Fresh Machine Keeps Your Launcher Fresh and Alive
One of the products of the COVID-19 pandemic was the rise (no pun intended) of sourdough baking. Faster than you can say, “cabin fever,” a nation of would-be bakers are turning their homes into warm and crusty bakeries. Essential to this process is what is known as a sourdough starter, a mixture of flour and water fermented by natural yeast and lactic acid bacteria.
While nature is kind, beginners need a little TLC to do their thing right. Enter Sourhouse co-founders Erik Fabian and Jennifer Yoko Olson, two bakers who brought their skills as marketers and industrial design, respectively, to create the Goldie, an appliance designed to keep sourdough starters at the right temperature. The ideal temperature for a sourdough starter is between 75-85°F (24-30°C), and this range provides the warm environment necessary for the yeast and bacteria in the starter to thrive. Too hot and the starter can over-ferment, while too cold can slow or stop the fermentation process.
Fabian and Olson’s entry into the world of sourdough baking is called Goldie, as in Goldilocks of The Three Bears fame. The Goldie is designed to provide enough warmth to keep the sourdough starter always in the “Goldilocks Zone” (as in not too hot, not too cold).
In a recent interview with The Spoon, Fabian explained that Goldie’s idea predates the pandemic and was born out of his first problems with sourdough. “You know, in a New York apartment, it was going below 60, and it was too cold for my starter,” she said. “I didn’t really understand how temperature interacted with my starter at the time. So, I found a warm place, which became a DIY trick. As I continued to bake, I found that my starter was like looking for a warm place.”
When COVID arrived, with the help of Olson, an experienced product designer, discovery met opportunity. “We didn’t want to make something like smart technology. We wanted to be like a dumb marketing technology because there is enough difficulty in baking with sourdough, so we wanted to create something simple. My basic idea at the beginning was like a warming base with a transparent dome,” said Fabian.
The next step was Kickstarter, where Goldie was launched in April 2022. Ending in October, Sourhouse’s offering attracted 1,007 backers who pledged $103,948, nearly three times the initial $39,000. Along with Goldie’s accessories, the Kickstarter kit came with a cooling puck that the baker can keep in the fridge in case the starter overheats and needs to cool down quickly.
As things boil down to now, what are the thoughts on Goldie’s expansion? Would it work for other types of fermented foods? While Fabian wouldn’t elaborate on such next steps, it’s clear that he and Olson are on to something, given proper fermentation of everything from sauerkraut to kombucha works best at controlled temperatures.
“Our focus on bread is really because, from my point of view, it’s like I think it’s one of the most accessible places to go into fermentation,” Fabian notes, “maybe along with sauerkraut. And you know, I think it’s easier to introduce a brand and a business in terms of the type of concept that’s targeted.”
Spoken like a real marketer.
