What's essential for getting started will depend greatly on you - your time investment, your budget, and what you already have on hand. It'll also depend on what you want to make. For instance, do you mainly eat a ton of bread products in your house? Or are you a pasta-loving family? Maybe you can do without either, but cakes, pies and cookies are your jam. If you're like me - you are all in and want to make all the things, just at different times. I'll do my best to cover all the situations. I won't cover essential kitchen items most kitchens have, like pot holders. See my Shop if you want a list of all my kitchen items.
A way to mill flour - and I've got an article just for that.
A way to mix ingredients together / knead (see my mixer guide) and spatulas
A way to mix without a mixer if you like (danish dough whisk & spatulas)
Digital Kitchen Scale - if you prefer consistent bakes and less dishes, get yourself a scale and thank me later.
Now, let's break things down by category:
Pasta Lovers
You'll need flour and water, maybe some eggs, and a way to shape the pasta. There are two options, rolled and cut and extruded (or pressed through a die).
Rolled and Cut (pasta by hand)
Extruded Pasta (pasta by extruder) - pick one
If you want to dehydrate your pasta for quick wins later in the week, an Excalibur can't be beat.
Bread Heads
We will need mixing bowls, a bench scraper, and something to bake on or in. This is where you get a lot of options. I'll keep it to the items I use. See what works for you.
Something to make the bread rise:
Bowls, bench scrapers and things to bake on or in:
Parchment paper or silicone liners for your pans:
you can also just choose to grease your pans before each bake and skip those items
Something to cool your baked goods on after the bake:
Something to store your bread in after it's cool:
A good, sharp knife for slicing your bread - trust me it needs to be a good one!
Pastries
Anything with baking powder or baking soda would count in this category. We need leavening, and things to bake in or on.
Join our Online Community
Ready to ditch recipes and learn more about baking with fresh milled flour using methods and your imagination? Join my Fresh milled Flour Methods group. You can ask questions, share your wins, and more with an expectation of honesty and friendly interaction. I hear it’s the best place to be on Facebook.