Meet Goldie: a Warm, Safe Home for Your Sourdough Starter (2024)

FAQs

What is a goldie for sourdough? ›

It's designed to hold your starter in the “Goldilocks zone”—the range between the mid-70s and mid-80s Fahrenheit—that's warmer than room temperature but “not too hot” and “not too cold.” The Goldie is a circular heater with a pretty glass cloche on top that is large enough to enclose a quart-sized jar of starter.

For the healthiest sourdough starter, you want to keep it in an ambient temperature between 24C and 28C or 75F to 82F.

All you need to do is pop your starter jar inside Goldie and flip the auto-warming switch on when you want your starter to be most active. You can always turn the auto-warming switch off when you want your starter at room temperature.

If you can find or create a warm place to let your starter sit, like on top of the fridge or near the oven (not ON the oven), or in the oven with only the light on, you will see results much faster. If you don't have a decent warm spot, use warmer water, 80f to 90f when you feed your starter.

For most sourdough bakers, the Goldilocks Zone of 75-82ºF is just right. The sourdough yeasts and bacteria (we call them "the beasties") that live in sourdough starter are very sensitive to temperature. Temperature affects the rate at which they feed, reproduce and create the acid which gives sourdough it's tang.

My Sourdough home takes starter variability out of the equation and lets me bake great bread whenever I want. Also, I don't have to worry about mold or contamination because my starter has a dedicated living space. I love it so much I have a back up unit!

The temperature of the water will affect the activity of a sourdough starter. The ideal temperature for a sourdough starter is between 24 - 28C (75 - 82F). Particularly if you are working in a cold climate, feeding your sourdough starter with warm water will help to boost the activity of the bacteria and yeast.

The Sourdough Home allows you to keep your starter at a constant temperature year-round, regardless of season or ambient temperature. In addition to keeping it at one specific temperature, with the Sourdough Home, you can keep your starter at different temperatures to adjust your feeding schedule.

A warm spot in your kitchen is the best place for bread dough to rise. Try to find a place that's between 75°F and 78°F (24°C and 25°C) to encourage strong sourdough fermentation.

Keep feeding your starter, and you'll see normal activity (bubbles) return in a few days. If your starter has a bit of dark liquid on top, it's not dead! It simply means it's hungry and that it's time to feed it. Unless your starter has a pink or orange hue or is beginning to mold, you probably haven't killed it yet.

Should I keep my sourdough starter in the fridge or outside? ›

Long term storage on the counter is totally possible if you bake everyday. However if you have a life outside of sourdough and only bake one a week or twice a month, you may need to store your starter in the fridge.

What Does Bad Sourdough Starter Look Like? It's usually pretty obvious when your starter has gone bad. You will either see mold or discoloration (generally pink or orange). If you see either of these things, you will need to toss your starter.

Typical feeding ratios are 1:2:2 or 1:3:3 (old sourdough: fresh flour: water). However, even extreme ratios like 1:50:50 would still work. In that case, the freshly fed sourdough would just require more or much more time to grow and reach its peak, as judged by the maximum volume increase in the jar (at least doubled).

There is no single best ratio, but I've found a ratio of 1:5:5 fed twice daily at 12-hour intervals to produce a sourdough starter that's strong and healthy. This ratio corresponds to 20% ripe starter carryover, 100% water, and 100% flour (a mix of whole grain rye and white flour) at each feeding.

Sourdough relies on a mix of wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria, rather than baker's yeast, to leaven the dough. It's richer in nutrients, less likely to spike your blood sugar, contains lower amounts of gluten, and is generally easier to digest than bread made with baker's yeast.