Breadwinner is kind of like a Tamagotchi, but for sourdough starter

polygon.com:

Raising a sourdough starter is the rare hobby in my life that doesn’t require technology, save for my digital scale. It’s a simple, no-shortcuts process from which I extract a lot of joy (and eventually, crispy, golden bread). However, I’m also a sucker for a good gadget pitch, and Breadwinner has one. It’s a sensor-packed, Wi-Fi-connected cap that sits on top of your jar of starter, tracking its most important vital signs — growth and temperature.

It’s kind of like a Tamagotchi-meets-Fitbit for your beloved sourdough starter. It tells you when it’s ready for a bake, so you don’t have to watch after it. For that convenience, Breadwinner costs $125, if you want to get in on its crowdfunding campaign. The product is expected to ship to backers in late May.

I’ve been testing out a preproduction unit, and so far, I’m willing to let Breadwinner ruin my tech-free hobby. That’s because it’s actually really useful, even in its early days. Each time I feed my starter, pressing down on the top of the lid tells it to register the feeding on my profile. I can enroll my phone number to get a handy text message when my starter has reached its peak ripeness, including how long it took to get there.

The experience can be as hands-off as that, or you can dive deeper. After personifying your starter with a name (mine is named Doug), and optionally, a profile photo, you can check out Breadwinner’s software component, which is a small, endearing, and in-browser social network. It’s filled with people who love their starter children and want to show off their accomplishments in bread form. (I’m a bit ashamed to say this, but Doug, your future isn’t as bright as the rest of them.)

You’ll inevitably build out your profile just by continuing