Hi! I'm Erik from Sourhouse
Hi bakers,
My name is Erik. I am a sourdough homebaker, a stay-at-home dad, and one of the co-founders of Sourhouse.
I used the Fresh Loaf lessons to make my first loaf of bread years ago (it was a frisbee) so I though I should jump back in now as I am again at the beginner phase of making my first product for sourdough bakers.
For the last 2 years, we have been working on an idea to help sourdough bakers keep their starters warm and active.
We call what we made Goldie by Sourhouse.
We finally announced it a couple weeks ago are in a state of nervous excitement.
I was on the Sourdough Mama's Podcast recently to talk about the project. I wonder if you can here the excitement and fear in my voice.
If you would like to get notified when we launch and learn more, you can sign up at: https://sourhouse.co/goldie
If any of you decide to try out a Goldie, I wanted to be around to get your feedback and hear about your experiences.
When I am not working on Sourhouse stuff, I usually have a tub of sourdough going. I like to make flatbreads, pan loaves whatever. I don't want to be a professional baker and have too many kids to be a perfectionist. So I am in search of the good enough loaf.
I am new here and only just beginning to learn modern approaches to baking bread.
What problem does Goldie solve? How do you expect buyers to use it in practice?
Do use it only for fermentation? Are you selling it as a "time saver" to reduce sourdough starter fermentation time? Is is some kind of "warm storage" for your sourdough starter that you leave out all the time? Something else?
Sorry, but your website does not say much, and I am not willing to sit through a 50 minute podcast to find out.
Goldie is a warm, safe home for your sourdough starter. It is designed to live on your counter and helps with starter management in several ways. Here are a few:
Goldie’s primary purpose in life is to keep your starter in the “Goldilocks Zone” (75-82ºF) when you want your starter active and happy. It also is designed to look nice, so you have a safe, attractive home for your starter on the counter.
Most people like to live in home that are about 68-70ºF which is cool for a starter. By warming it up to the Goldilocks Zone your starter will be ready to bake sooner and your will likely be baking with more active starter.
Having a consistent environment for your start makes your starter perform more consistently so you can also bake more consistent bread at a more consistent schedule.
Sourdough can feel complicated to some people so Goldie simplifies that starter maintenance stage so you can focus (or geek out) on shaping, scoring etc.
We will have more info to share once we launch formally.
Battery? Plug in? 220 or 110? If I break the glass, can I set a large peanut butter jar over the plate? How about my double glass insulating beer glass? It does look good, like the handle. Don't like the long interview. (Needs an editor.) Any temp controls or is it "one temp.fits all?"
Looks like a coffee warmer with a jar on top.
The main technical improvement is the way Goldie produces heat. When you use a hot pad or a mug warmer they are designed to warm up fast so they get very warm till it hits the target temp and the switches on and off.
Goldie always uses a more gentle heat appropriate for starter...so you never over heat it.
Some people say Goldie looks nicer too ;)
If you go to sourhouse.co/goldie you can see a pick and learn more.
It is auto-warming on/off. When it is on it warms your starter up to 75-82ºF.
You could replace the glass I suppose but you might see a bit of a different performance.
You can also see some short videos of it in action on our Instagram channel @lifeatsourhouse.
I tapped on the goldie link. All I get is a front page with no links other than to sign up. What kind of power is needed? My house is 220V.
It should work for you. It requires little power.
We are only releasing the info to the notification list right now. We will launch publicly shortly if you don't want to sign up.
I'll drop the link when we are live.
I think you are missing the point of the question. Electrical power outlets and the amount of power they provide can vary from country to country. Australia is different from parts of Europe which is different from the USA which is different from many Asian countries etc. The question isn't about the amount of power that your device draws but if it has the proper specifications to be plugged into different power sources (or if you plan to have different models / power supplies to accommodate different regions).
That said it looks like a neat little project. The design is pleasing to the eye. I personally don't have a use case for it, but for those that want something like this because they live in a cold climate, I can see the appeal.
You are right. Goldie uses a USB plug so it can work with the adapter appropriate to you location.
I have been doing some real world testing.
Goldie is drawing ~123volts at 60hz at my home at 68-75ºF room temp.
Oh and I got the operating voltage for you. 100~240V, 50~60Hz
:)
Mini, as an FYI you can get a variety of USB cup warmers for about CAD$10 that keep something around 40Celcius. For CAD$15-20 you can get versions with 3 different heat settings.
Some places to search for fun options: dhgate, aliexpress, amazon
:)
To follow up...we have launched Goldie. There is a ton more info available now. 48hr "Early Bird" pricing (36% of MSRP) runs until Friday, April 8th at 5:59am ET. https://sourhouse.co/goldie