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maurizio
The Perfect Loaf
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Late last night, up shaping per usual. Was a little over zealous with the hydration but turned out to be just fine with an extra fold during bulk, a tight preshape, and a tight final shape. Ended up stitching it up instead of just rolling to help it keep shape through the proof. This was a mix of Giusto’s ABF (60%), @centralmilling Type 85 (20%), hard red whole wheat (10%), and high mountain (10%). 15% levain and probably around 86-87% hydration with a FDT of 76F. 3.5 hr bulk, 12 hr proof at 42F. Scaled at 900g in 14” long baskets. Rolled in oats. A familiar recipe with a few changes to temperatures and times. #alwaystesting #kaizen 34 1
One sourdough focaccia a week? Correct! Why not when they’re so easy and always a crowd pleaser. Today will be a leftover focaccia (what little there is) sandwich 🥪 Not a @basically #basicallybaking recipe, but I dare say it’s a pretty easy sourdough variant 🙂Recipe for this up at my website (still). 8K 194
Not sure I’ve made a better peanut butter cookie than these from the updated Tartine book. Bringing back all the childhood memories ✨ #cookies #Tartine #baking #peanutbutter 2K 31
More 60% whole grain goodness with Red Fife, spelt, rye (again). The easy boule baked this morning will be ready for a family lunch. Happy weekend, all. 3K 69
Keeping an eye on my sourdough levain 👀 This was a typical build for me but with some flour changes: 75% all purpose, 25% whole rye, 115% hydration, 100% mature starter kept at 78-80F for 3 hours or so. Used right after it fell in the video (when you start seeing streaks at the sides). #sourdough #starter #levain 4K 115
Yesterday’s hearty spelt, rye, and whole wheat loaves. Just love the look and feel of that dough fully proofed. These were scaled at 900g each and are in a 14” long basket. Proof was 14 hours at 42F. 2K 29

My Baking Tools

I’ve spent considerable time testing baking tools to make baking more efficient and consistent in the home kitchen. The list below is the result of all those tests. If you’re new to baking, start with the tools listed below in Sourdough Starter Creation & Management and The Beginning Baker. Once you become more serious about baking, head down to the Increase Baking Consistency section to build out your toolset.

Tool Categories
  1. Sourdough Starter
  2. The Beginning Baker
  3. Increase Baking Consistency
  4. Flour
  5. Pans & Storage
  6. Grain Mills
  7. Other Equipment

At my Amazon storefront, I have all the tools below including my favorite baking books, all on one page. Note that some of the links below are affiliate links in which I earn a small amount on each sale (you’re not charged over normal price). These small earnings help keep this site up and running — so thank you and happy baking!

Sourdough Starter

These are the best tools to help create and maintain your sourdough starter.

Store your natural sourdough starter in this Weck jar

3/4 liter weck jars

My starter lives in these wonderful glass jars.

baker’s scale

A good scale is essential in baking. This is the best one I’ve found.
oxo spatula

silicone spatula

The best spatula for mixing your starter: easy to clean and durable.
Create a starter with reliable consistency using whole grain rye flour

dark rye flour

Whole grain rye flour is key to making an active sourdough starter.

The Beginning Baker

Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven Combo Cooker

lodge combo cooker

Cast iron and built to last. This pot traps steam to encourage maximum dough rise.
Dough Bench Knife

bench knife

A must-have. Used to cut, lift & move your dough.
Plastic Dough Scraper

plastic scraper

Easily remove sticky dough from containers, the bench, and off your fingers.
Ambient thermometer

ambient thermometer

Monitoring temperature when baking is incredibly important.
White Rice Flour for dusting proofing baskets

rice flour

Dust your proofing baskets with this to help your dough remove cleanly.
Lame for scoring dough pre-bake

lame

A pack of razors and a coffee stirrer constructed as you see. Used to score your bread before baking.
Wide mixing bowl to mix flour, water, etc.

wide mixing bowl

A wide bowl makes hand mixing dough much more manageable.
Cambro plastic bulk container

bulk container

Clear sides let you see fermentation first-hand.
Digital Thermometer

digital thermometer

Monitoring dough temperature is critical throughout the baking process.

Increase Baking Consistency

Thermapen thermometer

thermapen

Reads temperatures extremely fast and accurate. Highly recommended.
Banneton for boules

10″ banneton (boule)

A bowl used to hold proofing dough.
Banneton for batard

banneton (batard)

A smaller basket that will let you load dough in the Lodge combo cooker listed above.
Dough Proofer via @theperfectloaf

dough proofer

Keeps my starter, levain, and dough at the perfect temperature. Highly recommended.
Dough Tub

large bulk tub

The perfect rectangular tub for 4kg+ batches of dough.
Flour sifter

flour sifter

Some recipes here call for “high extraction flour,” this helps sift out some bran/germ to get there.

baking steel

This steel gets incredibly hot with no risk of cracking. It also cooks pizza incredibly well.
Plastic flour scoop

flour scoop

I keep these in my flour canisters, they make transferring and measuring super easy.
Razor sharp bread knife

bread knife

The best, and most cost-effective, bread knife I have yet to use.
tools_baking_stones

proofing liners

Cut these to fit your proofing baskets for easy dough removal.
Plastic bowl covers CoverMate Stretch-to-fit

plastic bowl covers

Reusable bowl-sized covers to keep dough moist.
Bread box

breadbox

Keep your bread fresh for up to a week in this well-made box.

Flour

Ideally, you’d want locally milled flour for freshness and to support local farmers & millers, but sometimes that is not an option. Central Milling and Guisto’s both provide flour that I’ve found to be excellent.

Central Milling Artisan Bakers Craft Plus Organic Flour

central milling artisan baker’s craft plus

CM has some incredible flour; this is a workhorse flour for any bread.
Giusto's Artisan Bread Flour

giusto’s artisan malted bread

I love this flour; it’s my current top choice.

Pans & Storage

USA Pan Pullman Pan

USA Pan Pullman 9×4 inch

This pan is perfect for rye bread and sandwich loaves. See my guide to baking pan bread for more.
Large Cambro Storage Container

cambro storage 18 quart

These, with lid, are quite large and perfect for storing 25 lbs. of dry grain or flour.
XO Good Grips POP Container Big Square (4.0 Qt)

OXO good grips 4 quart

I use these to store all my flour (they hold 5 pounds). They are airtight, light, and solid — just the best.

Grain Mills

Below is a list of my favorite grain mills used to mill fresh flour in my home kitchen regularly. They are all built extremely well and are capable of producing excellent flour.

Mockmill Grain Mill

Mockmill 100 Grain Mill

A beautiful mill capable of producing very fine flour at a fantastic price (get 5% off with my link).
KoMo Classic Grain Mill

KoMo Classic Grain Mill

A workhorse mill that produces very fine flour. Built by hand in Austria.
GrainMaker 116

GrainMaker 116 Grain Mill

A hand-operated, well-built mill that’s capable of producing extremely fine flour at low temperatures.

Other Equipment

Rofco B40 Brick Bread Oven

Rofco B40 Brick Oven

This sealed oven lets me bake 4 or more loaves at a time from home.