My wife and I are leaveing the the flatlands of Kansas to visit my family in cold and snowy Massachusetts for my first Christmas in more than twenty years. I promised my parents that I'd do some breads for them while there and bragged a little that I'd even do some sourdough.

Now, my mother is a pretty good baker for deserts with scratch pies and cakes a large part of her repertoir. She even fed us whoopie pies from a Maine recipe and a still impressive Toll House cookie when I was growing up. She still has a lot of equipment around her kitchen. So I've got to figure out what to pack in the one check in bag that my wife and I are allowing ourselves.

Based on what I saw on DSnyders' posting, some dry starter and rye flour, a scale- Mom's the volume kind of baker, and my instant read thermometer come to mind first.

Does anything else need to be packed in for our journey to the land of King Arthur flour?