I Never Thought Making Sourdough Could be So Simple (and Stress-Free!) Until I Found this Gorgeous Gadget

Raise your hand if you started making sourdough in the pandemic. Now, raise your other hand if you’re still busting out crusty, yeasty homemade loaves weekly (or at all). Yup, just as I expected: Most of you only have one hand up. How did I know? Well, because I’ve only got one hand up, too. The truth of the matter is, as totally game-changing as it may be to have freshly baked bread on a regular basis, the calculated work that goes into keeping a sourdough starter alive and well is not simple. And, as we’ve acclimated to the new normal and life picked back up again, many of us just don’t have the time to think about — much less tend to — our sad, forgotten starters, even if our cravings for the fresh-out-of-the-oven boules persist!

Luckily for us, there’s a totally brilliant device on the market that transforms the sourdough starter process. In fact, it makes maintaining your starter so easy, there’s really no excuse not to have warm, steamy, delicious homemade bread every day. I know, I know: It sounds too good to be true, but I’m not kidding people! Meet the Goldie, the first ever countertop sourdough starter warmer. Sleek, incredibly effective, and a total breeze to use, if you’ve been mourning the beautiful, pandemic-era boules of the past, this handy little device is non-negotiable — it’ll practically babysit your starter for you.

With years of professional culinary experience — a significant chunk of which was spent in a vegan lab fermenting and concocting dairy and protein alternatives — I can confidently say that the science-based design and chef-worthy functional elements that went into the crafting of Goldie are top-notch. The key to any successful culinary creation that relies on fermentation is temperature and moisture control. When I used to make aged vegan cheeses, this happened in a dehydrator. But, in my home kitchen, when working with sourdough starters or injera batter, there’s no designated spot, but rather a total guessing game of moving my bowls from the pantry to the oven to under the sink (sound familiar?). 

That’s what makes Goldie so brilliant: The little container maintains an internal temp of 75-82 degrees Fahrenheit (the sweet spot for a healthy, happy starter) and will fit any Mason jar (which is a great starter container). The truth is, most of our homes are either naturally cooler that this, or, in the winter, sometimes even warmer, making for an unstable and either under- or over-active environment for our delicate starters. The device constantly monitors its internal temp, alerting you (via different-colored lights) when it’s too cold, too warm, or just right.

I love that the smart device allows you to watch as the your starter grows in size in preparation for the bake. The fact that you can keep an eye on the bubbles as they form also helps to know exactly when it’s ready to be used. Fermentation is pure magic in my opinion, and I’m through with missing out on the process while my jar of starter is tucked away, out of sight in a warm cabinet — not to mention, I don’t have much room in my cabinets anyways. 

Bottom line, I can’t wait to start up my sourdough practice again with the help of this gorgeous tabletop gadget. It’s bound to become a talking point when guests come over and a fun daily monitoring project. Trust me, if you’ve been waiting for an excuse to get back in the bread-baking game, this is it. 

Buy: Goldie by Sourhouse + Cooling Puck, $129