{"product_id":"einkorn-sourdough-starter","title":"Einkorn Sourdough Starter — Live, Never Dehydrated","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA live einkorn sourdough starter that is ready to bake with in two hours, not a week.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOur San Francisco culture — tested at NCIMB and confirmed to contain \u003cem\u003eLactobacillus sanfranciscensis\u003c\/em\u003e as its dominant lactic acid bacteria — maintained on einkorn, the oldest wheat there is. Same 46-year-old mother, same verification, different diet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWhat einkorn does to a starter\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEinkorn is the first wheat anyone ever farmed. It was being grown in the Fertile Crescent ten thousand years ago and it has barely changed since, because nobody ever bred it for yield. The name is German for \"one grain\": each spikelet holds a single kernel where modern wheat holds several, and the flour it mills to is a soft golden yellow rather than white.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA culture kept on it ferments readily — einkorn gives a starter plenty to work on — and the character it brings is unmistakable: sweet, nutty and faintly grassy, without the sharp edge a rye or wholemeal culture develops. The catch is the gluten. Einkorn has it, but it is weak and sticky and never builds the structure a modern bread flour does, so the dough stays slack and will not stand being worked hard. It also drinks less water than you expect. Hold back ten to fifteen per cent, mix gently, keep the prove short and bake it in a tin or as a flat, rustic loaf. Do that and you get a close, tender, golden crumb that tastes more of wheat than any modern flour can manage. It is not the starter for a tall, open-crumbed boule — our San Francisco starter on a strong white flour will serve you better there — but for tin loaves, flatbreads, focaccia and pancakes it is a joy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWhy ours is different\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost starters sold in the UK arrive as a dry powder and need five to seven days of daily feeding before they will lift a loaf. Ours is \u003cstrong\u003enever dehydrated\u003c\/strong\u003e — it is a live culture, packed dormant and shelf-stable, so it wakes in about two hours and bakes the same day.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eHow to use — three-step activation\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMix\u003c\/strong\u003e the sachet contents with 75g flour — 50g strong white bread flour and 25g wholemeal — and 75g warm filtered water (27°C) in a clean jar.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWait 2 hours\u003c\/strong\u003e at room temperature (20–24°C). You'll see bubbles forming and hear a soft crackle — the culture is active.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFeed once\u003c\/strong\u003e with an equal weight of flour + water, and you have a mature levain ready to build your first dough.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFull step-by-step instructions ship in every packet, plus a link to our free online \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/how-to-feed-care-for-your-sourdough-starter\"\u003eStarter Care Guide\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWhat you get\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e15 g of live culture in a resealable kraft pack\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePrinted activation and care instructions\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFree next-day UK delivery when you order by 2pm — no minimum spend\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAllergens: contains einkorn wheat (gluten).\u003c\/strong\u003e Packed in Bristol in a kitchen that also handles wheat, rye, spelt and barley.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eFrequently asked questions\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eIs einkorn gluten free?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo. Einkorn is a species of wheat and contains gluten, and this starter is kept on it. It is not suitable for a gluten-free diet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhere do I get einkorn flour?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSeveral British mills sell it online and it is turning up on supermarket shelves. Wholemeal or white einkorn both work — feed the starter whichever you plan to bake with.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eIs this a different culture from the San Francisco starter?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo — it is the same culture, from the same 46-year-old mother, verified by genetic sequencing at NCIMB. The difference is the flour it has been maintained on, which shapes how it behaves and how the finished loaf tastes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eCan I switch it to a different flour later?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes. Feed it on whatever flour you want to bake with and it will adapt over a few feeds. Plenty of bakers keep one jar and move it around.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHow long does it keep before I open it?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwelve months in the sealed pack at room temperature. It is live but dormant, so it needs no fridge and no attention until you are ready.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eDo you ship outside the UK?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes — we post worldwide. UK orders placed before 2pm go out the same day on a free next-day service.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Dough Dough at Home","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":59136637763932,"sku":"DD-STARTER-EINKORN-15G","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0855\/5171\/0556\/files\/dough-dough-einkorn-sourdough-starter-pack-15g.jpg?v=1789483589","url":"https:\/\/doughdoughathome.com\/products\/einkorn-sourdough-starter","provider":"Dough Dough","version":"1.0","type":"link"}