Looking to challenge yourself by baking a loaf from scratch? You'll want to know about these editor-tested bread-making tools that make baking simple.
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Baking bread is a uniquely challenging and satisfying task. Sure, there’s a bit of fuss when it comes to proofing yeast and getting picture-perfect plaits, but the smell of a freshly baked loaf is worth it. The only thing you need—besides your favorite bread recipe—are a few bread baking essentials to get you started.
We polled the Test Kitchen team and our bread-savvy editors on their favorite tools for a bakery-perfect loaf. These are the ones we recommend snagging for your foray into bread baking. For more baking gear, don’t miss the rest of the baking supplies our Test Kitchen team can’t live without. Be sure to also check out our bread baking guide for even more tips and tricks!
Your KitchenAid stand mixer is invaluable when it comes to making bread. It’s a kitchen powerhouse that does most of the heavy lifting—like mixing ingredients and kneading dough—for you. Be sure to keep the mixer’s included dough hook attachment at the ready when you start a new bread recipe. It’s so handy, especially for stickier doughs like this one for twisted babka.
“Stand mixers give you mixing independence as you can walk away while mixing. They are the best kitchen helpers and make it easy to mix all kinds of doughs, batters and more,” raves Test Kitchen staffer Sarah Tramonte in our review of the mixer.
Serious bread makers know that the secret to a perfect sandwich loaf comes down to the baking environment. This King Arthur Pullman pan is our Test Kitchen’s secret to getting picture-perfect rectangle loaves with little to no shaping involved. Use it for swirled breads to eliminate any gaps. It also works well to prevent overflow from quick breads.
“The lid creates flat top while controlling the rise, leading to a finer, dense crumb—it’s ideal for sandwich bread,” says Test Kitchen Culinary Director Sarah Farmer.
Make your ingredient measurements as precise as possible with the help of Zwilling’s digital scale. “A kitchen scale provides accurate ingredient measurements, which is essential for consistent baking success,” says Sarah.
This is the one the Test Kitchen uses. It measures to a tenth of a gram and features a built-in battery plus a USB cord for charging. Additionally, the sleek design and glass surface makes it a countertop staple. It will ensure you never end up with underbaked bread again!
If you’re planning to bake baguettes, you’ll definitely want to invest in a loaf pan for your favorite homemade baguette recipes. There are plenty of options out there, but this perforated pan from Sur La Table is what our Test Kitchen uses. “Its perforated surface supports the dough while allowing airflow for crisp, golden crusts,” notes Sarah of this three-loaf option.
When you make bread with yeast, it’s absolutely crucial that the water you add to the dough or use to proof the yeast is precisely the right temperature. Too chilly and that yeast won’t grow. Too hot and the yeast dies. “A good-quality thermometer ensures your dough and finished bread are at the right temperature for safe and perfect baking,” says Sarah of this indispensable bread baking accessory.
Skip the guesswork and invest in a quick-read thermometer like this one from ThermoWorks. Our Test Kitchen has used ThermoWorks products to test and develop reader recipes for over 15 years. It will tell you in a few seconds if your water is at the right temperature—ideally around 110 degrees.
Let’s face it: Bread dough can be pretty sticky. Skip the spatula and go for a flexible bowl scraper. According to Sarah, “A flexible bowl scraper helps bakers efficiently gather every bit of dough or batter from a bowl.” While you can get fancy with them, a simple one is really all you need.
Our Test Kitchen appreciates this one for its flexibility and no-frills nature. Plus, the price is perfect for budget home bakers! You’ll find yourself using this handy tool for all your breads, plus plenty of other bakes.
As much as we love making homemade bread, getting the right environment for proofing can be difficult, especially when you live in cooler climates. Ensure you get consistent rising results every time with a countertop proofer. It’s a bit of an investment, but worth every penny if you’re an avid bread maker.
“A proofing box provides a controlled warm and humid environment that helps dough rise consistently and improves the texture and flavor of baked goods,” says Sarah. The Test Kitchen opted for one with a thermal controller for more precision. This one also has a compact, portable design that’s useful for storage in home kitchens.
To get a good slice of perfectly crusty homemade bread, you’ll need a good bread knife. Serrated is a must to cut through the loaf without crushing the texture inside while preserving the crust outside. Our editors love this bread knife from Zwilling, which is part of the best kitchen knife set we tested.
“I’ve had these knives since May 2024 and use them several times a day,” says tester Nicole Doster. “The knives perform as good as day one! They are still my favorite knives for everyday use. The blades have not chipped or warped and the handles are still in perfect condition.”
You can cut out some of the labor of bread-making with a good bread machine. Bread makers can help you mix up the dough, knead and even bake the bread for you.Our Test Kitchen loves this Breville bread maker, especially for newer bread bakers (check out our other favorite bread machines).
“This one made the loaf we preferred over all others,” says Test Kitchen staffer Alicia. “And the wheat loaf was also one of the best loaves of the test with even browning, tender crumb and rounded top. If you’re looking for a gift for an avid bread baker, this would be it.”
Here are some bread machine recipes to get you started.
While we adore our stand mixers, sometimes you need to mix up the dough the old-fashioned way. Instead of slogging through sticky bread dough with a wooden spoon, opt for a dough whisk. This tool helps incorporate ingredients quickly and easily. Plus, it makes a unique gift—especially when paired with a baking subscription box!
“A dough whisk is great for bakers because it easily combines wet and dry ingredients without overworking the dough, making it perfect for mixing bread and other batters,” says Sarah of this handy tool. Learn more about why you’ll want a dough whisk in your utensil crock.
Wonder how bakeries get those gorgeous designs on the top of their breads? It’s all thanks to a deft hand and a bread lame (pronounced lahm). “A lame makes precise, decorative slashes in bread dough, allowing for controlled expansion during baking,” explains Sarah.
These tools are essentially razors designed for baking. Slice into your bread before baking it and you can create neat cuts and designs. This one in particular has a pretty solid walnut handle that gives it an heirloom look. It also boasts brass accents and a stainless steel, swappable blade.
In small kitchens, every tool must serve multiple purposes. And a Dutch oven, like this one from French brand Le Creuset, is a staple. Not only does it yield crispy, crackly Dutch oven bread, but you can also use it to make soups, stews, dinners, desserts and more. Talk about a kitchen workhorse!
“I’ve been ‘testing’ the Le Creuset Dutch oven for 40 years, more or less,” says Test Kitchen Manager Catherine Ward. “At Taste of Home, I use Le Creuset Dutch ovens frequently. For sourdough bread baking, it produces a lovely, deep golden brown crisp crust and a crusty ear (sourdough language for the crusty cut edge that rises above the loaf after scoring).”
Avid bread bakers swear by these woven proofing baskets called bannetons. They give your bread an attractive shape while rising, plus they really make you feel like an expert baker.
“This basket helps dough hold its shape while rising and creates a beautiful flour-lined pattern on the crust,” says Sarah. While there’s not much to a banneton (or “brotform”), this one from Williams Sonoma is wide and deep enough to make the big, round loaves found in our Test Kitchen.
A French rolling pin is made from solid wood, making it an unbreakable heirloom-style option for bread bakers. This simple gadget makes rolling pizza dough and biscuits a breeze. And as a bonus, there’s no need to worry about getting flour in the nooks and crannies—it’s just one piece!
“A French rolling pin, also known as a tapered rolling pin, is designed with delicate patisserie bakes in mind,” explains editor Katie Bandurski in her review of the Earlywood rolling pin. “It’s so solid that it’s a great option for crushing nuts or crackers as well. After years of consistent use, I can confirm that it’s made to last a long time.”
While ceramic Dutch ovens are great for baking, you can cook virtually anything in this sturdy HexClad Dutch oven—including bread! It’s ideal for baking, boiling, sautéing and almost any other cooking task. In her review of the Dutch oven, editor Katie raves about its oven capabilities.
“I whipped up a batch of our Test Kitchen’s Dutch oven bread and got to work,” says Katie. “Right away, I was impressed with how much easier it is to wrangle the lightweight HexClad over my cast iron or ceramic Dutch oven. Honestly, this bread alone is reason enough to buy the HexClad Dutch oven. It cooked the loaf to perfection (without any kneading!) and was effortless to lift in and out of the oven.”
Flour sack cloths are excellent for tons of kitchen tasks, but they’re especially useful for bread bakers. “Lightweight and lint-free, it’s ideal for covering dough during proofing without sticking or drying it out,” says Sarah. As a bonus, they’re so inexpensive—even our favorite set of four from Williams Sonoma only rings up at around $22!
Parchment paper may feel like a no-brainer, but we have to recommend these paper sheets from King Arthur. Since they’re readily cut, there’s no need to fiddle with the dangerous edge on a typical roll.
“Not only do the sheets prevent sticking, but they make transferring dough to hot surfaces safer and easier,” says Sarah. As a bonus, each sheet can be used several times before it’s ready to toss.
Not all of us have the seemingly heat-immune hands as grandma, so we have to improvise. Oven gloves look like ordinary outdoor gloves. They offer more movement than oven mitts, and in an equally heat-resistant package. “These heat-resistant gloves offer dexterity and protection when handling hot pans and bakeware,” says Sarah.
As you can see, these get a lot of use around the Test Kitchen, yet they’ve held up great. At such a low price point, who cares about aesthetics?
When a loaf finishes baking, the next step is cooling, than storage. Sure, you can reach for a plastic zipper bag, but that’s not exactly environmentally-friendly. “Beeswax wraps are a reusable and breathable option for covering dough or storing baked goods sustainably,” says Sarah. The Test Kitchen loves these ones from Bee’s Wrap, which are covered in adorable honeycombs.
In addition to keeping bread from going stale, they are also naturally bacteria-resistant and last through hundreds of uses. You can even re-wax them as the coating wears away!
Even if you’re just a humble home bread baker, a restaurant-style shallow mixing bowl comes in handy when it’s time to shape and rise your loaf. Don’t opt for anything too small. Instead, invest in a big bowl like this one, which is made from German stainless steel. “The wide shape of this shallow, metal mixing bowl allows for easy kneading and folding,” says Sarah.
If you’re anything like us, you’ll soon make more loaves than you can actually eat. That’s why it’s good to have a stash of paper bread bags for gifting your sourdoughs to friends and family. “These bread bags help keep homemade bread fresh longer while allowing some airflow to prevent sogginess,” says Sarah. Plus, they make any loaf look more professional—no extra effort required!
Just like wax wraps, this beeswax-coated bread bag is built to resist bacteria growth. It also keeps conditions optimal for loaves that stay crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Editor Emily Way has been baking her own breads for years, and she notes that the Keeki bag is one of her favorite storage methods.
“I love that the bags are cute on the outside, yet functional on the inside,” she says. “I never have to worry about opening up a bag of stale bread, which is the most disappointing surprise ever. Plus, it looks so cute on the counter with its crosshatch pattern!”
While it may not immediately come to mind, pizza dough is still bread. And baking a perfectly crispy pizza crust is a huge task in itself. That’s where the HexClad pizza steel comes in. According to Katie, it’s ideal for anything that requires a little crisp up in the oven—including crust.
“The results are truly restaurant-quality. While not quite as perfect as what I can achieve in my outdoor oven, it was easily the best homemade pizza I’d ever made indoors,” says Katie in her review of the pizza steel. “Yes, it’s great for pizza lovers. But I’ve found infinite uses for it in my home kitchen. I’m beyond impressed with the crispy, crunchy results it yields on all kinds of eats.”
Our Test Kitchen comprises of bakers with years of experience kneading, shaping and baking up beautiful loaves. Sarah Farmer, responsible for many of our recommendations, is the heart of the Taste of Home Test Kitchen. On top of leading the culinary team, she develops, tests and food styles recipes, balances budgets, connects with vendors and oversees the product testing process for pantry foods and cooking gear. For this piece, we also polled several home bread bakers on the editorial team for their favorite bread making tools.
While you don’t need much to begin baking bread, we recommend starting out with at least a mixing bowl, a dough whisk, something to cover dough as it proofs and some kind of Dutch oven to bake it in. You’ll also want to ensure proper storage so your loaf stays fresh.
We recommend using a KitchenAid mixer along with a dough attachment for kneading homemade bread dough.
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