Apron Maven Premium Sourdough Starter Culture - San Francisco Style Heirloom Dehydrated With Simple Activation Instructions for Homemade Artisan Bread Baking

I've used a few starters over the years, but this was the first time I ever bought a dried starter online, so I was curious and a bit anxious if it would work the same as others. It did take a week to rehydrate and revive it, but once it was ready to use, the bread I make with it is amazing! This starter is powerful, it works fast and makes the dough rise well. I'm very pleased with this purchase.

What I received appeared to be old, dried up crust or crusted dough.So, I followed the instructions to a "T". I mixed with the appropriate amount of warm, filtered water and flour. I put the mixture in a clean "Starter Jar" and marked the level, accordingly. The following day, I did not see much in the way of bubbling or a rise in the level. I smelled it, and it smelled a little off but, it had been a while, so I followed through with the instructions for days 2 & 3.By now, there was clearly no rising, and the dough had a rancid smell.I poured the mixture down the drain. I cleaned and rinsed the container, thoroughly, and started over.This time, I used; regular, off-the-shelf bread yeast that one can buy at any grocery store or market. Following the same instructions as on the "starter kit", I was impressed by the results. The mixture would easily double in size while "working", and reduce in volume (mostly) once the yeast had consumed most of the sugars. Each day, I added four and war, filtered water, as suggest (Same water, by the way) with outstanding results.It is day 6 now, and I will be baking with my absolutely wonderfully smelling sour dough, tomorrow. I will repeat the process through the next week. I think my goal is to have fresh bread and/or pizza dough every weekend! I can't wait!Why bother with the kits? Just get yourself some good yeast and get it going. No one will ever know the difference!!!

Worked very well and made excellent bread.

This review is for Apron Maven Dehydrated Sourdough Starter Culture - Heirloom Lively San Francisco Style Dry Sourdough Starter With Simple Activation Instruction. This product contains only one 10g packet of dry sourdough starter. You have to activate the starter by a typical involved process, using the enclosed instructions. After 7 days, the starter should be ready to use. It can be somewhat fussy to get to that point, and to maintain the sourdough starter. This product is expensive, and it may be more cost effective to just buy sourdough bread. It is good for use as a hobby and to have control over what ingredients go into the loaf of bread, including the ability to make custom whole grain blends in your sourdough bread. Best texture and crust results when using a Dutch oven baking method in the oven.

It is good!

Doesn’t seem to take off. I had better luck with another brand San Francisco style. This doesn’t seem to rise. I tried it on the warmer I bought and it would rise and fall but wouldn’t float. Didn’t smell very sourdough. This is the 2 nd package I have tried with this brand and I thought the first package may have been old but the new package I just bought does the same thing - nothing. Very disappointed. I won’t buy again. I’ll go back to the San Francisco sourdough.

MUST BUY STARTER!This is a great starter and would recommend it to anyone looking to start their sour dough journey. Not only do you get a starter to make bread with but you get access to the 5 star support chat.The seller provides excellent customer service. I was having some trouble in the beginning but she helped me work through the steps and ensured that I ended up with a healthy bubbly starter. Not only that but she goes above and beyond to ensure you are happy with the product.

I had never baked sourdough before. This starter comes with easy to follow instructions so even a beginner should be ready to bake delicious sourdough in about a week. I’m getting delicious flavors just like I would look for at a good bakery.I usually only bake at the weekend, so my starter lives in the fridge most of the time. It seems to handle that well. I take it out the fridge and warm it to room temperature before feeding a few hours before I start baking and then return to the fridge.