Cultures For HealthSan Francisco Sourdough Style Starter Culture | Homemade Artisan Bread | Heirloom, non-GMO | Live Culture Bread Mix | Easy to Follow Recipe

i honestly have no words to how well this starter worked. i've tried to make starter from scratch (the usual flour & water in a jar) but all 3 times failed and i dumped them all out. had to admit defeat and order this dehydrated starter and it was SO worth it.i wanna clarify that i have absolutely NO bread-making or baking experience. but this starter was so easy and the instructions were so easy to understand for a dummy like me. if you're as inexperienced as i am, i most definitely suggest this product.not only was it easy, it only took 4 days for mine to become an active starter! the first picture is day 4 and the second picture is day 5 - you can see how much it rose both times based on the rubber band.i'm so impressed with this product! basically paid for itself.suggestions for new users:- follow the instructions!!!- make sure to use FILTERED or BOTTLED water. i used bottled water and its been great- i used a paper towel and rubber band to cover my starter, you dont want to use an airtight lid- a thicker consistency when feeding had worked really well for me! something like chunky peanut butterhappy baking!!!

Final update: Seller had actually sent a message saying “reply to this message with ‘full refund’ if you would like a full refund.” I replied as such. Seller asked for details about my sourdough process. After multiple back and forths and my prompting they said they actually were not issuing a refund because I’m still working on my starter… what? lol. Huge waste of time and personally I’m never ordering from them again.Update: Seller gave me a refund :,( I feel terrible but I did try my best with it. I’m going to buy it again so I can hopefully get it started and give this five stars.I’ve been really hesitant to write a review, because it could be something on my end. However, I feel I’ve tried EVERYTHING and haven’t gotten this starter to work. I followed the directions exactly and didn’t have a working starter after a week. At a certain point (after the week) I added less water so it could hold bubbles better and I could see if it was growing. I’ve since tried two different bottled waters, mainly spring, multiple flours, including whole wheat and multiple methods of warming the starter. Currently I’ve been using unbleached AP at a 1:1:1 ratio, with the proofing setting on my toaster at 85 degrees and feeding consistently at either the 12 hour mark or the 24 hour mark (trying to figure out when it would like to be fed). It bubbles a little bit and bubbles reach the surface eventually, say around the 12 hour mark and by that point it’s basically more liquid than solid, I can pour it like liquid into the trash when it’s time to discard (starts out like thick pancake batter). However, in that 12 hours it grows maybe a fifth (and that’s after like 6 hours and also where it stops). I’m now adding rye to see if that will get it going. Anyways, POINT IS: It’s been over a month now and even if it eventually starts growing properly (which I’m hoping it will) I can’t say the starter I originally purchased had anything to do with it. I’m pretty sure I just created my own starter for $13.One thing I will say is it never went through the early doubling phase that happens when starting your own starter and it never smelled bad. So maybe it was alive, I don’t know - but it didn’t work as advertised and I’m pretty annoyed at this point thinking I probably could’ve had more luck starting my own fresh starter three weeks ago… I don’t know.

TLDR - Take your time, follow the instructions. Give it 10 days. This will make an EXCELLENT sourdough.Details -Patience is key.I sincerely thought my starter was a dud. Unlike the starter I've made here using what we locals like to call Wild Chicago Yeast...Lake County...this starter had a much different smell. It's not quite rancid, but it's different than other yeasts.I made two loaves last night and they were flat. I left them out and went to bed. This morning, I threw them in the oven at 500 degrees, then immediately lowered the oven to 450. I let the loaves cook for 22 minutes.I pulled them out and shrugged figuring it was a waste of time. I was wrong. These two "dud" loaves were better than anything I've made with my own starter. It was fluffy on the inside with a wonderful, crispy crust and that fantastic San Francisco sourdough flavor.I'm continuing to feed my starter and I can see it's more lively. It just takes time.

Got this in on April 13th, I've got my first loaf on rise with PLENTY of starter to work with by the 20th (today.) Its doing over double rise in my starter jars and I made some pumpkin bread with some of the discard last night- so dang good that its gone now, the whole loaf. My kids inhaled it. So overall, very satisfied. The directions were easy to follow, clearly written in English and I'm happy.

Initially my starter did not ferment. I received excellent customer service and my issues have been resolved.

I tried many times to make my own starter with no success. but this product was amazing and I got my starter ready to go in a week. My bread is coming out perfectly. thank you