Rant: Bought a $90 'artisan' sourdough starter that was just flour and water

It came in a fancy jar with a wax seal, but after a week it was completely dead. Anyone know a legit place to get a real starter culture?

3 comments

3 Comments

paulhernandez2mo ago

Wait, they charged you ninety bucks for flour and water in a jar? That's actually insane. You can make that yourself for like fifty cents. Did they at least give you a backstory about it being from a 200 year old bakery or something? I'd be so mad.

abby_henderson2mo ago

Yeah the "200 year old bakery" part got me. I tried making my own starter after a pricey buy and it worked fine after a week.

amy_foster5620d ago

Defend the purchase a bit here. I paid nearly that much for a starter from a famous bakery in California and it took a month before it was really active, but it made the best bread I've ever baked at home. A week is not nearly long enough to judge a starter. You really need to keep feeding it regularly and give it time to adjust to your own kitchen's temperature and the natural yeasts in your house. Also, @abby_henderson is right that making your own works fine, but not everyone has the patience or wants to wait weeks for that first good rise. A professional starter can have a more complex flavor right from the start if you treat it right.