Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I had been researching this seller's site; they only sell fermentation products and seemed to be experts. When I saw this starter in Amazon, I gave it a try. You get a cardboard box the size of a sandwich bag, but inside there's only a packet the size of a restaurant packet of saccharin. The instructions have you adding, in the first day, 1T. of flour to 1T. of water to the packet's bare teaspoon of contents. Next day, 2T. flour and 2T. of water. Starting with such minuscule amounts is just silly and also frustrating; making a starter needn't require all that measuring. Make your own, instead. I started this along with a DIY recipe from Google; the DIY starter began to bubble sooner, was more robust, and made a lot more. Like politics, all yeast is local, so a DIY starter produces a sourdough in tune with your climate and locale. Be sure to use a permeable top with a rubber band and a quart size glass (nonreactive) jar, to keep out flies but allow the yeast access. (Flies like to lay eggs in starter, yeast exists everywhere in the air.) Use purified water without chlorine, which can kill yeast. And be sure to use wholegrain flour rather than regular unbleached, as it contains a lot more of the nutrients needed for the yeast to grow. (Try rye, spelt, or other grains, it doesn't have to be wheat.) Start with 1/4C. of flour, an equal amount or a little less of warm water, and 1/4t. honey; stir vigorously to aerate well--you want a consistency like pancake batter. Next day, increase by the same amounts of flour & water, adding no more honey. Take out about half every day, adding in new in equal amounts as before, to give the yeast fresh food. After several days, you'll begin to smell that fresh yeast aroma, almost fruity--that's good news. Just stir the yellow fluid on top right back in and keep going, taking out the old before adding new. Keep your jar about half full--when the starter bubbles up to double its size, it's ready to use. If you can't get to it every day, refrigeration slows the process. Or use any DIY starter recipe you find on Google. If you really feel you just can't do without a commercial starter, King Arthur sells a fresh WET starter for just $8.95. (King Arthur also has recipes for the discard amounts, so you needn't waste it.) Save yourself the $14. This product was a complete disappointment.