King Arthur wants to automate your sourdough starter

Baking sourdough bread may seem pointedly old-fashioned, but that doesn’t mean it’s immune to the allure of a novelty gadget. That’s where the Sourdough Sidekick comes in: a new countertop appliance that automatically feeds your sourdough starter so it’s ready to bake the moment you need it.

The Sidekick is a joint project by FirstBuild — the GE Appliances “innovation hub” responsible for the viral Opal ice maker — and King Arthur Baking Company. Currently raising funds on Indiegogo, and well past its initial funding goal, the Sidekick is essentially an automated flour and water dispenser that can help keep your starter alive when you don’t have time, and take the guesswork out of the timing to feed it to make sure it’s active enough to bake with.

There’s a little more to it than that though. You can plug in the date and time of the next time you plan to bake — to the hour — and the Sidekick’s Auto mode will feed the starter appropriately to make sure it’s at a peak of activity right when you need it, even factoring in the temperature of your kitchen. It uses a microfeeding schedule which only generates discard once every seven days, so it should reduce waste too. If you’re a more advanced baker with your own specific feeding schedules and flour-to-water ratios, you can load those into the Custom mode. You’ve also always got the option to add extra flour and water on the fly.

The Sidekick is available to back on Indiegogo for $129, or as a pair for $249. For the moment it only ships to the US, but delivery isn’t estimated until January 2026 — it’s still in a prototype stage, with production models not yet finalized. If you want something a little simpler that’s available now, the $50 Breadwinner measures your starter’s volume so you know when it needs feeding and when it’s ready to bake.