I tested this super-niche kitchen gadget and didn’t have high expectations but it’s literally changed my life

The Sourhouse DoughBed is a very straightforward product. It’s literally just a glass bowl that maintains a temperature of 75-82°F for as long as you want it to. And it’s changed my life.

Previously, I’d had varying success with my weekly sourdough baking. Most of the time, I massively underproofed my dough because of my draughty old apartment in the U.K. (so not exactly a warm location). However, since getting the DoughBed, every loaf has been a success.

I can’t imagine making sourdough without my DoughBed now. It’s definitely earned its place in my kitchen gadget rotation. The only con? It’s quite pricey for a nonessential (but crazily useful) product. If you’re serious about sourdough, though, it’s a no-brainer. The Sourhouse DoughBed is a must-have.

Sourhouse DoughBed review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A proofing dish and warming mat
• Who is it for? Bakers of sourdough and regular bread
• What does it cost? A pretty steep $279 / £212
• What do we like? It’s changed my life: it makes my sourdough routine super consistent and my bread is now always proofed just right
• What don’t we like? For what it is, it’s quite expensive

Sourhouse DoughBed review: Specs

Sourhouse DoughBed review: Price & availability

There’s no way around it: for what it is, the Sourhouse DoughBed is pretty expensive. You could quite easily make your own version of it. All you’d need is a wide glass bowl and a heating mat.

However, the DoughBed is so straightforward that I think it’s worth it. No fiddling with cables or trying to balance non-matching bowls and heating mats on one another. No taking the temperature of the dough to make sure it’s not overheating.

Right now, the DoughBed has an MSRP of $279 on Sourhouse’s website, and a U.K. price of £212 on Sourhouse’s website. In the U.K. it’s also available for £210 via DeliverDeli. Yes, this is steep for a glass bowl and an electric heating mat. However, I think it’s an acceptable price to pay for such a useful product.

No, it’s not an essential purchase for casual sourdough bakers. However, if, like me, your apartment has sub-optimal bakery conditions (cold, humid, etc), then your bread will be ten times better with the DoughBed than without.

In terms of competition, well, there’s relatively little. Sure, there are budget friendly options on Amazon like this $39 ‘sourdough set’, which comes with a heated bowl and a range of other sourdough accessories. However, the bowl is really small and narrow, which won’t heat it evenly.

You can also get things like the Brod & Taylor Folding Proofer ($219), which is a folding basket with a precise temperature control. This can also make yogurt and slow-cook meals, which means it’s more versatile —but also less specific. In a similar vein, this $329 electric proofing oven is more of an industrial proofer. It has a 40L capacity, so isn’t ideal for small kitchens like mine.

The DoughBed is perfect for me personally — small kitchen, makes one loaf of sourdough at a time — so I’d be happy to spend $279 on it.

Sourhouse DoughBed review: Design

The most unique and impressive aspect of the DoughBed is its design. This isn’t just a proofer, it’s also an oven-safe baking dish and a mixing bowl. You only need one product to make a whole loaf of sourdough in theory. You can mix the dough in the DoughBed, undertake bulk fermentation in the DoughBed, and then even bake the dough in the DoughBed.

One of my favorite things about the bowl itself is that it’s weighty, so when I was doing my stretch and folds and coil folds, the bowl didn’t move at all. This is a major pro in comparison to other proofing baskets, which can’t double up as mixing bowls.

Seeing as the glass bowl is oven safe up to 550°F, it could be used for cooking meals in a pinch. Imagine on Christmas or Thanksgiving when you’ve run out of casserole dishes — the DoughBed has your back.

It’s not just the glass bowl that impressed me. The warming mat is made of cork and silicone, so it’s plastic-free. There’s a USB-A electric cable that you can plug into an adapter for your country, so you can use the DoughBed worldwide. I do wish this were a USB-C cable, but it’s not the end of the world. The cable slots perfectly underneath the ma,t so it’s not uneven on your kitchen countertop.

While the lid isn’t plastic-free, no plastic actually touches the dough while it’s proofing. This makes it an ideal proofing basket for people who are trying to stay away from plastic. Most other proofing products I found on Amazon are made of plastic or aren’t oven-safe, so the DoughBed wins in those regards.

Sourhouse DoughBed review: Performance

Now onto the important stuff: performance. You’ll be pleased to know that the DoughBed performs its one job incredibly well.

As the DoughBed is a sourdough accessory first and foremost, I tested it out with my weekly sourdough bakes for over a month. From the first use, I was hooked, and I knew I could never go back to my old ways.

The DoughBed holds up to 1.5kg of flour, which is the equivalent of three loaves for me. My recipe is a 75% hydration dough with 500g flour, and I found the DoughBed plenty big enough for mixing and bulk fermentation.

As I mentioned in the ‘Design’ section, the DoughBed is also great for stretch & folds and coil folds. As the glass bowl is heavy, it stays put on the counter while I’m stretching the dough. When I used to bulk ferment in my plastic mixing bowl, I found coil folds impossible as I needed one hand to hold down the bowl. This is a thing of the past with the DoughBed.

The glass bowl is also great because it has a wide, long base, rather than a small circular base you’ll find on standard bowls. This means it proofs evenly, as the dough is warm across its largest surface area.

Also, you can watch the internal bubbles thanks to the glass dish. I found myself mesmerized by watching the bubbles form inside the dough during proofing.

Last, but certainly not least, Sourhouse provides you with a sticker (officially called a ‘tattoo’) you can stick on the outside of the glass dish. This sticker has lines so you can track when the dough has doubled in size. However, these stickers aren’t oven-proof or dishwasher safe, so if you’re planning on using the glass dish in the oven or washing it in the dishwasher, I wouldn’t recommend this.

Sourhouse DoughBed review: Storage & maintenance

Seeing as the glass bowl is about 17 inches long, you’ll need a decent-sized place to store it. I keep it on top of my kitchen cupboards in between uses, as it doesn’t fit inside the cupboard.

Cleaning is relatively easy: the glass bowl is dishwasher safe, and the lid and warming mat just need a gentle wipe with a damp cloth after each use.

Sourhouse offers a ‘glass protection plan’ for an extra $24. This ‘plan’ lasts for 2 years and it’s basically a replacement insurance for broken glass. If you break the glass bowl, Sourhouse will replace it free of charge. This is a really nice extra to have, especially considering how expensive the DoughBed is in the first place.

The DoughBed also has a 1-year warranty as standard, though, so I don’t think this extra is massively necessary unless you’re particularly clumsy.

Sourhouse DoughBed review: Verdict

The Sourhouse DoughBed is a fantastically versatile product that is also really very good at its primary purpose. I can’t imagine making sourdough in fall or winter (... or spring) without it now. Yes, it’s expensive, and I wouldn’t be able to treat myself to it on a whim.

However, if you find yourself turning up your heating in the winter to proof your sourdough, then it’s a worthwhile purchase that’ll probably pay for itself in a year or two. I love that it’s mostly plastic free and can also double up as a spare baking dish in a pinch.

Is it an essential purpose? No, not at all. But if you’re a semi-serious baker, then the DoughBed will be the product you never knew you needed until now. And then you won’t be able to make bread without it.