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As interest in health and wellness grows, more people are choosing natural sourdough bread over regular bread. Unlike commercially produced yeast-based bread made with factory-produced commercial yeast, natural sourdough contains naturally derived wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria generated during a long fermentation process. As a result, it causes a slower rise in blood sugar after meals and places less burden on the intestines, making it more advantageous from a digestive perspective.
However, the problem lies in the lengthy fermentation time, which can take up to two days. Additionally, maintaining humidity and temperature control for managing natural yeast in the form of 'Misaeng water' is essential. This is not an easy task for office workers navigating busy daily lives while trying to make bread at home.
A startup emerged to solve these everyday concerns with technology: Toss Turz, established in 2024.
Bae Ki-beom, CEO of Toss Turz, stated, "Toss Turz is a company that opens the door for those who find fermentation difficult," and explained, "Our goal is to help people make healthy and delicious bread at home according to their office workers' lifestyles and rhythms."
Interest in natural sourdough sparked by mother's battle with cancer
The reason Bae (CEO) became interested in natural sourdough was the news of her mother's cancer diagnosis. At the time, the doctor advised against consuming regular bread during chemotherapy treatment. For a mother who enjoyed eating bread regularly, this was like a bolt from the blue.
At that time, Bae (CEO) wondered, "Are Westerners whose staple food is bread unable to eat it when they fall ill or develop cancer?" While researching related materials, she learned that natural sourdough could be relatively consumed even during chemotherapy treatment.
Bae (CEO) said, "I learned that while regular bread can quickly raise blood sugar and burden digestion, natural sourdough has relatively less of such impact," adding, "I decided to make it myself for my mother and joined a sourdough community on Facebook in the U.S. to study recipes and search for various materials."
However, making natural sourdough was never easy for Bae (CEO), who was working at a company. The long fermentation process taking about 35 hours and demanding conditions such as humidity and temperature control presented significant hurdles.
Bae (CEO) recalled, "Natural fermentation basically takes about two days. As an office worker at the time, managing factors like temperature changes and monitoring the state was difficult, so I could only bake on weekends. Even on weekends, if there were appointments, I had to give up." She added, "The sense of loss when failing after investing nearly two days was indescribable."
These difficulties were not unique to Korea but were also common problems among home bakers in the U.S. Observing that her own frustrations were shared in the American sourdough community, Bae (CEO) noted that such concerns exist globally as well.
Coming from a background as an app planner, he decided to solve this by combining AI (artificial intelligence) and hardware with technology.
Bae (CEO) explained, "I previously participated in developing technology at my former company where smartphone mounts automatically move based on user movement using AI. Through that process, my understanding and interest in hardware grew, and I wanted to solve the complex fermentation process by combining software and hardware."
Fermentation 'done' in a flash at your desired time even amidst busy lives
Toss Turz's flagship product is the IoT (Internet of Things)-based small smart fermenter, 'Sour Friend.' AI precisely controls temperature and time according to home humidity, managing the fermentation process for home bakers. It also features a Feeding timing notification function that alerts users when to add fresh flour and water at regular intervals to the culturing starter. Additionally, Sour Friends connects with an app, allowing real-time monitoring even from outside the home.
Most importantly, the biggest advantage is that fermentation completes exactly when the user desires. Previously, if fermentation took six hours and baking was scheduled for 9 a.m., one would have to wake up at 3 a.m. However, using Toss Turz's products can eliminate this inconvenience.
Bae (CEO) explained, "When users input their desired time, AI calculates the required fermentation time backward, automatically adjusting temperature and feeding so that fermentation completes at that specific time," adding, "Users only need to focus on baking."
Another product from the company, 'Sour Pot,' is larger than Sour Friends and is specialized for commercial production of natural sourdough bread, similar to general bakeries. Regular bakeries make natural sourdough as part of menu diversification to add healthy food groups.
Bae (CEO) stated, "Commercial fermenters like 'Dough Conditioner' lack control functions tailored to time, are large in size, and cost around 7 million to 8 million won per unit, creating a significant price burden. In contrast, our company's product priced around 600,000 won addresses these limitations while offering an attractive alternative for small business owners in terms of price competitiveness."
The company has secured pre-orders through crowdfunding platforms such as Wadiz in Korea and Kickstarter in the U.S. It plans to begin shipments to the U.S. and Korea starting in May. Bae (CEO) aims to make this year the inaugural year for mass production, with long-term plans to expand business scope beyond natural sourdough starters to include desserts like yogurt and traditional alcoholic beverages such as makgeolli.
Bae (CEO) stated, "Moving forward, based on the vision of 'Fermentation into Life,' I want our company to grow by naturally integrating into people's daily lives and providing health and joy."
[MoneyToday startup media platform Unicorn Factory]
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