Baking sourdough bread is inherently old-fashioned, relying on natural fermentation and wild yeast instead of the simple, predictable commercial stuff. So it might sound anathema to bring a gadget into the mix.
The Sourdough Sidekick automates the boring bit of baking
But I’d only recommend it if you bake at least a loaf a week, and ideally more.
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is a news editor with over a decade’s experience in journalism. He previously worked at Android Police and Tech Advisor.
The trick to the Sourdough Sidekick — backed and branded by King Arthur flour — is that it promises to automate the boring bit of sourdough baking: starter management. It feeds your starter flour and water on a set schedule, ready for exactly when you want to bake, leaving you to focus on kneading, shaping, and the actual baking.
Like any single-purpose kitchen gadget, you’ll have to be confident you’ll get enough use to justify both the cost and the counter space. That’s doubly true here thanks to a few design quirks that make the Sourdough Sidekick frustrating to use if you don’t bake multiple times a week.
$180
The Good
- Set it and forget it starter feeding
- Works with most flour types
- Flexible Custom mode
The Bad
- Works best if you bake twice a week
- Core parts aren’t dishwasher-safe
- Noisy
- Yet another single-purpose kitchen gadget
The Sourdough Sidekick is a joint project by FirstBuild — the GE Appliances “innovation hub” responsible for the viral Opal ice maker — and King Arthur Baking Company, which is why you’ll see the latter’s logo on the front. It launched with a crowdfunding campaign in March 2025, but it’s now available to buy directly from King Arthur for $179.99 — though it’s US-only.
The basic operation is pretty simple. You drop a small amount of existing starter into the crock — 15g, or a tablespoon’s worth — and fill the two dispensers with flour and water.
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