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sourdough starter kit containing sourdough starter, glass jar with wood and linen lids, silicone spatula, pen and labels on wooden board

sourdough starter kit containing sourdough starter, glass jar with wood and linen lids, silicone spatula, pen and labels flat lay on wooden board

San Franciscan sourdough starter and packaging and promotional material on a wooden surface

top down view of a bubbling sourdough starter on a wooden board

Sourdough Starter Kit

Price:

$59.95

Product Info
Sourdough Starter Kit – Organic Culture, Jar, Tools & FREE eBook

Start your sourdough journey with confidence with our Sourdough Starter Kit — including your choice of organic dried French, San Franciscan or Signature Spelt starter, a 900 ml starter jar, essential feeding and tracking tools, printed guides and a FREE 48-page Sourdough digital eBook.

This beginner-friendly set brings together the tools and guidance to help you rehydrate, feed and maintain your sourdough starter at home. Whether you’re completely new to sourdough or establishing another culture, you’ll have a dedicated setup for caring for your starter from day one.

Want the starter culture only (no jar/tools)?

FREE 48-Page Sourdough eBook Included
Every Starter Kit includes The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Sourdough digital eBook at no additional cost. This beautifully illustrated guide covers starter rehydration, feeding, ongoing care, your first loaf, troubleshooting and six recipes, with quick-reference charts to keep handy as you bake.

Choosing Your Starter: French, San Franciscan or Signature Spelt?

French Sourdough Starter: Mild, fruity and lightly tangy with a soft crumb. Perfect for everyday loaves and our most popular choice for beginners and families.

San Franciscan Starter: Bold, complex and distinctly tangy — the classic San Franciscan flavour with a chewier, rustic texture.

Signature Spelt Sourdough Starter: Nurtured on organic spelt flour, with a naturally nutty, slightly sweet character and gentle tang. A versatile everyday choice for rustic spelt loaves and classic sourdough baking.

Not sure which to pick? Choose French for a mild everyday starter, San Franciscan for a bolder tang, or Signature Spelt for a gently tangy culture nurtured on organic spelt flour. Your flour, fermentation time and baking method also help shape the finished loaf.

What’s Included?
- Organic Dried Sourdough Starter (15 g): Your choice of French, San Franciscan or Signature Spelt culture, maintained with organic flour and chlorine-free water. Signature Spelt is nurtured on organic spelt flour. Each can be maintained for a lifetime with regular care.
- Food-grade 900 ml wide-mouth jar & bamboo lid: A practical and sustainable vessel for storing and maintaining your starter.
- Unbleached organic linen cover: Eco-friendly, breathable protection for your starter jar.
- Silicone dough spatula: Ideal for mixing and scraping sticky sourdough starter and dough.
- Thermal temperature sticker: Monitor your starter’s environment to help understand its fermentation activity.
- Silicone feeding band: Easily track your starter’s rise and activity between feeds.
- Adhesive labels & pen: Keep organised with reusable labels for dates and notes.
- Full-colour, double-sided quick-start & starter information guide: An easy-reference introduction to your selected sourdough starter, including its background and essential getting-started information.
- Full-colour 6-page Sourdough Baking Guide: A beautifully printed guide with detailed, step-by-step instructions covering activation, feeding, ongoing maintenance and baking your own sourdough bread at home.
- FREE The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Sourdough Digital eBook: A beautifully presented 48-page guide covering rehydration, feeding ratios, starter care, mixing, folding, bulk fermentation, shaping, proofing, scoring and baking. Includes illustrated first-loaf stages, six recipes, troubleshooting and quick-reference charts. Supplied as a digital PDF alongside your printed guides.
- Ongoing Support: Personal help whenever you need it to get the best results from your starter — email, chat or phone.
Why Choose This Starter Kit?
- A simple way to get started: Your choice of organic sourdough culture and dedicated starter-care tools brought together in one beginner-friendly kit.
- FREE 48-page Sourdough eBook: Detailed guidance from rehydrating your starter through to your first loaf, with recipes and troubleshooting for future bakes.
- Easy starter monitoring: A wide-mouth jar, temperature sticker and feeding band help you follow your culture’s progress.
- Three starter choices: Choose French, San Franciscan or Signature Spelt, then explore sourdough bread, pizza dough, focaccia, pancakes and more.
- Printed and digital guidance: Keep your printed guides close to your starter and use the eBook when you want more detail.
- A practical gift: A thoughtful introduction to sourdough for anyone who enjoys homemade food.
Delivery Details

Starters are shipped in their dry state and are shelf-stable for at least 6 months — activate and bake whenever you’re ready.

Arrive Alive Guarantee

We stand behind the quality of our cultures. In the rare event your organic sourdough starter doesn’t activate after rehydration, we’ll send a free replacement straight away. Your success is guaranteed.

Why Choose The Fermentation Station?

With over 20 years of experience and thousands of happy customers, we guarantee fresh, active cultures, fast shipping, and full support every step of your fermentation journey.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Sourdough eBook included?

Yes. Every Sourdough Starter Kit includes The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Sourdough digital eBook FREE, at no additional cost. The 48-page guide covers starter rehydration, feeding, ongoing care, illustrated first-loaf instructions, six recipes, troubleshooting and quick-reference charts.

Is the eBook printed or digital?

The eBook is a digital PDF you can read on your phone, tablet or computer. Your kit also includes the printed quick-start and starter information guide and full-colour 6-page Sourdough Baking Guide, so you have both printed instructions and a more detailed digital reference.

Does this kit include a banneton and bread-making tools?

This kit focuses on rehydrating, feeding and maintaining your starter. It includes a starter jar, cover, spatula and tracking accessories. For a banneton, dough whisk, bench scraper and scoring lame, choose our Sourdough Baking Kit or Sourdough Master Kit. All three kits include the free Sourdough eBook.

How much sourdough starter do I get, and how long will it last?

You’ll receive 15 g of your selected dried sourdough starter — French, San Franciscan or Signature Spelt. Once activated and fed regularly, this becomes a living culture that can be maintained indefinitely. With simple care, your starter can last a lifetime and be shared, split, or built up for larger bakes.

How do I activate the dried starter?

Activation is simple: you’ll mix the dried starter with water and flour and feed it over several days, following the step-by-step instructions included in your kit. Most people see good activity within 3–5 days, depending on room temperature and feeding schedule. Your free eBook provides additional guidance on rehydration and recognising a ready-to-use starter.

How long until I can bake my first loaf?

On average, you’ll be ready to bake your first loaf in about 4–6 days, although some starters take longer. You’ll know your starter is ready when it reliably rises and falls between feeds, smells pleasantly yeasty or slightly fruity, and can at least double in size after a feeding. Follow its activity rather than the calendar alone.

What flour should I use to feed the starter?

For French and San Franciscan starters, use a good quality unbleached bread flour or plain (all-purpose) wheat flour. A mix of white and wholemeal also works well. For Signature Spelt, use organic spelt flour to continue feeding it as we do. Follow the feeding instructions supplied with your selected starter, as different flours absorb water differently.

Can I change flours later (e.g. to rye or wholemeal)?

Yes. You can gradually shift your starter to rye, spelt or wholemeal by feeding a little more of the new flour at each feed. Give it a few feeds to adapt and monitor how the change affects its rise and consistency.

How do I store my starter between bakes?

If you bake often, you can keep your starter at room temperature and feed it daily. If you bake less frequently, store it in the fridge and feed it about once a week. Before baking, give it enough feeds at room temperature to restore a reliable rise. Your free eBook explains both routines in more detail.

Is this starter gluten-free?

No. All three starters contain gluten. French and San Franciscan are maintained on wheat flour, and Signature Spelt is maintained on spelt flour, which is a type of wheat. While you can use the active starter to help leaven some alternative-flour recipes, it’s not suitable for people who need to avoid gluten entirely.

What if my starter isn’t bubbling or rising properly?

Don’t worry — there’s often a “quiet” phase during activation. Make sure you’re feeding at the right ratio, keeping it warm (around 20–25 °C), and using chlorine-free water. The troubleshooting section in your free eBook can help you understand what you’re seeing. If it still doesn’t show signs of life after following the instructions, get in touch — our Arrive Alive Guarantee means we’ll help troubleshoot or send a replacement if needed.

Can I use this starter for more than just bread?

Yes! Your sourdough starter is incredibly versatile. You can use it to make pizza dough, focaccia, pancakes, waffles, brioche, cinnamon scrolls, and more. Your free eBook includes six recipes to help you explore sourdough baking.

Is it safe for the starter to be shipped dry in the post?

Yes. In its dried form, the starter is very stable and shelf-stable for at least 6 months. We ship via Australia Post Priority, and the culture is fine with normal postal timeframes — just follow the activation instructions once it arrives.
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Some of the reviews shown are from related products the merchant grouped with this one.

First sourdough bread

Great starter (San Francisco), and the instructions were clear in the e-book. I’m about to bake my second sourdough bread, the first was a resounding success! Yet to try the French starter.

The best way to start a sourdough lifestyle

Easy to follow, and detailed instructions. It’s a lot of work and a change of lifestyle, but once you adapt you won’t be able to stop the sourdough lifestyle!

Great starter and fantastic service

Fantastic service, with prompt response to follow up questions following rehydration of the starter. Starter is now active and very happy!

The sourdough starter arrived and it didn’t tske too long to wake it up with the help of the

The sourdough starter arrived and it didn’t tske too long to wake it up with the help of the friendly and fast responses from your representatives. I’m now making the most delicious sourdough loaves that my friends and family are saying is the best they’ve ever had!!! It has a distinctive delicious flavour!!

Thanks, Lynne! We’re so pleased we could help you get your starter going. Your loaves look lovely, and hearing they’re a hit with friends and family makes our day. Thanks for sharing your photos—happy baking!

My 5 stars for their chat/help - super friendly & helpful

My 5 stars are for the chat/help I got from my questions, always prompt, always helpful. You dont get this with most companies. The product itself does as advertised and I had starter but I had questions and the person who manages the online chat was friendly and fast. Thank you

Thank you, Lorraine! We’re glad we could help with your questions—it’s lovely to hear you felt well looked after. Thanks for sharing your photos too, and happy baking!

Amazing flavour and quick to start baking

Amazing flavour and quick to start baking

Thank you so much for the lovely review! Your sourdough looks fantastic. We’re so pleased to hear the starter got going quickly and that you’re enjoying the flavour. Happy baking!

Sandy
The Fermentation Station

My Fermentation Station Obsession

First came the milk kefir, bubbling away,
Then cheese kefir joined in the very next day.
Now sourdough’s arrived, with starter to feed,
The Fermentation Station has everything I need.

I’m culturing milk and making fresh cheese,
And dreaming of sourdough whenever I please.
Great kits, great service — I’m clearly a fan,
Five stars for expanding my fermentation plan! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hi Meredith,
What a wonderful review—and in verse too! We’re delighted to be part of your milk kefir, cheese and sourdough adventures. Thank you for your support, and we hope your fermentation obsession keeps bubbling along!

You need this starter in your life

I have attempted to make my own starter before but purchasing this starter has been a game changer. While I am still mastering the whole starter, sourdough world and learning g to to make said sourdough. purchasing this starter has made it so much easier

Thank you so much for the lovely review! We’re so glad the starter has made your sourdough journey that little bit easier. There’s definitely a learning curve with sourdough, but it sounds like you’re well on your way. Happy baking!

The beginning of my new hobby!

This sourdough master kit is amazing. The starter was very straightforward to activate, it came with all the tools I need to make sourdough and the steps are easy to follow! I’ve made four loaves so far, absolutely loving my new hobby. So glad I was able to buy everything I needed in one go without shopping around

Hi Mikayla,
Thank you so much for the wonderful review! We’re thrilled to hear you found the Master Kit easy to get started with and that you’re already four loaves in! It’s so lovely to hear that sourdough has become a new hobby for you. Happy baking!
Sandy
The Fermentation Station

Successful sourdough starter

I was able to activate the San Francisco sourdough starter, even in the middle of winter in Melbourne, with some excellent follow-up advice from Sandy. Thanks, everyone. My first couple of sourdough loaves have been a great success, and everyone here is looking forward to many more.

Starter arrived as described with clear instructions for activation

Starter arrived as described with clear instructions for activation. Didn't take too long to see the activation come to life and now i have a bubbly, vigorous starter mix. I absolutely love this smell of this sourdough starter and the first bake was perfect for a beginner!
If you're looking for an authentic sourdough starter with genuine heritage and excellent performance, I highly recommend this one.

Quality product and excellent support

Quality product and excellent support, highly recommend, after sale support was exceptional.

Thank you so much, Josh! We’re really glad you’ve been happy with both your sourdough starter and the support you received. We’re always here to help along the way, so it means a lot to hear that. Thanks for the recommendation and happy baking!

Very happy

Quick delivery and starter activated no problems, good taste. Very happy.

Hi Mark, we're thrilled to hear you're happy with the sourdough kit! Thanks for sharing your experience. Enjoy baking!

Great taste

Great taste and has developed nicely.

Hi there! We're so glad you enjoyed the sourdough starter and that it's developing well. Thanks for sharing your experience!

Works so well every time

The order was well packed and arrived very quickly. The sourdough fired up really active and has since made 3 nice loaves. I keep it in the fridge and it activates from a small amount every time. Great service from this vendor.

Thank you so much Darby, that’s wonderful to hear. I’m really glad the starter became active quickly and has already helped you make some lovely loaves.

It’s great that it’s working well from the fridge too, as that makes it much easier to maintain long term without constant feeding. Please feel free to reach out if you ever need any help or have questions at any stage.