Dried Sourdough Starter

There are really only a few questions that need to be answered for this product: (1) is it easy to get going and maintain, (2) did it work, and (3) does it taste good. Overall, I am very pleased with this sourdough starter. Before I give a more detailed review, I will give a quick summary addressing the main points: (1) It was easy to activate and is easy to maintain (2) Works just fine, with the caveat that I'm still trying to get a good rise out of it. This is not a biggie because I am using flours and grains that normally result in a fairly dense bread. The starter can get quite active and bubbly, so I think I'll be able to do better. I will update this review if needed (I will be making some experiments with stone ground whole wheat soon). Edited 9/20/12: it really does seem to be me--I tried using regular bakers yeast as the leavening (using the starter just for savor) and actually lost ground. (3) It is yummy--I've gotten really good tastes from mixing oat bran and rye into the base barley feed I give it. Edited 9/17/12: I got this starter during a Summer warm spell--under those conditions, which seem to have favored the production of lactic acid, it had a very fruity smell and taste, now that things are cooling down, it's developed a more vinegary taste and aroma. I've also experimented with adding some chickpea flour (besan) into the feedings and that resulted in an interesting tang too. I have had a fair amount of experience with sourdough starters, including making them from scratch, but recently when I decided I wanted to do some baking with rye and barley, didn't have any on hand, and definitely didn't want to go the DIY route, so I was happy to see that it was so easy to find online sources--though it should be noted that this particular starter is not advertised to be suitable for grains other than wheat. Breadtopia sends a package that contains enough dried starter crumbs to make three attempts to get a starter going (or to keep around as a backup if you lose one through neglect or it goes bad). There are also instructions included--I was relieved to see that unlike some other starters I've used, this one did not have a complex activation process or feeding cycle. In this case, I chose to see if I could activate the starter using the same barley flour I was going to use for baking and it worked just fine, with a few deviations from the script Breadtopia provided-- I added at least twice the water, possibly this was necessary due to the fact I was using a different kind of flour and grain, but I think Breadtopia's bakers prefer a spongier texture for their starter, while I made adjustments to reflect my experience that starters do best with a slurrylike consistency. The main difference was that the timing was accelerated--in my kitchen and with the Sustagrain barley flour as a food, everything happened in about half the time stipulated in the instructions. This could well have been due to the fact that my kitchen was fairly warm, ranging from the low 70s to low 80s. You can tell that it's activated because it bubbles almost to the point of simmering, but it does take some time or a few more feeding cycles to get a good sour flavor. Also, regarding taste, I preferred the flavor when I added some rye or oat bran into the feed.

This is a great starter! For many reasons I have had to make a new Sourdough starter over the years. When this happens I have always turned to Breadtopia's sourdough dough starter. Not only does it arrive quickly, but it is packaged professionally and activates quickly and easily and has you baking bread in no time whether you're a beginner or an old pro. I have used both the dry and the live starter that they offer and they are both excellent. I have also gifted this starter to many friends and family looking to begin their sourdough journey. I highly recommend it. The photo shows three loafs I made using the Breadtopia starter...

Fantastic starter. I’ve previously used a starter from another seller and it was great but this starter revived much quicker. I made a perfect loaf three days after reviving. It does stay pretty hungry and Ive adjusted my ratios personally to make it not so wet. This great starter.

worked good.

It has been years since I had a starter on-hand in the refrigerator and this has been the most effortless experience of all. After five days this packet of dry sourdough starter has created a flavorful vigorous starter. Previously I made my own starter with pineapple juice which took forever and have used other brands of dry starter but this one is strong and unfussy. Patience is important so allow time to get the starter going in sufficient quantity before first use—approximately five or six days. Also, note there are no instructions printed on the packet but the website has a wealth of instructional information and videos on how to start and maintain the sourdough along with lots of recipes and to avoid issues it is well worth the time to watch them. The instructions and maintenance material may also be printed from the website, if desired. So far I’ve made two batches of waffles (King Arthur flour waffle/pancake recipe) over the weekend that were incredibly tasty. First remove a cup of the sourdough starter from its jar, add two cups of flour, two cups of buttermilk and two tablespoons sugar, stir well, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it out overnight. In the morning I added the remaining ingredients to create the waffle batter—two eggs, 3/4 teaspoon salt, one teaspoon baking soda and 1/4 cup oil and then cooked the waffles. I froze the extras for toaster waffles. . After I removed the cup of starter I replenished it by adding a cup of flour and 2/3 cup lukewarm filtered water, combined it well with a whisk, covered the jar and left it out overnight. Next day I stored it in the refrigerator for use next weekend. I look forward to making bread and doughnuts. Excellent starter.

Finally a starter brand that worked. I was originally debating getting this due to the price given that the last three I’ve tried (different brands) didn’t work and didn’t want to keep wasting money but convinced myself this was the last time. SO worth the $$$. This was my forth brand, to attempt to get a starter to grow and it WORKED. Packaging is small size of a sandwich bag was a fair amount inside it. The QR code once scanned brought me to the website where it had super EASY follow along step by step directions. Recipes I’ve made oatmeal cream pies, breads, crackers, baguettes, cinnamon rolls and so much more. Love how my house smells of fresh bread when I bake it off in the morning. Everything tasted DELICIOUS, I get that nice crisp texture outside and soft slightly dense inside , freshness of the bread keeps for few days if left out longer if kept in the fridge once baked. I’ve had it going for 3 months now, it’s still thriving. If trying to grow a sourdough starter get this one

Update - I gave the starter one more try before tossing it out. I fed it for about 4 days straight before using it, and it seems to have jumpstarted. I wound up with a very lively starter. This week when I pulled it out of the 'fridge and fed it, I got great fermentation and had some very good ciabatta and pizza dough. Since my pizza dough recipe made more dough than I needed, I improvised some bread out of the leftovers. That bread was also quite nice. This does seem to be a winner if you give it enough time to develop before using. I take back my first review. I've been making sourdough bread for years, the last batch of starter I had made gorgeous bread, and I kept it going for about two years. However, after neglecting it for awhile, I needed a fresh start. This starter seemed to get going easily enough, but it never developed much rise. I've wasted about 15 lbs of flour, and lots of time trying to make bread that I've made many times before. The result was flat, overly dense with virtually no rise. The only time it works is when the recipe calls for additional yeast. I'm assuming I get the sourdough flavor with no boost from the yeast.

This was gift to my daughter who uses all organic flours and such. Worked well first couple of days then grew mold! Not sure how to prevent this but due to price and the mold issue we will not recommend. Thank you. Update…..my daughter does not think it was bad starter but something else causing mold…. so updated rating.