Living Dough - 233 Year Old San Francisco Sourdough Starter Culture - Active & Live Organic Sourdough Starter for Baking - For Artisan Bread, Pizza Dough, Waffles & More

Fast delivery, really great value and fantastic results. Within 3 days, the starter was exploding out of the jar and ready to be baked with and the quality of the SF starter is awesome. That delicious tang of sourdough is unbeatable and working with an established starter always takes the hassle out of getting going again. The included instructions are very easy to follow if you aren’t experienced with sourdough at all, very thorough. Overall very pleased with the experience, starter and resulting bread. Looking forward to many more loafs and looking at trying out one of the other starter varieties to experiment!

This was delivered to me on a Friday evening. I feed it thrice over Friday and Saturday. By Saturday night it was doubling within 4 hours. On Sunday I feed it in the morning and the evening. That night I started my levain (48 hours after the package arrived). I baked those loaves this morning (Tuesday) and they may have been the best I have ever had. Tangy and delicious. Toasted beautifully, crunchy crust. I started more this morning, this time with Cranberries and Walnuts. We'll see how that goes on Thursday or Friday. This starter is the real deal. Solid, healthy, and overall fantastic.

A relative recommended the Living Dough 233-Year-Old San Francisco Starter Culture, saying it was a strong and vigorous starter. My order was processed promptly, but it took the carrier 11 days to deliver the package; I knew the starter was recommended to be fed by eight days from shipping, so I was concerned that it would not be viable when it reached me. Needless worry — “she” was very hungry but “raring” to go to work and doubled in size from the first feeding on. Because she was an already established starter, after three days of doubling (or more!) after each feeding, she was ready for me to bake bread. I’ve had her for three months now, and she continues perform extremely well. As a newbie with sourdough, I strongly suggest other newbies to be ready for this energetic starter’s arrival and have proper equipment and supplies on hand, as she’ll need feeding right away. I needed at least one straight-sided glass container (4 is better, trust me — if you don’t have time to order from Amazon, go to Dollar Tree or other store that sells 4-cup/1 quart/1 liter mason jars with screw-on lids), a small spatula or spurtle (looks like a stick that’s been partially flattened) that will fit into the mason jar for stirring, a fresh bag of UNBLEACHED all purpose flour, and a bottle of drinking water (if your tap water is chlorinated etc. — if not, tap water is fine). I found that weighing my starter/flour/water in grams was the best way to measure feedings; I ordered Amazon Basics Digital Kitchen Scale, which is affordably priced and works fine (has various options for weight measurement plus the Tare function you’ll want). And if you can access YouTube, there are many good tutorials, but I found Kelly Welk’s channel in particular very helpful and easy to understand; she also has a list of tools she uses, with links to Amazon — it was helpful to see the tools in action. P.S. Don’t be afraid to discard excess starter after feedings (see tutorials) — there are plenty of Starter Discard recipes online, so little is wasted with good management. Welcome to the Sourdough Rabbit Hole and Happy Baking! (Wheeeee . . .)

Bought a dehydrated starter in powder form. This stuff was unbelievably difficult to work with. I eventually decided sourdough baking wasn’t for me and gave up. I had a good experience buying kefir grains from Amazon so as a last ditch effort I decided to buy this starter from Amazon. If it didn’t work I truly would have never attempted sourdough again. THIS STUFF IS AMAZING. It is SO FORGIVING, I have used it now for so many different recipes and all come out PERFECT. I am no longer exasperated by sourdough baking but excited and relaxed by it. This starter is strong, I baked my first loaf within 3 days. The rise is phenomenal. Even when it is hungry and needs to be fed I can still make an incredible springy loaf with it. Instructions are great. Thank you!!!!

As someone who appreciates things built to last, I was drawn to the history of this 233-year-old San Francisco culture. After testing it out for several weeks, it has become the reliable structural base for all my baking. Technical Observations: Vitality: The starter arrived active and "live". Within just a few feedings, the "structural integrity" of the bubbles was incredible. It doubles in size predictably, which is exactly what you want for a consistent rise. Flavor Profile: It delivers that classic, deep San Francisco tang. It’s not just a superficial flavor; it’s baked into the very "joists" of the bread. Versatility: I’ve used this for artisanal loaves, pizza dough, and even waffles. In every application, the fermentation was strong enough to support a heavy crumb. Pro-Tip for Home Bakers: Make sure your "environment" is right. Like pouring concrete, sourdough needs the right temperature to set properly. I found that keeping it in a slightly warmer spot during the first few days helped it establish a robust foundation. The Verdict: If you want to move away from store-bought yeast and build your baking skills on something with history and strength, this is it. It’s a small investment for a lifetime of better bread.

I recently started using this 233-year-old living sourdough starter, and it’s been such a different and interesting experience. Once I committed to feeding it daily with unbleached flour and spring water, it became active and puffy. It can feel a little intimidating at first—especially knowing its long history—but it’s also exciting and to work with something that’s been alive for generations, I suppose. I’m hopeful and nervous but also can’t wait to see how our first bake turns out. We’re planning to either grill or pan-fry the bread and will update with more details once we do!

This sourdough starter was easy to revive with the included instructions and became active after a couple of feedings. It produced flavorful bread with a crispy crust, soft chewy crumb, and the classic tangy sourdough taste. I love the history behind this starter, and it has been fun to bake with. Great for both beginners and experienced bakers.

I ordered the 233-year-old San Francisco sourdough starter, which arrived after a week in transportation and a few extra days being held up in the post office. Starter was refrigerated I was ready to feed it. When I got around to opening the starter, it had a strong acetone smell, but the color was normal and there were no molds or any other concerning signs. It was just really hungry! I finally got around to feeding the starter and it lost the acetone smell immediately. Not long after, the bubbles started and it was clear that was starter was alive and resilient. Since day 1, it has doubled in size (and sometimes risen beyond that) after feeding with 1:1:1 ratio and takes around 6-8 hours to peak. On days 4 and 5, I made my first ever sourdough loaf and it had a lovely crumb and structure! My technique wasn't perfect, but the starter was solid and it really helps to have a reliable starter when just starting out with sourdough. I'm so glad I decided to try this and that the starter surviving the shipping. As the weather warms and I experiment a little more with ratios, I'm sure Frodough will get even better!