Eva Bleyer |
For baking sourdough, a pan or Dutch oven will do the trick, but a bread cloche can take your loved one’s loaf to the next level. In our Lab tests, this bread cloche yielded a beautifully-browned loaf every time.
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Any bread baker will make good use of new kitchen towels for lining a mixing bowl or cleaning up messes, and these are just too funny not to gift.
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Maybe your friend is a new baker looking for a good cookbook to help perfect their sourdough. We recommend this book from Maurizio Leo featuring easy-to-follow recipes.
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What pairs better with bread than butter? Let us recommend an easy-to-use French-style butter crock which allows you to keep softened salted butter on your countertop for up to a month – making bread and butter even closer at hand.
RELATED: Best Butter Crocks
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Baking can be messy and that’s where a quality kitchen apron comes in handy. While most aprons make a good gift for bread bakers, this one is especially helpful for newbies thanks to the measurement conversion chart printed on its underside. All bakers will love the numerous pockets, perfect for holding a thermometer, pencil and more.
RELATED: Best Aprons, According to Chefs
A proofing basket will help your loaf retain its shape and is a valuable replacement for a mixing bowl. If you’ve ever wondered why your local bakery’s boule has an intricate ring pattern on top, the shop likely uses a basket like this during the final rise.
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Your friend probably loves baking bread because they appreciate a good loaf of sourdough. If they’re too busy to bake right now, a Wildgrain subscription box is the ideal solution: Each box can include delicious sourdough, along with pasta, pastries and more, delivered right to their door.
A high-quality thermometer is a great addition to any baker’s toolkit, because monitoring dough temperature during the bread-making process is important for consistent results. You should aim for an interior temperature of 190–210°F to ensure that your bread is not gummy inside.
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While your friend may already be using a wide mouth mason jar for their starter, we especially like this starter jar upgrade from Lékué. The starter jar has a screw top with a valve to easily release air, and it comes with a rubber band to help track the growth of their starter.
Traditional measuring cups and spoons could suffice for measuring ingredients, but a kitchen scale ensures precise amounts. For this reason, a high-quality kitchen scale is a great gift for a serious bread baker.
RELATED: Best Kitchen Scales
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Need we say more? This trio of creamy cheeses from Murray’s is perfect for pairing with homemade slices of sourdough. Throw in a bottle of wine, and you’re all set for the perfect night in.
RELATED: Gifts for Cheese Lovers
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While bread can be scored with a bread knife or kitchen shears before it bakes, a lame is an upgrade that yields great results. Using it on your bread before baking helps control the expansion so it keeps its shape and doesn’t burst. And we especially love the look of this pick, which makes for a special gift that won’t break the bank.
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Our team loves a dependable Dutch oven for so many tasks, but a this one can also double as bread baker. If they don’t have a Dutch oven yet, this will be a thoughtful and well-used gift.
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If they prefer dipping bread in olive oil, let us suggest this flavorful gift set from Brightland. It includes chili, garlic, lemon and basil infused olive oils – perfect accompaniments to a crusty hunk of bread.
RELATED: Best Olive Oils
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A stand mixer with a dough hook attachment can help knead dough quickly and without tiring their wrists. Gifting this stunning model with a wooden bowl will surely guarantee many loaves in your future.
RELATED: Best Stand Mixers
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Eva (she/her) is a reviews analyst in the Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab, where she tests kitchen gear, home appliances and culinary innovations. She graduated from NYU with a bachelor of science in food studies, nutrition and public health and is a trained chef through the Natural Gourmet Institute. Eva has more than 10 years of experience in the food industry, working as a food stylist, personal chef and marketing manager.
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