Customer Reviews

Sourdough Starter - Live

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The wet dough sourdough product is excellent. Upon feeding and expanding it woke up very quickly and leavened loafs extremely well. Lots of classic sourdough taste and lots of gas production. But as a university microbiologist, I can't just try out a sourdough starter. I had to take it to the lab and find out what's in it. I am happy to report that the starter contains precisely what it should: one species of yeast and one species of lactic acid bacteria. It is a complex task to definitively identify them as the authentic Saccharomyces exiguus and Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis, but everything is consistent so far with them being derived from authentic San Francisco sourdough. In particular, as one subcultures them repeatedly, the levels of each stay pretty consistent. This is a hallmark of an authentic sourdough starter pair of microbes. I highly recommend this product.

This product delivers. Literally. The San Francisco Sourdough Yeast arrived quickly; the starter is of excellent quality, and the rapid customer service (Rosalyn answered my online questions on a Sunday!) was about the best I have ever experienced. Good things do come in small packages and this sourdough starter is no exception.

As I write this my dough is proofing and that singular San Francisco aroma tells me this is the real thing. M-m-m. I close my eyes and remember that delicious, yeasty sourdough from Fisherman's Wharf.

The only caveat comes with following the directions. After the first feeding of the yeast with bread flour and water, the directions state to discard all but ¼ cup, which can be used to make pancakes or biscuits. (The pancakes were delicious.) The second and third feedings each require adding ½ cup water and slightly less than 1 cup (I used 7/8 cup) bread flour.

The Sourdough Bread recipe calls for 2 1/3 cups of starter. Take my advice. Keep your discarded excess starter (remember, you keep only ¼ cup of it each of the three times) in the refrigerator. You may use it to create additional starters in order to have enough (2 1/3 cups) to begin making your dough. Alternatively, take your final (third) proofing, using ¼ cup of it to have enough multiples to make 2 1/3 cups of starter for your dough.

The best place for the yeast to activate was in the oven, with the oven light remaining on. It gives off sufficient heat for a perfect environment and was free from drafts.

My dough (2 lbs.,14.5 oz.) is ready to be punched down and I see that I'll be able to get two large or three medium loaves.

One final word: This does not perform like bread using rapid rise yeast. Give yourself a week to proof your sourdough yeast, make your dough and allow it rise two times (each rise can be from 12-24 hours). Good things come to those who wait...

This starter is an amazing and well-balanced culture. You can smell the potential in it when it first arrives. It's supposed to revive by the second day of feeding it, but I found that it almost immediately picked up with bubble action after the initial feeding. I am going to give this creature a name and invite it into the family. I'm going to walk it everyday and groom its shiny coat. I love it! I'm moderately experienced with sourdough starters and the only starter I've ever used that rivals this starter is one that I was given as part of a baking class years ago from a baker in Boulder, CO -- and that starter had a San Francisco lineage. Comes with clear instructions. I would recommend finding the perfect jar for this baby the way you would buy the perfect pet bed for your prize-winning Shi-Tzu.

Arrived squashed flat but you could see pockets of yeast breath air.Added the small amount of dechlorinated water into the pouch it comes in(easier to get out).mixed the flour and starter/water in an opaque crock. the next morning it was bubbling away with a sharp sourness that was missing from my homemade starter(RIP).I made two separate starters right off the bat, in case one of them gets dropped or gets swine flu.I haven't got to make bread yet but everything looks good... can't wait to share it.

We have had active starters in the house for most of the last 30 years in all climates and altitudes. Most were started from scratch and a few used starter "kits". After my mother-in-law A)asked me to make some sourdough bread for an upcoming family get together, and B) proudly stated that she had "tossed out that stinky, sticky stuff in the jar" we decided to give this starter a try. Turns out this has the best flavor without a doubt of any of my starters over the years.

Our experience is that all starters seem to have "personality" and not just the flavor. This one is easy to care for, smells and tastes great and activates really quickly. I can't recall a starter producing this many of the bubbles and holes that help make sourdough distinctive.

The seller's videos, recipes and advice are straight forward and practical.

In summary, can't say enough good things about this cost effective way to get a starter.

Great sourdough starter. Produces a wonderfully fragrant mix and great bread. Also has a great website for support.

I ordered both the dry and wet starter because I wasnt sure it would still be alive when received. Following the directions, in 2 days I had a thriving starter. I made sourdough according to the "123" method I found on youtube. It is SO EASY and fun, and the bread is excellent. The starter keeps going too; I take out 1 cup at a time and replace with 1 cup of water and 7/8 cup of flour. In a couple hours it is bubbling away and ready to back to the fridge. I still have the dry starter, haven't needed it yet.

I'm lovin' my sourdough starter! It worked great and after babying the starter for a few weeks, I made my first loaf of bread and it came out wonderful! We make waffles and sourdough banana bread and everything has been a hit! I had so much fun making sourdough bread, I included a little story for beginners on my blog:
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Blessings!

I have had this starter in use for seven loaves of bread now. I keep it in the refrigerator between uses and bring it out the day before I intend to bake, feed and divide it. I decided a long time ago to treat a starter with respect but to not coddle it and this starter is right there with me each time unlike several other brands I have used in the past. This is the best starter I have ever used, I am glad my old one was lost. I live north of San Francisco and was dubious about a starter from the midwest, however I feel my sourdough bread rivals San Francisco's best in taste and texture with this one from Breadtopia!

Two days after the envelope arrived, I have a quart ball jar about to overflow with active starter, and I'm ready to bake.

When you place your order, buy some spring water and have a quart ball jar ready. When the starter comes in the mail, measure a couple of TB of spring water directly into the zip lock bag, and massage the very stiff mixture over several minutes into a loose batter. Squeeze the contents into your ball jar, stir in a couple of TB of flour, and set to rest with the lid loose enough to let expanding air out. Twice a day, double the weight of the jar contents, half and half flour and spring water by weight. Leave plenty of room for expansion; start tossing out half to make room once you've scaled up to your jar size. The provided instructions are simpler, and probably also work just fine.

It is worth reading multiple sources (e.g. every book covering sourdough at a bookstore) for perspective. There's a school of thought that this sourdough starter is a visiting tribe of friendlies, to protect the wild yeast on your flour from unfriendlies as your own wild yeast (and its entourage; sourdough is complex) gets established. A month from now, there will only be your yeast. Know another source that dates to the Oregon Trail? Yeah, right. Just like trying to track down Mohito mint; mint is indeterminate, and all you can actually grow is YOUR mint. Mint adapts. Yeast adapts.

Thus, any reliable starter is as good as any other, to bootstrap getting your own wild yeast going. This source is the real deal, as good as any, and a convenient Amazon one-click. No need to hesitate.

This same school of thought holds that the source doesn't affect your sourdough flavor, once it is replaced by your local friendlies. Rather, the proportion (by weight) between flour and water, and the flours used, affect the response to proofing temperature and the flavor. It is important to train your starter with the same flours you'll be using to bake, perhaps along with some rye no matter what. I'm using freshly ground red wheat and rye, and 1:1 water to flour by weight.

There are those who prefer spring water to distilled, as the minerals create a nice environment. Once a starter gets going, plenty of people just use tap water. In any case, the chlorine leaves standing water pretty quickly; one can simply plan ahead and set aside tap water, e.g. in a Brita.