Drain Safe Sourdough Tool Cleaning
What do you do with all those sticky sourdough bowls, spoons, jars, and starter-covered tools after baking? And will sourdough starter clog your drain?
I’m going to share exactly how we clean up after a sourdough baking day without stressing about clogged pipes or wasting tons of paper towels. I’ll walk you through our simple cleanup routine, how I soak and strain everything, what to do with leftover starter or dough, and a few easy compost-friendly tips too. I’m also sharing our honest thoughts after trying a product called Dough Dissolve — an enzyme-rich soap designed to help break down sticky dough and sourdough residue. We tested it in a real sourdough kitchen cleanup to see how well it actually works and whether it’s worth adding to your baking routine. Here’s my full drain safe cleaning routine
Cleaning Your Sourdough Tools
Don’t worry! Washing your tools in the sink is okay. While you shouldn’t shove big globs of dough down your drain or pour starter down the sink, a few straggly pieces of dough can go down your drain just fine.
Here’s how I clean my tools with no stress:
Scrape leftover fed starter (discard or levain) back into your main starter jar.
Take the biggest container, ie. your big bowl you used to mix up the dough you used to make your bread and fill it with warm soapy water.
Fill the big bowl with all your jars and tools and let them soak for about 10 minutes.
Scrub down your tools inside this container, including the inside of the bowl with your soapy water. DON’T dump this water out yet! I use my hands to scrub so the dough doesn’t get stuck in a brush or sponge.
Grab a mesh strainer and strain the used water inside the bowl down the drain. This strainer catches any large bits of dough.
Knock out your doughy strainer into your trash or compost and give it a good rinse along with the rest of your bowls, jars and tools.
All clean!
Some bakers like to wipe their utensils and bowls out with paper towels before cleaning. I don’t do this because it costs extra time and paper towels. I like to let everything soak in that big bowl of soapy water before scrubbing, straining and rinsing.
Composting Your Sourdough
If your dough went moldy or your starter needs to be tossed, DON’T pour it down the sink! Your compost will love your dough, starter and even your stale bread! Your bread and starter contains tons of wild yeast which is like a super boost for your compost - the yeast and enzymes make your kitchen scraps break down into dirt faster!
Your compost isn’t the only thing that loves your bad bread, chickens will also gobble up your starter, dough and bread.
Dough Dissolve: Worth the Buy?
Dough Dissolve is an enzyme rich soap that dissolves all the leftover dough you can’t scrape off your baking tools - No scrubbing needed! It’s made with completely clean ingredients and septic safe.
I used Dough Dissolve on a couple tools to test it out - and it worked great! All you have to do is add in a 1:4 ratio of soap to warm water, agitate it a little and allow the water to soak in your bowl or on your tools. Then wash your elements again with regular soap and water and you’ll find they’re perfectly clean! I added some dirty spoons and spatulas to the bowl and there was barely any dough left on the elements. I still strained my doughy water down the drain, but there wasn’t much to shake out of the strainer.
The great thing about using Dough Dissolves is that when poured down the drain with your dirty water, the soap continues to eat away at anymore dough that could be hiding in your drain.
So, friend, don’t stress about your tool cleaning! Your drain will be okay.
Here’s to spending time in the kitchen and filling your home with good food and delicious fresh bread!
My Sourdough Tool and Tool Cleaning Essentials:
🙌 Dough Dissolve: https://doughdissolve.com/KELLYWELK
🛒 COOK WITH COLOR 18 Piece Mixing Bowls Set with Airtight Lids, Gold: https://amzn.to/43dAqOd
🛒 304 Stainless Steel Fine Mesh Strainers for Kitchen: https://amzn.to/43ecfiC
🛒 All of our Sourdough Essentials : https://amzn.to/4ly1ijI
If you love this tip you’ll love our Cookbook, Dinner Changes Everything. Full of delicious recipes and seasonal dishes, our cookbook gives you unique menus and easy step by step dinner schedules so you can host your own amazing meals and create memorable gatherings around your own dinner table!
🌿 Want some fun sourdough recipes or help with your bread? Check out our Getting Started with Sourdough Playlist on YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfPIhWGHaEXFm0Cq85LyppQWEfJr0o3_p
Our backyard table…
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