A "smart" sourdough culture device

[Bill/SFNM]

File this under "solution in search of a problem". Can't imagine any scenario where I could possibly use this. I've been constantly maintaining multiple cultures since the mid-1990s. I've lost cultures twice. One was tossed by a cleaning lady who thought it was something going bad.  The other just stopped thriving even though it was well-cared for. Every once in a while, Firstbuild comes up with a good idea. Most of the time they don't.

 

[sk]

I don't think so!  LoL!!

[Pizza_Not_War]

I'd buy it as a gift 🎁.

[02ebz06]

I found an article from a guy (Justin Lam) that built his own.

This was his conclusion:

So after all this, the takeaway might actually be that timing the starter isn’t all that important, since it stays active at its peak for at least a few hours. And if you maintain a somewhat regular feeding schedule and have a relatively stable environment, then you can probably get a good feel for how long it takes your starter to grow (or you can set up a timelapse with your smartphone camera to see how it’s doing).

This was still a fun way to nerd out with baking, since engineers like metrics, and there’s a lot to measure with sourdough bread. Although this gadget might seem superfluous to some, I enjoyed the precision and confidence it gave me in taking out the guesswork of how my starter is doing. There’s two types of bakers in the world: those who go by feel, and those have a 0.01 g resolution kitchen scale. Guess which one I am 😏

[Bill/SFNM]

found an article from a guy (Justin Lam) that built his own.

This was his conclusion:

There’s two types of bakers in the world: those who go by feel, and those have a 0.01 g resolution kitchen scale. Guess which one I am 😏[/i]

I would express this differently as someone with a .01g resolution scale and bakes mostly by feel: precision is good to learn the basics and understand your ingredients, equipment, and objectives. As these things become second nature by dint of practice, you can increasingly improvise as desired.

[Heikjo]

The great thing about sourdough is that it shows very clearly when it is ready for a feeding, and the feeding window is large. I might put a rubber band on as reference. And once you’ve had a starter for a while, you learn when it needs a feeding and can create an alarm on your phone if you are forgetful.

I also don’t like the jar they designed. The narrowing in at the top is perfect for making it difficult to work with. I prefer my Weck jars that are cone shaped with straight sides. In glass so I can wash it however I want and not have to worry about the dishwasher making them pink.

Pass.