Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

At first, I thought the sourdough starter wouldn't work. I followed the directions from the sheet inside the package EXACTLY but I wouldn't get the starter to "double" in size. The reason, I found out by watching the video on the Cultures for Health web site these instructions were misleading because the instructions called for 1/1 ratio of water to flour to grow the culture. This 1/1 ratio resulted in a soupy mess that WOULD bubble but then not rise because (1) there wasn't enough flour to "feed" the culture and (2) the mixture wasn't thick enough to trap the bubbles and cause the mixture to rise. Instead, after about day 3 or 4 increase the ratio to 1/1.5 or 1/2 water to flour so you get a thicker mixture. What you want is the consistency of thick pancake batter, NOT thin soupy batter. Remember if the instructions call for a 1/1 water to flour ratio, that means 1/1 by WEIGHT. Water is about twice the weight of flour so that means a 1/2 water flour ratio by VOLUME! If you're like me, sometimes you don't have the time to make a manual loaf of sourdough bread, but I found a bread machine recipe that works GREAT. It is NOT going to give you a classic sourdough loaf but it has a great flavor and works every time. In the bread pan, place the following: 1 Cup sourdough starter 3/4 cups warm water (about 110 degrees fahrenheit) 1 TBSP Active dry yeast (NOT rapid rise yeast) 1 TBSP white sugar Mix well and let sit for 20 minutes until bubbly Add 3 cups strong flour Drizzle 3 TBSP vegetable oil on top Sprinkle 2 Tsp salt on top Set your bread machine to Basic (Medium crust) setting and start. It has GREAT flavor!