8 Sourdough Supplies We Found Hiding At Costco

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While baking sourdough was a trend during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it always was and continues to be a soothing pastime for many home chefs. Though sourdough bread is made with not much more than flour, water, and salt (which are the same ingredients used to cultivate the yeast and bacteria in a sourdough starter), the baking process can be quite challenging, especially if you don't have the right kitchen supplies for it.

But where are these home chefs procuring the tools for baking a sourdough loaf properly? Some people start by buying sourdough starter from a bakery and gathering items from different stores, while others quickly set themselves up with online sourdough kits. Thankfully, Costco, our family-friendly retail warehouse, has many affordable kitchen supplies that can help with your sourdough journey. From a quality Dutch oven to Turkish cotton kitchen towels, these Costco cooking supplies can help you bake your very best loaf.

Whether you cultivated your own sourdough starter or got it from somewhere else, you'll need a stable place to hold it. Try using one of these Cambro containers from Costco. It's clear enough to see the contents, and it also has a wide opening that makes it easier to access your starter. With three of them in the set, you can keep multiple sourdough starters at a time, and each one has a lid for when you need it.

Grab the Cambro Round 2-Quart Food Storage Container at Costco for $12.99.

It's important to choose a sturdy flour for both the starter and for the bread itself — it's the heart of sourdough. While some home chefs use all-purpose or rye, bread flour is a popular choice due to its high protein content that helps yield a chewier texture and better rise. Ardent Mills Bread Flour is sold at Costco in 25-pound bags and can also be used for pizza crusts, donuts, and rolls. With such a large amount for a low cost, you won't feel bad using it to practice that sourdough recipe over and over again.

Get this 25-pound bag of Ardent Mills Bread Flour at Costco Business Centers for $10.89.

Ultimately, baking is a science. To get the results you want, you need to be as precise as possible, and a kitchen scale is handy for getting those exact measurements in both starters and doughs. With a stain-resistant and waterproof surface, this digital kitchen scale can be quickly cleaned in case you spill any extra starter all over it. In addition, the device's clear display makes it easy to see exactly how many grams of water, salt, flour, and starter you're adding to your sourdough.

Buy the Taylor Waterproof Digital Kitchen Scale at Costco for $16.97.

Since there are four different sized glass mixing bowls in this Pyrex set, you can use them for any part of the sourdough process. Each with their own lid, they can be used for mixing the starter ingredients together, making the actual bread dough, or for letting the sourdough rest for the process of bulk fermentation when the dough increases significantly in volume over a span of several hours at room temperature. Because the containers are glass, it's easier to see how the dough is rising without removing the lid. In addition, these bowls make a great alternative to bannetons (proofing baskets) and are easy to clean after every use.

Purchase the Pyrex 8-piece Glass Mixing Bowls at Costco for $22.99.

Sold in a variety of colors from beige to blue, the Turkish Cotton 6-Piece Kitchen Towels are perfect for lining your glass bowls (or bannetons) while you're doing your final proofing. They're soft enough to handle your dough but also sturdy enough for wiping your floured counter afterwards (and you can chuck them into the washing machine to clean). Just make sure to dust them heavily with flour so your dough doesn't stick to the towel.

Costco's Turkish Cotton 6-piece Kitchen Towel Set is available online only for $39.99.

Want to be able to easily transfer your delicate, proofed dough into your Dutch oven? Use non-stick parchment paper. You can tip your proofed dough onto the paper and safely place it in your heated Dutch oven for baking. Also, similar to lining sheet pans, parchment paper is great for lining the bottom of the Dutch oven to prevent the sourdough bread from sticking while it bakes, and it makes it easier to remove as well. The dimensions of the rolls are 15 inches by 164 feet, and they come in a pack of two.

Get Kirkland Signature Non-Stick Parchment Paper Rolls at Costco for $16.49.

The Dutch oven is where the dough will bake and expand, arguably the most important part of the sourdough process. As it is exposed to intense heat, you need a good-quality Dutch oven that can handle the high temperatures. The T-fal Dutch ovens sold at Costco, which are made of cast aluminum, come in a set of two — one holds 3 quarts and the other holds 6 quarts. The best size Dutch oven for standard sourdough loaves is usually between 5 and 7 quarts, so the 6-quart Dutch oven is perfectly in between. The 3-quart one comes in handy when you're experimenting and making smaller loaves.

Costco's T-fal Cast Aluminum Air Dutch Oven Set is available online only for $89.99.

Though they might not come to mind immediately when thinking through sourdough baking staples, oven mitts are very important. That Dutch oven will be extremely hot when you take it out of the oven, and unless you literally have hands of steel, you'll need some sturdy oven mitts to help you out. The Nouvelle Legende mitts are flame retardant and made with a thick, soft cotton material, allowing you to hold Dutch ovens or even hot sourdough loaves in your hands without burning yourself.

Get the Nouvelle Legende Flame Retardant Quilted Oven Mitts at Costco for $6.99.