February 23, 2023 - 3:25pm
Looking for feedback from home bakers
I'm hoping some of you may provide some feedback before I sink my life savings into a venture I'm undertaking.
I find it difficult in the winter to get my starter feeding and active even with the hacks used by most of us. (top of the fridge...in the oven with the light on, etc). So I'm having a warming sleeve prototyped now that would wrap around a jar that would create an ideal temperature for growth. I'm thinking of one setting at 80 degrees F with a vertical clear window for viewing growth.
My question is: would you find this kind of product useful and what other suggestions might you have to make this most useful? Any input would be helpful. Thanks in advance.
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There are several mats on the market that would be your major competition. Then again, a quart jar of water microwaved for a minute or so is a pretty great heat source. I use a plant mat I bought from less than $10 on Amazon in a cheap plastic cooler because I'm a geek but if I put my mind to it, I bet I could use only a jar of water in my cooler for comparable results.
Hi Gary...when I was looking for something to use I saw the mats but what I ddn't like is that the heat only comes from the bottom so I was concerned about the inconsistency of the temp throughout the starter. I think its a good hack especially if you can wrap it around the jar and rubber band it closed. Glad its working for you.
I agree. I have made measurements on containers sitting on mats and the variation in temperature from bottom to top is large. You can easily see that the fermentation is proceeding faster at the bottom than at the top. I suspect the Goldie has the same issue.
I have my mat against the inside of the cooler along with a quart jar of water. I warm the water in the microwave for 90 seconds to provide a jump start and some thermal mass to stabilize the internal temperature. I have the 7 watt mat plugged into a controller. I easily maintain 30C even overnight when the house drops to 17C.
That's some contraption ya got there. But...why not just wrap the mat around the jar? Is it too hot? Is there too much fluctuation in temp from the mat itself? Right now I'm using something meant for Kombucha and its a little too big but it maintains a temperature that my starter seems to like.
e.
I didn't try that. This cheapo mat perfectly fit my cheapo cooler. I started with a Mr. Coffee mug warmer as the heating element because I had it.
I guess the temperature sensor in the mat is embedded? I don't understand how it properly senses the temperature of the jar contents without a separate probe. I guess it averages out...
With my setup I can get any temperature I want by adjusting the controller. When I was fooling with FLAS I used a small crockpot with the probe immersed in water surrounding the container. It worked great for 40C.
Being able to see the contents would be a significant plus. Maybe a viewing slot in your sleeve?
I thought too of sewing up something with insulating fabric/material from a fabric store for the purpose you mentioned. Sometimes I have a starter in a thermos but there will be a 4 degree drop over 24-48 hr. The temp has to stay at 40C (some higher).
I hope that what you make can help to slow heat loss.
At first, I thought I'd get one of those thermal socks people use in the winter and just place it over my jar. But those were kind of pricey. When I spoke to the engineer making my prototype they said that utilizing fabric was very expensive compared to the wrap used for fermenting kombucha. If you end up making something out of fabric I'd love to see your result.
Search for “Goldie” a thermoregulated housing for sourdough starters. It’s about $129.00. It features a plug-in puck with temperature regulation and an inverted jar that goes over your starter jar.
Good luck!
I thought it was pretty awesome; the price tag was a bit inhibitive to me though. I want to try to keep the price point under 25 bucks. Thanks for heads up though.
But selling anything for $25 and making any profit at all seems very hard unless the volumes are large.
if someone is making a profit off of a kombucha warming sleeve than a smaller version for sourdough should be ok. There's got to me more of us than them, right? I mean, how many people are making their own kombucha? lol. (No offense to any kombucha drinkers out there)
while looking around.
A bit past the $25 price point, but Brod and Taylor have two products. One is their proofer which I've had for years. I put my starter containers in it and then later my dough.
A new option is their Sourdough Home. (I hate the name since it is the same as my web site.) It is a smaller container with both heating and cooling functions intended to keep one or two jars of starter at optimum temperatures.
Good luck,
Mike