the kit
what's actually on the counter
Everything below survives weekly use in a small kitchen. One affiliate partner and two gifted collaborations, all clearly marked — the rest is honest recommendations with nothing in it for me.
the one brand I work with — affiliate link
You Knead Sourdough
Starter kits, bannetons and everything you need to stop doom-scrolling sourdough content and actually bake. Their kit is the reason half my early loaves survived — and the only thing on this site I'll ever take a commission on.
the slim cast iron dutch oven — what I bake in shop the full range
new on the counter — gifted, not affiliate
British Sourdough
British Sourdough sent over a parcel of their most popular kit — no strings, no commission, just bread tools. Full disclosure: gifted, so these are first impressions rather than the survived-a-year-of-weekly-bakes seal of approval the rest of this page gets. I'll report back in the diary as they earn their place.
- 01 Two bannetons You can never have too many proving baskets — two means back-to-back bakes without the frantic mid-prove wash.
- 02 A bread lame A proper scoring lame, so the razor-in-a-coffee-stirrer era may finally be over.
- 03 A bench scraper Joining the two scrapers below in the most-used drawer in the kitchen.
- 04 A Danish dough whisk The odd-looking loop of wire that mixes shaggy dough without gluing itself to your hand.
- 05 A Mason Cash mixing bowl The classic cane bowl — the one your gran had. Heavy enough to stay put during stretch and folds.
- 06 A Dutch oven liner (dough sling) Silicone sling with long handles for lowering dough into a screaming-hot pot without branding your knuckles.
- 07 A beeswax bread bag For keeping the cut loaf without plastic. The crust-softening question will be investigated thoroughly.
- 08 Two spatulas For discard batters and scraping the last of the levain out of the jar. No crumb left behind.
- 09 An apron Flour gets everywhere regardless; at least now it gets everywhere on brand.
gifted — not an affiliate
Borough Kitchen
Borough Kitchen kindly sent these in exchange for content over on Instagram. No links, no commission — first impressions for now, and I'll report back in the diary as they earn their place on the counter.
- 01 Netherton Foundry spun iron loaf tin For sandwich loaves — spun iron heats fast and bakes an evenly bronzed crust.
- 02 Birkmann Bread Buddies oval proofing basket with liner Matches the loaf tin shape, and the liner means no floury basket archaeology.
- 03 Paderno dough scraper The red one. Joins the scraper collection — you can never have too many.
Three brands to be upfront about. The You Knead Sourdough links are affiliate links — if you buy through them, the diary earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. The British Sourdough and Borough Kitchen items were sent to me as gifts; I don't earn anything if you buy them (British Sourdough's links just help them see you came from here, and Borough Kitchen's parcel came in exchange for Instagram content). Everything else is an honest recommendation with nothing in it for me.
and the rest of the counter
- 01 A round banneton, 22cm The basket behind every crust reveal. Flour it properly and it never sticks.
- 02 The slim cast iron Dutch oven Steam is everything for oven spring — this is the You Knead Sourdough one linked above.
- 03 Digital scales, 0.1g Sourdough is ratios. Cups are chaos. Scales are non-negotiable.
- 04 A bread lame For scoring. A razor in a coffee stirrer also works, but this feels less like a heist.
- 05 Two dough scrapers The most-used £4 in my kitchen. One flexible, one metal.
- 06 A probe thermometer 98°C inside means it's baked. No more anxious knocking on the base.
- 07 Strong white bread flour, bought in bulk Buying 16kg at a time changed my flour bill entirely. Store it somewhere dry.