sourdough culture. This isn't technically equipment, but it's more essential than any gadget. Yeast Coast Sourdough Superstarter™ provides this foundation: a professionally cultivated culture that's been strengthened over five days and dehydrated at peak activity.

Without a vigorous starter, no amount of equipment will save your bread. With a strong culture like our Superstarter™, you can make great bread using basic kitchen tools.

The Starter Jar: Your Culture's Forever Home

Your starter needs a proper vessel, and this choice matters more than you might think:

Essential features:

• Clear glass or plastic to monitor bubbling and rise
• Straight sides for accurate rise measurement
• Wide mouth for easy feeding and cleaning
• 750ml-1L capacity for typical home baking

The Weck 743 jar included in our Yeast Coast Sourdough Essentials Kit hits all these marks. German-made with straight sides and clear glass, it lets you see exactly when your starter peaks, critical for timing your bakes.

Skip: Decorative jars with narrow necks, metal containers (reactive), porous lids like wood or cloth, or anything under 500ml.

 Budget option: save a wide-mouthed large pasta sauce or pickle jar. Just me sure to clean it well.

The Mixing Tool: Spurtle vs. Spoon

A dedicated mixing tool keeps your starter happy and your hands clean:

Why a spurtle wins:

• Reaches jar corners where flour hides
• Slim profile fits through jar mouths
• Silicone won't scratch glass
• Easier to clean than wooden spoons

The silicone spurtle in the Essentials Kit is specifically designed for starter maintenance. It's narrow enough to fit any jar, flexible enough to scrape sides clean.

Alternative: Any silicone spatula works, but avoid wood (harbors bacteria).

For Mixing and Proofing

Mixing Bowls: Bigger Than You Think

Essential: At least one large (5-6 quart) bowl

• Mixing flour can be messy with a small bowl
• Dough needs room to rise
• Glass, ceramic, stainless, food-grade plastic are all fine
• Wide bottom for folding techniques

Skip: Small bowls that your dough will overflow, reactive metals

Proofing Container: The Secret to Consistent Results

The plastic Cambro is perfect for beginners to watch their dough rise and measure exactly how much it's grown. This container is large enough for double-batches.

Nice to have: A clear container with measurements

• Shows exact rise 
• Easy to clean
• Can hold large (double and triple) batches

Budget option: Your mixing bowl covered with a damp towel is harder to measure, but works fine

For Shaping and Scoring

Work Surface: Keep It Simple

Essential: A clean counter or large cutting board

• Wood or smooth stone ideal
• Avoid tiles with grout lines

Optional: A silicone baking mat. This is a great option if you have older counters or a tiled surface. Also very handy when measurements are needed: pizza crusts, cinnamon rolls, sandwich breads.

Skip: Fancy marble slabs unless you already own one

Bench Scraper: The Multitasker

Highly recommended: A metal bench scraper 

• Divides dough cleanly
• Moves sticky dough
• Cleans work surfaces
• Shapes loaves

This inexpensive tool punches above its weight class in usefulness. It's my most reached-for kitchen tool when I'm baking.

Skip: You can stick with just using your hands, but a bench knife does make things much easier. 

Scoring Tool: Start Basic

Essential: Something sharp to score dough

• Start with: A sharp knife or clean razor blade
• Upgrade to: A bread lame ($10) for better control and safety

Skip: Expensive scoring tools until you're comfortable with basic technique

For Proofing Shaped Loaves

Banneton Basket: Pretty But Not Essential

Nice to have: Banneton/proofing basket

• Creates pretty ring patterns
• Supports high-hydration doughs
• Wicks moisture for better crust
• Prevents sticking

Budget alternative: A bowl lined with a floured kitchen towel works perfectly. Avoid fuzzy materials such as terry.

For Baking

Dutch Oven: The Game Changer

Essential: A covered pot for baking

• Traps steam for crusty bread
• Cast iron, ceramic, or enamel work
• 4-6 quart size ideal
• Must handle 475°F+

This is worth the investment. It's the difference between good and great crust.

Budget tip: Check thrift stores for cast iron Dutch ovens, or try out the open baking method (blog post to come).

Kitchen Scale: Non-Negotiable

Essential: A digital scale reading in grams

• Sourdough is about ratios and accuracy
• Volume measurements don't work
• 1g accuracy minimum, 0.01 is best
  

Without a scale, you're guessing. With one, you're baking. 1 cup of sourdough starter, water, and flour have very different weights!

Thermometer: Know Your Dough

Recommended: Instant-read thermometer

• Check water temp (75-80°F ideal for starter)
• Monitor dough temperature
• Verify bread doneness (205-210°F)

Skip: Estimate your water temp by feel, and bread doneness by eye

The Smart Start: Complete Kits

If you're starting from zero, the Yeast Coast Sourdough Essentials Kit provides the most critical components:

• Superstarter™ - The vigorous culture that makes everything else work
• Weck jar - Professional-grade, easy to use and clean vessel for your starter
• Spurtle - The right tool for feeding and maintenance
• Instructions and recipe - Knowledge is equipment too

This kit solves the "starter equipment" question completely, letting you focus budget on a Dutch oven and scale, the only other true essentials.

What You DON'T Need (Yet)

Save your money on these until you're hooked:

• Stand mixer (hands work great)
  
• Multiple banneton shapes and sizes
• Specialty flours beyond bread flour
  
• Expensive Dutch oven (start with the basics)
• Proofing box (oven with light on works in cold conditions)
  
• pH meter (unnecessary for home baking)
  

The Equipment Evolution

Start with essentials:

1. Yeast Coast Sourdough Superstarter™ (or Essentials Kit with jar/spurtle)
2. Digital scale
3. Large bowl
4. Dutch oven

Then add as you grow:

• Bench scraper
• Banneton basket
• Bread lame
• Dough whisk
• Thermometer

The Bottom Line on Equipment

Great sourdough comes from technique and timing, not gadgets. Start with Yeast Coast Sourdough Superstarter™—whether in our basic kit or the complete Essentials Kit—add a scale and Dutch oven, and you're equipped to bake bread that rivals any bakery.

The best equipment is the equipment you'll actually use. Start simple, master the basics, then add tools as you discover what improves your personal baking style.

Remember: bakers made incredible sourdough for thousands of years with nothing but flour, water, starter, and fire. Everything else just makes it easier.

---

Ready to start with the right foundation? Get your Superstarter™ or grab the complete Essentials Kit and skip the equipment guesswork entirely.

Next (coming soon): Sourdough Hydration Levels Explained - From 65% to 85% and What It Means for Your Bread