Like a lot of people, I jumped on the sourdough bandwagon a few years ago, but until recently my starter was languishing at the back of the fridge, with most of my lacklustre attempts to revive it resulting in dense, brick-like loaves.
With the rise of supermarket ‘sourfaux’ bread that’s claiming to be authentic sourdough, but actually has a load of extra ingredients in, I knew it was time to start baking again. So, when I heard the brand Sourhouse had a product that might be able to kick the life back into my starter, I knew I had to try it.
Meet Goldie: a gadget Sourhouse describes as a ‘a warm, safe home for your sourdough starter’. It’s essentially a glass dome, with a warming puck that gently brings your starter up to, and keeps it in, the ‘goldilocks zone’: a temperature range between 24-28°C, where your starter is the happiest and most active. It works by using a simple light system to let you know if your starter is too cold, too hot or just right. If it’s too chilly, simply flick the switch at the back and the Goldie will gently warm your starter up to the desired temperature, and if it starts to overheat, the cooling pucks (that you keep in the freezer) will quickly lower it back down. Priced at just under £130, the Goldie may seem a tad expensive, but once you add up all the money you’ll save on not buying £6 artisan loaves, it soon pays for itself.
So, is it worth it? Did it save my starter? In short, yes. And I was really impressed with the results.
I experimented by leaving half my starter in its original container, and decanted the other into one of Sourhouse’s starter jars. Most jars are compatible with the Goldie, but their starter jars are specially designed with a flat bottom, straight sides and a soft silicone lid for easy cleaning and mixing. Plus, they come with a handy band that wraps round the outside, so you can see how much your mixture has expanded.
Within three days, my starter was really active and ready to use, while the half I’d left in its original container barely had any bubbles at all. I didn’t have to leave the Goldie plugged in all the time either; two to three hours a day was enough to reawaken my sleeping beauty.
I can honestly say that this product is a game-changer if you’re a regular sourdough baker and something I’ll 100% continue to use.
Don’t get stung by supermarket ‘sourfaux’ – these are the loaves worth buying:
Alice Shields is Senior Cookery Writer for Good Housekeeping. A trained pastry chef, you’ll find her food styling on photo shoots, developing delicious recipes and writing about all things food. She loves to bake and her favourite pudding will always be a chocolate fondant. Originally hailing from Lancashire, she finally achieved her goal of getting a butter pie recipe into the magazine.
