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

When my 900-year-old sourdough starter arrived, it was very watery and clearly hungry from its long journey. With a little patience, care, and love, I fed it faithfully and watched it slowly come back to life. After three days, it fully activated—bubbly, strong, and full of character. The reward was incredible. I baked the most delicious and perfectly textured sourdough bread, with a beautiful rise, crisp crust, and rich, deep flavor that only a well-aged starter can give. It truly felt like baking with living history. An amazing experience for any sourdough lover who values tradition, patience, and exceptional results

I couldn't help but be curious about a long living starter! I decided to go with the oldest one. It shipped promptly, and arrived sooner than expected. It was well packaged. The seal on the jar was intact. When it hissed open I was met with a rich aroma. I got roughly 60 grams of starter and fed it at 1:1:1 with unbleached bread flour. Very quickly I was seeing activity and a healthy rise. There was lots of active bubbling to be seen! The first time around took about 6 hours to peak, give or take. Every 1:1:1 feeding after that had it doubling and then peaking in less than 4 in my warm kitchen. I fed it peak to peak 3 times before I baked with it. The first loaf turned out beautifully! The rise in the dough was quick and consistent. I did have medium rye for 1/6th of the flour and the rest bread flour, all King Arthur Organic Unbleached. The rye does get a faster rise, but this is my usual blend and this rose noticeably faster. The dough smelled heavenly. It did have its own distinct characteristics in smell. It was fascinating to see how this starter behaved in comparison to my previous starter. Even during the long cold proofing my loaf rose a bit more with this strain. Everything looked and felt good. Definitely had a distinct higher performance. I finally got my loaf into the oven. The oven spring on the loaf was very good! The crumb was lovely. Even though I served it before it fully cooled it was still fluffy and light. The bread had delicious and distinct aromatics! This starter certainly has character. I asked the seller about this strains origins and history. They responded quickly with some really interesting information! I was so jazzed to read about it. This strain in particular is in a European Sourdough Museum (Belgium, I believe) . I'm going to look into that museum to see if I can see what details their testing found. Since this strain has some early origin lore in Wales, I had to think of a proper name. Since legends say that's where Merlin came from, I felt I needed to honor that. Since I already have a strain named Sir Lanceloaf (Since I use King Arthur flour mostly) i had to tie it all together. As I watched the starter rising it occurred to me. I named it Excalibread. If you're even the mildest bit curious, or just starting your own Sourdough Journey, I cannot recommend this brand enough. I can't recommend this strain enough! It's a powerful and healthy little starter! I was so pleased with my loaf that I decided to let Sir Lanceloaf take a fridge vacation and I'll be maintaining Excalibread on the counter for the foreseeable future. It was such a great experience all around. So, allow me to be the little Amazon devil on your shoulder, add to cart!!!

Got this as a Christmas gift for my dad, who's a *very* experienced sourdough baker. Unfortunately, earlier this year, the 3 sourdough starters he made from scratch and had for MONTHS died because of a medical event, and I could tell he wasn't showing how upset he was about it. For about 6 months now, he's made at least a loaf of bread a week, but has yet to make sourdough because of the extra work it can be. He loved this!! I was really surprised at the quality of the product; the container looks nice, and it comes with printed, thorough instructions on quality paper, making it very giftable!! Also, the company is so professional and customer-oriented that they guarantee SUCCESS and have a personal email for questions, which is very rare. I forgot to take a picture, but we made a loaf, and it came out great. It had a good flavor and baked perfectly; we were very happy with the results. Highly recommend! :)

The quality of this starter is amazing. It tripled in size after only one feeding, within 6 hours. And it’s already bubbly and looks ready to use. This picture shows it after the first feeding 6 hour later. The rubber band is where it started. It also came with instructions on how exactly to care for it as soon as you get it and those are what I followed. Living dough website also has a chat feature and using it connects you right with the owners and they answered any questions I had and were very friendly. Would definitely recommend.

This starter is a game changer! I killed my starter right before the holidays and needed a QUICK solution. I followed the directions that were provided and they are easy to follow. I could have used after 8 hours after the first feed. It is active and healthy starter. I made a loaf after the second feed and it turned out wonderful. The taste is wonderful. I highly recommend this starter!

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 have tried for years to make sourdough starter with it always failing. I decided to give this a try, I figured I have failed to make my own starter so what do I have to lose. Well, I can say without a doubt this was the best purchase ever. The directions are easy to understand and tell you exactly what to do. It comes looking hungry but once you feed it the first time it really shows you how great it is. I went from not having any started to having so much started that I have made 3 large loaves of bread, a huge batch of discard pretzels, discard peanut butter cookies and I have a batch of starter sitting in the refrigerator. I have more starter than I know what to think. I can't wait to get this one under control and order a different kind. If you are struggling with getting your starter to start, DO NOT HESITATE TO BUY ONE FROM HERE!!!!! THESE STARTERS ARE LITERALLY AMAZING!

What a good starter. I am very pleased with the packaging and shipping for this product. And, the instruction sheet that was provided is excellent; the starter became active when I followed the instructions. I recommend this seller and starter to anyone searching for a quality starter to use when backing.