Sourdough Basics: What You Really Need to Get Started

Welcome to the first part of my Sourdough Basics Series! In this series of bog posts, I’ll dive into the very basics of sourdough- from beginning to end. I’ll answer some of my most frequent sourdough questions, so you’ll feel confident enough to finally start. In this first post, we’ll be talking about what you really need to get started with sourdough.

It’s easy to get bogged down with the long list of fancy sourdough supplies, but as the most basic level, you truly only need a few items to get started. Whether you’re making your own starter or maintaining an established one, you’ll only need 4 things for this phase of making sourdough bread.

Sourdough Starter Supplies

I’ve never used any fancy supplies for my sourdough starter. You can absolutely invest in jars with measurements on the side, but that really isn’t necessary. To get started with the true basics, you’ll need:

1. Unbleached Flour: It doesn’t matter what type of flour you use, and you certainly don’t have to mill it yourself. The only thing that matters is buying an unbleached flour. The bleach in regular white flour can harm the bacteria that helps your starter rise and thrive. If you’ve been using bleached flour in an existing starter, try switching to unbleached and watch it do better than ever before.
2. Filtered Water: Like the bleach in white flour, many of the additives to tap water can have a negative effect on the life of your starter. You’ll see many people claim that they use tap water for their starter, and while it might work for them, different water supplies have different water quality. Personally, my tap water is heavily treated and smells like a public pool. I always use distilled water that I’ve purchased from the store.
3. Clear Vessel with a Loose Lid: My personal favorite is a pint- or quart-size wide-mouth mason jar. The wide mouth makes it easy to scrape down the sides and keep a semi-clean jar. The flat part of the jar sits loosely on top to allow your starter to breathe and release gasses. Any glass vessel can be used, but clear with straight sides is ideal for monitoring rise.
4. Non-Metal Stirring Utensil: The need for it to not be metal is debated, and I’m not even totally sure of it myself, but I practice it by happen-stance. I like to use a spatula to mix my starter, that way I can scrape down the sides with it also.
5. Food Scale: I know, I know. You’ve heard a million times, from seasoned sourdough bakers, that they don’t use a food scale. But if I’m being honest, it really is helpful. If you’re just starting out, it’s hard to know what consistency your starter should have after being mixed. Weighing your flour and water can be helpful with the learning curve, and can improve the health of your starter.

Sourdough Baking Supplies

When you get to the baking phase of Sourdough, there are a few things that are truly helpful, but not really needed. You can make delicious loaves of sourdough bread with things you already have at home. If you don’t want to purchase too many things just yet, you can use:

1. Large Mixing Bowl: this bowl can be glass, stainless steel, or a food-safe plastic. You only need to make sure that it is large enough for your dough to double while it ferments.
2. Tea Towels: You can use these damp for covering your dough during rise times, and lining baskets or bowls after shaping.
3. Sharp Serrated Knife: if you don’t want to purchase a scoring lame yet, you can use a sharp serrated knife. You won’t be able to make extremely detailed scores, but one big cross hatch, and you’ll get great expansion.
4. Oven Safe Pot with Lid: You’ll need to make sure it’s large enough for your bread to rise, and that your lid is also oven-safe. If you don’t have an oven-safe pot, there are many ways to bake a loaf without one. You can use a pizza stone, sheet pans, and even a pressure cooker. I haven’t used these methods myself, but it only takes a quick YouTube search to get all the info you need.

Extra Supplies You May Want

I often tell my friends that sourdough is a little like giving a mouse a cookie. if you give a friend a starter, they’ll want a… I think you see where this is going. And it’s true! There are so many fun and helpful items you can find to up your bread game.

1. Stand Mixer: You can definitely mix your bread with your hands or a sturdy spatula, but my stand mixer is my favorite way to mix my doughs. I can walk away from it and let it do its thing while I quickly load the dishwasher or make a bed.
2. Dutch Whisk: While I don’t use this for mixing loaves, I do use it for loads of different things. It has become my favorite whisk. I incorporates ingredients slowly without introducing too much air. An extra perk is just how pretty it is.
3. Banneton Baskets: These special bamboo baskets are definitely not necessary, but I do like mine quite a bit. They’re great for proofing after shaping, and it’s nice to have a dedicated basket for my loaves.
4. Bench Scrapers: I have both plastic and stainless Steel. I like both for different reasons. The plastic ones are flexible and great for coaxing dough out of bowls, and the stainless steel scraper is my most prized kitchen item. I use it for creating tension wile shaping, and for cleaning my work surface after use.
5. Scoring Lame: Scoring lames are how you get detailed scores on your bread. I like the UFO style for better control, but there are a few styles to choose from.
6. Dutch Oven: Even if you’re buying it solely for bread baking, I would recommend getting an enameled cast iron Dutch oven. They are more versatile and can be used for tomato-based soups and dishes.
7. Bow Bread Knife: Many people find this to be a little gimmicky, but I actually really like its functionality. It has better hand positioning that a regular bread knife, and the blade is slightly flexible, making it easier to make thin slices.

Ready to Get Started

Now that you know exactly what you really need to get started, you can confidently begin your journey with sourdough. My best advice before you start is to stick to the basics and put your blinders on to all the extra information and opinions out there. Your sourdough style can be as simple as you want it to be.

If you’re ready to make your own starter, check out my post on making a sourdough starter from scratch.

Need to gather some supplies? See My Current Kitchen Must-Haves to find links to everything you might want or need.

if you have our supplies, have a bubbly starter, and you’re itching to bake, you can follow my recipe for your first simple loaf using only all-purpose flour.

I hope this post gave you the confidence you need to just get started. It really can be as simple as you make it, and I hope you’ll stay tuned for new posts in the Sourdough Basics series.

Until Next Time,

Rebekah