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The Worlds Oldest Sourdough Starter

One of the appeals of the famous Kensington Sourdough Starter is its unique "age"!  But what does that mean exactly?  Can a starter really be 150 years old?     Let's dive in! 

Oldest sourdough starter.
Usually when we talk about the "age" of a sourdough starter we are talking about how many years it has been in continuous use!    So the 1849 San Francisco miners above might have been eating sourdough from a San Francisco bakery that opened during the gold rush and still uses the same starter today!   In that case we would say the starter is 175 years old.    We like the sound of 150 but close enough.   

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This is a fun way to think of your sourdough starter, but of course the individual unique microorganisms that collectively make up a starter and make sourdough so delicious are not 150 years old!     What we mean is the culture has been in continuous use, has developed in a unique way, and especially has a LONG track record of making amazing bread!

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So to summarize:

1.  Does a starter need to be "old" to make great bread?   NO!   But it can help!  And our "old" starter most certainly has quite the pedigree.  We are proud of our verified reviews!  

2.  Is there a "worlds oldest sourdough starter"?   Not from a scientific perspective.   But from the everyday idea of "starter in continuous use" our starter must be pretty close!

3.  No matter how you slice it (sorry), sourdough baking is fun, healthy and delicious.   If you are new to sourdough and curious about what the fuss is about, check out our article What is a sourdough starter (and why you should want one).    Our San Francisco sourdough starter comes with instructions for getting it nice and active, and links to our favourite recipes.  We have helped thousands and thousands of bakers make their first sourdough loaves and the results have usually been delicious!

Buy sourdough starter kit

 

Sourdough English Muffins recipe

Sourdough Bagel Recipe

Want to try for yourself?   Thinking of diving in and purchasing our Sourdough Starter kit?  Come take a look at kensingtonsourdough.ca! 

Want to see some customer creations for yourself?  Please follow us on Instagram  @kensingtonsourdough

oldest sourdough starter