Introducing the biggest new thing in sourdough baking
The Sourdough Sidekick is here!
Date
June 23, 2026
I work from home, and I still find it challenging to feed my sourdough starter regularly.
Maybe that is a personal problem. I know it takes all of five minutes. But still: It’s a task I neglect all too often, relegating my starter to the back of the fridge, where it develops a layer of gray “hooch” on top. I feel guilty about it — not only can I not seem to stick to a consistent feeding schedule, but when I do want to bake bread, I’m now days away from getting my starter up and running, instead of mere hours.
Many people love feeding their starter. They consider it bonding time (cute!) and part of the tactical, hands-on process that makes sourdough baking so compelling. I salute those people — keep doing what you are doing! For the rest of us, there is now a new kitchen assistant: the Sourdough Sidekick.
“It feeds your starter, so you don’t have to.” That's the promise of this brand-new device, a statement so simple and so perfect that it seems almost too good to be true. And yet it’s not! This gadget, created in partnership between King Arthur and FirstBuild, is an automated sourdough starter feeding machine. It functions almost like a coffee maker: There is a tank of water in the back, a hopper of flour on top, and a glass crock at the bottom. To feed your starter, the machine releases controlled amounts of water and flour into the crock, then mixes it all together. You can set preferences for the ratio of flour and water you prefer for your feeds (such as 1:1:1, 1:2:2, or 1:4:4 — learn more about sourdough feeding ratios), as well as how often it should be fed.
This is obviously handy for regular starter maintenance, but that’s not all the Sidekick can do. Using Auto Mode, it can also prep the exact amount of ripe sourdough starter you need for a recipe, ready exactly when you want it. All you have to do is set the total amount and the time you want to use it, and the Sidekick will tailor feedings to deliver the quantity of ripe starter you need, when you need it. It will even adjust the timing of its last feeding to the ambient temperature of your kitchen so that your starter is at its peak and ready to use at the set time, regardless of how warm or cold it is. (Because the starter is a stiffer starter that is mixed regularly, it doesn’t necessarily look like a typical starter in the days leading up to baking — sometimes users worry there won't be enough starter ready for baking. But trust us, there will be! The process may just look a little different than you're used to because the machine bases its last feedings on the ambient temperature of the room.)
If you’ve cared for a sourdough starter before, I know what you’re probably thinking right now: What about discard? When building your starter to use in a recipe with Auto Mode, the Sidekick uses micro-feedings that eliminate the need for daily discard for up to a week. For regular maintenance feeds, it has handy alerts to let you know when it’s time to discard, based on the ratio amounts you’ve chosen to fit your baking schedule. As for what to do with your discard? We have some ideas.
The whole point of this machine is to make sourdough easier and more accessible for bakers. If you’re short on time, have an unpredictable schedule, or deal with physical limitations in the kitchen, it can be a true sidekick that helps you integrate sourdough baking into your life. It can also be an on-call assistant — maybe you’re going out of town for the week and want to keep your starter active while you’re gone. Or perhaps you’re spending a weekend away but want to make bread with ripe starter as soon as you get back, and don’t feel like packing your starter in your carry-on (though we’ve seen people do it!). That’s what the Sidekick is here for.
Whether you’re a beginner baker looking for assistance as you step into sourdough, or you’re an experienced bread maker with a hectic schedule, the Sourdough Sidekick is a low-lift way to bake without having to worry about your starter — which means you can spend more time focused on baking bread.
Cover photo by Patrick Marinello; food styling by Yekaterina Boytsova.
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