What Equipment Do You Need to Bake Sourdough? The Beginner's Checklist

June 26, 2026

By The Eumundi Trading Co · Eumundi, Queensland

One of the most common reasons beginners struggle with sourdough is not their starter, not their flour and not their technique. It is trying to bake without the right equipment. Sourdough is a forgiving bread in many ways — but there are a handful of tools that make a genuine, meaningful difference to the outcome, particularly in the early stages when you are still learning how the dough behaves.

This guide covers every piece of equipment a sourdough beginner needs, what each one does, which are essential versus nice-to-have, and what to look for when choosing. By the end you will know exactly what to buy, what you can skip for now, and why investing in the right tools from the start saves a great deal of frustration.

The Essential Equipment List

These are the tools that make a real difference to your results. You can bake sourdough without some of them — but your bread will be better, more consistent and more enjoyable to make with all of them in place.

1. Kitchen Scale

Essential. Non-negotiable.

Sourdough baking is done by weight, not volume. A cup of flour can vary by 20 to 30 percent depending on how it is scooped, how humid the day is and how the flour has settled in the bag. These variations matter enormously in sourdough, where the ratio of flour to water (called hydration) directly affects the texture, structure and fermentation of your dough.

A digital kitchen scale that measures in one-gram increments is all you need. You do not need anything expensive or elaborate — a basic flat digital scale from any kitchenware shop or online retailer will serve you perfectly well.

What to look for: Capacity of at least 2kg (most sourdough recipes use 500g to 1kg of flour), a tare function (so you can zero the scale between additions), and a clear display.

2. Glass Jar for Your Starter

Essential.

Your sourdough starter needs a home, and glass is the right material for it. Glass is non-reactive — it will not interact with the acids in your starter — and transparent, which means you can watch the starter rise and fall and track its activity without disturbing it.

A wide-mouth jar is easier to work with than a narrow one. You need to be able to get a spoon in to mix and scrape down the sides easily. A capacity of at least 500ml is recommended — starters can double or more in size after feeding and you do not want it overflowing.

Mason jars, Weck jars and standard preserving jars all work well. A rubber band around the jar to mark the level of the starter after each feeding is one of the simplest and most useful tricks in sourdough baking.

3. Banneton Proofing Basket

Essential for a well-shaped loaf.

A banneton — also called a proofing basket or brotform — is a coiled cane or rattan basket that supports your shaped dough during its final proof (the last rise before baking). It does two important things: it holds the dough in shape as it rises, preventing it from spreading flat, and the coiled texture imprints a beautiful spiral pattern on the crust of your finished loaf.

Without a banneton, shaped dough tends to spread outward during proofing rather than rising upward, resulting in a flat, wide loaf with less oven spring and a denser crumb. The difference a banneton makes — particularly for wetter, higher-hydration doughs — is significant.

Round vs oval: A round banneton (boule shape) is the most versatile starting point for beginners. An oval banneton (batard shape) produces an elongated loaf that is easier to slice. Both are useful to have eventually — start with round if you are choosing just one.

Sizing: A standard 700g to 900g loaf fits comfortably in a 25cm round banneton. Check the recipe you plan to use and match the basket to the dough weight.

Rattan vs linen-lined: A bare rattan banneton produces the classic spiral pattern on the crust. A linen-lined banneton produces a smooth crust without the pattern and is slightly easier to use for very sticky doughs. For beginners, a bare rattan banneton is the classic choice.

Care: Dust your banneton generously with rice flour before use — rice flour is less absorbent than wheat flour and releases the dough more reliably. Never wash a rattan banneton with soap; brush out excess flour and allow it to air dry completely between uses.

4. Dutch Oven or Lidded Cast Iron Pot

Essential for crust and oven spring.

This is the single piece of equipment that most dramatically affects the quality of a home sourdough loaf. Baking your sourdough inside a preheated Dutch oven — a heavy lidded cast iron or enamelled pot — recreates the steam-injected environment of a professional bread oven.

Here is why it matters: in the first 20 minutes of baking, steam keeps the crust soft and pliable, allowing the loaf to expand fully before the crust sets. This expansion — called oven spring — is what gives sourdough its dramatic rise, open crumb and ear (the flap of crust that peels back along the score line). Without steam, the crust sets too quickly and the loaf cannot expand properly. Baking without a Dutch oven produces a denser, flatter loaf with a tougher, less blistered crust.

A Dutch oven solves this by trapping the steam that naturally evaporates from the dough itself. The lid goes on for the first 20 to 25 minutes (steaming phase), then comes off for the remaining 20 to 25 minutes to develop a deeply coloured, crackling crust.

What to look for: A round Dutch oven with a capacity of 4 to 6 litres suits most standard sourdough recipes. It needs to be oven-safe to at least 250°C — most quality cast iron and enamelled cast iron pots are. The pot should be deep enough to accommodate a fully risen loaf with room to spare.

Australian note: Lodge, Le Creuset and Staub are all available in Australia. For a budget option, the Chasseur range is made in France and widely available through Australian kitchenware retailers at a more accessible price point. A well-seasoned cast iron camp oven also works beautifully.

5. Dough Scraper

Essential — and inexpensive.

A dough scraper is a flat-edged tool, typically made from stainless steel or rigid plastic, used to divide, shape and handle dough. In sourdough baking, where the dough is often very sticky and wet, a scraper becomes an extension of your hand — you use it to fold, turn and shape the dough without it sticking to everything.

There are two types and both are useful:

Bench scraper (metal): A rectangular stainless steel blade with a handle or rolled edge. Used for dividing dough, scraping the bench clean, shaping loaves by dragging the dough toward you to create surface tension, and moving dough from the bench into the banneton.

Bowl scraper (flexible plastic): A curved flexible scraper that fits the interior of a mixing bowl. Used for folding dough during bulk fermentation and for cleanly emptying sticky dough from a bowl onto the bench.

A bench scraper in particular is the tool that beginners most often wish they had bought sooner. Once you use one, it is hard to imagine shaping sourdough without it.

6. Bread Scoring Lame

Essential for controlling how your loaf opens.

A lame (pronounced lahm) is a handle fitted with a razor blade, used to score — slash — the surface of shaped dough just before it goes into the oven. Scoring is not decorative (though it can be beautiful). It is functional: it controls where the loaf opens during baking, directing the expansion of gas in a deliberate direction rather than allowing the crust to burst unpredictably.

A single deep score along the top of the loaf at a shallow angle produces the classic sourdough ear. More elaborate patterns — wheat stalks, leaves, geometric designs — are possible once you are comfortable with the basics.

Why a lame rather than a knife? A razor-sharp lame blade cuts cleanly through the surface of the dough without dragging or deflating it. A standard knife, even a sharp one, tends to drag — particularly on wetter doughs — which deflates the loaf and produces a ragged cut rather than a clean score. The difference in the finished loaf is visible and significant.

Straight vs curved blade: A straight blade is easier for beginners and produces clean, simple scores. A curved blade is used for the angled ear score that produces the dramatic flap typical of traditional sourdough. Many lames include both options.

7. Large Mixing Bowl

Essential.

Sourdough dough is mixed, folded and bulk-fermented in a bowl, and the size of the bowl matters more than you might expect. A bowl that is too small makes folding difficult and cramped; dough needs room to be stretched and folded without hitting the sides at every turn.

A wide, shallow bowl with a capacity of at least four litres is ideal. A bowl that is wider than it is deep makes the stretch-and-fold technique — the primary way sourdough dough is developed without conventional kneading — much easier to perform.

Glass or ceramic bowls work well. Avoid metal bowls for sourdough if possible — the acids in the dough can react with certain metals over long fermentation periods. A good quality ceramic or glass bowl with a lid or cover is a long-term kitchen investment that earns its place well beyond sourdough baking.

8. Baking Paper or Silicone Baking Mat

Essential for transferring dough.

Getting shaped, proofed dough from the banneton into a screaming-hot Dutch oven without deflating it is one of the trickier moments in sourdough baking. Baking paper solves this elegantly: you invert the banneton onto a sheet of baking paper, score the dough, then lift the paper with the dough on it and lower both into the hot pot together.

The paper handles the heat of the Dutch oven without any issues and can usually be reused several times. A silicone baking mat is a reusable alternative with the same non-stick properties.

The Nice-to-Have Equipment

These tools are not essential for your first loaf but become genuinely useful as you bake more regularly.

Instant-Read Thermometer

Knowing the temperature of your dough and your kitchen takes much of the guesswork out of fermentation timing. Dough temperature affects how quickly bulk fermentation progresses — warmer dough ferments faster, cooler dough slower. An instant-read thermometer also lets you check that your loaf is fully baked (internal temperature of 95 to 98°C) without cutting into it and releasing steam.

Bread Banneton Liner (Linen Couche)

A linen cloth used to line your banneton or to support shaped dough during proofing. Particularly useful for very sticky or high-hydration doughs. Linen has excellent non-stick properties when dusted with rice flour and is reusable indefinitely with proper care.

Wire Cooling Rack

Sourdough must be cooled completely before cutting — the crumb continues to set as the loaf cools and cutting too early produces a gummy, doughy interior. A wire rack allows air to circulate under and around the loaf for even cooling. Plan on at least one hour before cutting, and two hours for best results.

Bread Knife

A long serrated bread knife makes clean, even slices through sourdough crust without crushing the crumb. A good bread knife is one of those kitchen tools that, once you have a quality one, you wonder how you managed with a standard knife.

Proofing Box or Brod & Taylor Folding Proofer

For bakers in cooler climates or those who want precise control over fermentation temperature, a proofing box maintains a constant warm temperature around your dough. In most Australian kitchens in summer this is unnecessary — ambient temperature is warm enough. In a cool Victorian or Tasmanian winter kitchen, it can make the difference between a loaf that proofs beautifully and one that barely rises.

What You Do Not Need

There is no shortage of sourdough gadgets available and many of them are entirely unnecessary, particularly for beginners. You do not need:

A stand mixer (sourdough is developed through stretch and fold, not kneading — hands work perfectly)
A banneton in every size (start with one round, add others as your baking develops)
A specialty bread flour mill (any good quality plain or bread flour from the supermarket is fine to start)
An elaborate scoring kit (a single lame with one blade is all you need)
A steam injection oven (the Dutch oven method replicates this perfectly)

Begin with the essentials. Add tools as your baking develops and you identify what you actually need. Every experienced sourdough baker has bought at least one piece of equipment they never use — the checklist above is designed to help you avoid that.

The Complete Beginner's Equipment Checklist

Essential — start here:

☐ Digital kitchen scale (1g increments, 2kg+ capacity)
☐ Wide-mouth glass jar (500ml+) for starter
☐ Banneton proof ing basket (25cm round)
☐ Dutch oven or lidded cast iron pot (4–6 litre)
☐ Bench scraper (stainless steel)
☐ Bowl scraper (flexible plastic)
☐ Bread scoring lame
☐ Large mixing bowl (4 litre+, ceramic or glass)
☐ Baking paper or silicone mat
☐ Rice flour for dusting the banneton

Nice to have — add when ready:

☐ Instant-read thermometer
☐ Linen banneton liner or couche
☐ Wire cooling rack
☐ Good quality serrated bread knife
☐ Proofing box (cooler climate kitchens only)

Getting Everything in One Place

Sourcing sourdough equipment in Australia used to mean ordering from overseas or visiting multiple specialty stores. Our Farmhouse Sourdough Starter Kit brings together the essential tools — banneton proofing basket, bench scraper, scoring lame and more — in one carefully chosen set, delivered Australia-wide from Eumundi, Queensland. Everything you need to start baking, nothing you do not.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I bake sourdough without a Dutch oven? You can, but your results will be noticeably different — less oven spring, a thinner crust and a denser crumb. If a Dutch oven is not available, placing a tray of boiling water in the bottom of the oven during the first 20 minutes of baking creates some steam. It is not as effective but better than no steam at all. A Dutch oven is strongly recommended as your baking develops.

Do I need a banneton or can I use a bowl? A bowl lined with a well-floured tea towel or linen cloth works reasonably well as a substitute banneton. The dough will not have quite as much support during proofing and the pattern on the crust will be different, but it is a workable starting point. A proper rattan banneton produces noticeably better results, particularly with wetter doughs.

What size Dutch oven do I need for sourdough? For a standard 800g to 1kg loaf (the most common beginner recipe size), a 4 to 5 litre Dutch oven is ideal. A 6 litre pot will also work — slightly too big is better than slightly too small.

Can I use a bread machine for sourdough? Bread machines are designed for commercial yeast recipes and do not accommodate the long, slow fermentation that gives sourdough its flavour and texture. Sourdough is a hand-baking process — the stretch-and-fold technique, the shaping and the Dutch oven baking are all part of what makes it special.

Is a metal or plastic dough scraper better? Both serve different purposes and ideally you have one of each. The metal bench scraper is better for dividing dough and shaping on the bench. The flexible plastic bowl scraper is better for folding dough in the bowl and emptying the bowl cleanly. Our Farmhouse Sourdough Starter Kit includes both.

How do I clean a banneton? Never wash a rattan banneton with soap or submerge it in water — this damages the cane and can cause mould. After each use, tap out excess flour, scrape away any stuck dough with a dry brush or stiff pastry brush, and allow it to air dry completely before storing. Occasionally placing it in a low oven (100°C for 20 minutes) helps keep it dry and fresh.

The Bottom Line

The right equipment does not make you a better baker overnight — but it removes the obstacles that cause most beginners to give up before they get there. A banneton that supports the dough properly, a lame that scores cleanly, a Dutch oven that creates the steam your loaf needs — these tools do not do the work for you, but they make the work possible in a way that produces results you can be proud of.

Start with the essentials. Bake your first loaf. Then add tools as your confidence and your baking develops.

Our Farmhouse Sourdough Starter Kit has everything on the essential list — curated, quality tools delivered Australia-wide from Eumundi, Queensland. A beautiful starting point for your sourdough journey, and a genuinely thoughtful gift for anyone who has been meaning to start.

→ Shop the Farmhouse Sourdough Starter Ki t

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