If you made it to the back of my book and enjoyed delving into sourdough, Sourdough by Sarah Owens is a wonderful place to move forward, Her recipes are extremely creative, and she gets into all kind of unique flours and flavor profiles. If you want to get experimental incorporating sourdough across all types of baking (not just breads) this is the place to go. There is a wonderful sourdough lemon madeleine recipe in here as well that I love.

If you think you have gotten to the point that you are a serious baker and thinking about scaling up your recipes, I highly highly recommend Bread by Jeffrey Hamelman. This is an invaluable resource for working with professional formulas, scaling recipes, understanding how to schedule, ergonomics, how different ingredients effect different doughs, and all the subtle thing that need to be considered as part of the baking life. This book is extremely necessary for any dedicated baker to truly understand both the science and the craft of bread baking.

This is a hefty book, in size and in price tag. It is technically a textbook! If you are very serious about bread and pastry and can’t afford to go to culinary school, I would advise working your way through this textbook. It is absolutely advanced and professional, and covers things like formula development and all kinds of aspects of running a bakery as well as tons of great visual and photo demonstrations of advanced techniques including croissants and a wide variety of pastry work as well as in depth information on scheduling and production.

A thermometer is important. I like this one especially because it’s waterproof.

Alternatively, an inferred thermometer is very handy for sensing the temperature on things you can’t touch (like your baking stone or oven). This is the one I use now. You may eventually want one like this, if you plan on baking a lot of bread.

You will need a digital scale. There are smaller, more affordable versions, which are fine. This one is my favorite. If you plan on making a lot of bread, this one is worth the investment.

A Dutch oven is helpful for baking heath loaves in imperfect home ovens. They help trap steam and lever consistent heat around your loaf. This is my personal favorite because of its size and the handle on top.

Any large mixing bowl is fine, but I love these because they are lightweight and big enough to mix lots of dough.

A dough scraper (also called a bench knife) is a very handy tool. I like this style because of the way the curved handle fits my palm.

Additionally, plastic scrapers come in handy when cleaning up bits of dough out of your bowls.

A loaf pan is great for making sandwiches, brioches, and babkas. USA pan are my favorite. Nothing sticks to them and they’re extremely durable. Their corners don’t tear up your breads like some lower quality pans do. I use the medium size.

High heat is important for baking pizza. A pizza stone can store heat and give you a hotter baking surface. In my opinion, the bigger the better, which is why I chose this one.

I jokingly call this peel “the show peel.” The wood grain is pretty, so it makes a nice backdrop for photos. It looks so lovely hanging in the kitchen. It also slides pizza in and out of the oven from time to time.

For focaccia, fougasse, ficelles, and cinnamon rolls, too… any half sheet pan will do, but USA brand is the best.

Nothing is more irrational and irritating than rolls of parchment paper. Naturally, you want parchment paper to lay flat… in a roll, it curls up and will drive you to madness. Don’t let this happen to you. Pre-cut parchment sheets will keep you happy and sane. Plus, 120 of them will last you a long time. Imagine the serenity of having plenty of pre-cut parchment paper on hand… YES.

A lame is basically a special holder for a razor blade that baker’s use to score their breads. I prefer this one out of many I have tried. It’s easy to change the blades, and it holds the blade at an angle. This helps with slashing baguettes and batard. I like knowing my blade will not fall out and get lost since I have small kids.

Pastry Brushes will come in handy when making breads that are egg washed (challah and brioche). It will be needed when you branch into other areas of baking like pies, galettes, and croissants. I prefer natural hair brushes over silicone. These are soft and will not tear the surface of your baked goods.

This dusting wand is a fun and frivolous item. Is it necessary? No. Is it super fun way to sieve the finest dusting of flour? Yes. Do kids love it? Absolutely.

When you decide you want a proofing basket, this one is a nice option. It comes with a liner which is helpful.

Here is a batard shaped banneton, if you decide you like making that bread shape.

If you are doing a lot of baking, you won’t want to buy yeast in packets anymore, Saf Instant is available in 1 pound bags, and will last you a long time, it’s a much better deal than buying in packets.

I recommend King Arthur flour because it is good quality for baking breads. It’s also easy to find at most grocery stores. Even places like Target carry it.

These tiny bowls are a very silly thing to spend your money on, but I thought they were a little too sweet to pass up. I like using them for small ingredients. Not for measuring, but it’s a great visual cue, as well.

When you start making a lot of gorgeous crusty breads, you are going to realize your bread knife just isn’t cutting it. This Wusthof is a fantastic choice and worthy investment. I got mine when I had birthday money to take the sting out of the price tag.

Alternatively, you may need a knife that can cut through bread and cheese when you take your loaves on a picnic. This is the best folding knife I have found. It’s amazing how well it cuts bread, and it is extremely cute, in my opinion. It has brought so much joy to my life. It also comes in other colors.

I get asked about how to store bread a lot. A paper or plastic bag will get the job done just fine, but these beeswax fabric wraps are my favorite. They look beautiful and keep your bread soft. They are still breathable so they keep the crust nice. They’re overall better than plastic or paper since you can wash and re-use them <3

If you develop a fascination with making baguettes, you will eventually want a linen couche to proof them on.

If you end up making lots and lots of baguettes like me, this will be a great investment. It allows you to transfer proofed baguettes from your couche to your peel without damaging them.

A rolling pin comes in handy when rolling out cinnamon roll dough. These styles are especially handy for getting all the dough out to the same thickness, which impacts the final product. I have the 1/4 inch and 1/8 inch, but there are a variety of sizes and lengths for different needs. The 1/8 is great for pastry and pie crusts, as well, or any situation where uniform thickness is needed.

Okay, now you are really getting serious. Large plastic cambros are durable, food safe and stackable. They seal super tight. When you need to store lots of special flours, make large quantities of dough, or keep a massive amount of sourdough starter on hand, you will start coveting weird things like cambro tubs. You can find these at a local restaurant supply store, as well.