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The right tools can make sourdough baking simpler, more consistent, and a lot more enjoyable. Your Maison Fare Sourdough Set includes the essentials we recommend starting with, alongside a few kitchen basics you may already own. As you bake more and discover what matters to you, explore our recommended upgrades and additions below.
Some tools on this list link to products our team has personally vetted & recommends. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This commission does not influence our recommendations.
Without this minimal list of items that you likely already have in your kitchen, your bread won’t rise to the occasion. Items marked with ^ are already included in our baking set.
This could be your wall thermostat (ex: Nest) or one that sits on the table, as close to the dough as possible, to ensure the daytime temperature is within our required window of 68°-85°F. This tool also helps bakers plan and predict their rise times.
To accurately weigh out our flour mixes, water, and salt we recommend a scale that has a precision of 1 gram up to at least 1000 grams (1kg).
Our top pick also includes a precision scale (.01g) which is helpful for recipes that use small amounts of yeast or other ingredients, but this is definitely not required.
When mixing dough by hand, we like using a danish dough whisk. Ours is made to fit narrow jars as well as wide bowls. For more wet dough, like a starter, we recommend a silicone spatula.
You need something to mix your dough and then let it rise. For a 1kg loaf (our recipe and many common ones), look for a bowl 2 quarts/liters in size or more. You likely have a large salad bowl lying around somewhere.
A dough scraper makes it easy to lift, fold, divide, and move sticky dough without tearing it or leaving half of it stuck to your bowl.
Our plastic scraper is flexible enough to follow the curve of a mixing bowl, with a comfortable shape that gives you control when handling dough; while our bench scraper has a comfortable wood grip for dividing dough and cleaning countertops.
Pronounced lahm, French for “blade”. Bakers use this tool, usually a handle that holds a razor, to “score”/slash the loaf so that it rises well, and some even add fanciful decorations to their loaves.
Ours is made of sturdy stainless steel and has a screw to hold the razor in place, so you don't cut your fingers when making blade changes or adjustments.
If you're using a dutch oven, a loaf sling makes it easy to insert the dough and take it out without burning your hands. We've designed one that's perfect for using with oven mitts or pot holders - no more dropped dough at the final step!
If you don't have one, your neighbor or family member likely does. Borrow one and get your own later on.
There are many great options so we are not recommending specific ones for purchase. Look for 6.5qt or higher capacity.
Dutch ovens are a great investment because they can be used for other things besides baking, such as braising or slow cooking.
Ours comes with a liner and a brush for easy cleaning, and covers to keep the dough from drying out while it's rising.
Minimum size is 9x5, but longer is even better - you get more bread!
Only required if loaf pan doesn't have a lid
^ Included in Maison Fare Sourdough Set
* Required for Dutch Oven / Artisan Loaf baking only
** Required for Pan Loaf
These tools streamline the process and can significantly enhance your baking experience
Bakers have kneaded dough by hand for centuries, and we encourage starting out this way, but a mixer certainly makes this step easier. If just starting out, a simple stand mixer will do fine. We recommend Bosch’s Universal Mixer.
KitchenAid mixers tend to overheat when kneading dough, and their instructions say to stop after 5 minutes. Gluten development takes longer than 5 minutes, so if you're getting a new mixer for bread, we don't recommend KA.
Even small changes in temperature can affect fermentation timing significantly. Having a thermometer right next to where you’re working is ideal, to know the ambient temperature and get a more precise timing prediction. We recommend the Govee H5075 thermometer which allows you to download temperature history over bluetooth to your phone.
Instead of a bowl, bakers use a straight sided container since it lets you easily see if the dough has risen to a certain level. Our links below have 2 commonly used options. The square shape is more optimal for dough rising, but a round can work as well.
Cambro is more expensive but made in the US and can often be found at local restaurant supply stores.
This tool can help you dial in the water temperature for dough, and check whether your bread is done baking in the oven.
Indulge in these sophisticated upgrades for a truly elevated baking journey—perfect for those deeply passionate about their craft.
Leaving a thermometer in the dough itself will better help track and predict how long it will take to rise. To our knowledge, there aren’t thermometers made specifically for dough but you could use products like Meater or Chef IQ or Hanna Halo which measures pH (acidity, sourness) and temperature.
This solves a major pain point for home bakers by making the rising time of the dough rising extremely predictable. Some people make their own by combining an insulated box/cooler and a product like the Raisenne or a seed heating mat. For the ultimate upgrade, Brod & Taylor sells a popular “Folding Proofer”.
This is what professional bakeries use around the world to knead larger batches of dough at various levels of hydration and inclusions efficiently.
Caution: these are NOT cheap and not really necessary unless you're making a lot of dough at once. For 1-2 loaves our stand mixer pick will work just fine.
A clay or stone cloche or a Challenger pan makes it easier to get your dough in and out.
This is a personal choice so we don't have any specific recommendations but generally, go for a heavy material like cast iron or stoneware.
If you have a steam oven, you can bake without a dutch oven or cloche, called "open baking". Those without a steam oven can try to emulate this by putting their loaf in a large cast iron pan or on top of a baking steel with moistened towels in the bottom rack of their oven. Make sure you check your oven manual to see if this is acceptable. Not recommended for electric ovens.
A nice bonus of this approach is watching your dough rise as it bakes.
