NYB FREE Sourdough Starters

All sourdough starts with airborne wild yeasts that live all around us.

We at THE NEW YORK BAKERS believe that what starts out free
ought to be freely shared. So we'll send any or all of our wild yeast
cultures to anyone who asks, free, gratis, no charge.

If you'd like some of our free starter, or if you'd like to share some
starters of your own, let us know which ones you want and where
to send them. If you're placing an order and would like us to include
some starter, click on the button below. In either case, we'll get
right back to you. Limit of three starters, please.

Wake-up and feeding directions appear below.

This starter was born and raised in warm and sunny Southern Cali-
fornia. The yeasts in this colony are very robust, and long feeding
intervals have strengthened its lacto- and aceto- bacterial activity,
producing a very sour starter. Feed weekly for best results.

Raised from the same wild yeast strain as our SoCal starter, this
sour has been fed exclusively on white rye flour at one-week inter-
vals. Use for truly mellow Jewish ryes, bauernbrot and pumpernickels.

Back in the 19th century, most people baked their breads with
wild yeast sponges, which often were passed from generation to
generation. This starter came West in 1847, and could be much older.

"Desem" is Dutch for a leaven made exclusively of wholegrain wheat
flour. This desem was born and raised in organic whole wheat and
has been fed on wholegrain ever since. For best results, ferment
this starter at cooler temps.

San Francisco is synonymous with sourdough. This culture was born
in the Bay Area and raised on daily feedings of organic AP flour. Rich
in Candida milleri and Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis that give SanFran
sourdough its distinctive taste.

This is an indigenous 4-year old culture that was grown in Denver
from the wild yeasts present in Hodgson Mill rye flour and fed
excluively on medium and dark rye flours.

1. Dissolve the contents of one packet in ¼ cup (2oz/57g) of warm
(105F/40C) water;

2. Mix well with ½ cup (2oz/57g) of wheat or rye flour;

3. Allow to stand at room temperature until mixture doubles in
volume (this may take up to 18 hours);

4. Add another ½ cup (4oz/115g) of water to sponge, mix well and
then add another 1 cup (4.5oz/130g) of flour;

5. Allow to stand overnight. By morning, the sponge should have
more than doubled and will be very bubbly;

6. Your sourdough culture is ready to use or store covered in
the refrigerator.

7. Feed every 4-7 days by discarding half the starter and repeating
step 4, returning to refrigerator when the sponge has doubled
in bulk.