Egypt (Giza) Sourdough Culture

I have made my own starters for a couple of years now and It always takes a minimum of a week to three weeks to get the starter getting close to doubling. I have made 100% Whole Rye starter, 100% Whole Wheat starter and 80% white Bread Flour starter but I thought that I would like to try a culture that is from an extremely older culture. I decided to try Eds international just due to the reputation and knowledge that Ed brings to how he has collected and sourced cultures from around the globe. I placed my order for the Giza culture on January 11, 2024. It arrived yesterday on January 22, 2024 in an envelope with instructions and a foil vacuum sealed 1 oz. pouch of dried culture. It arrived at 2:30pm and at 3:30pm I decided to get the process going, since I was estimating at least a week or more to get it active. BOY was I Wrong!! I followed the instructions but with a small adjustment. Instead of using the entire 1 oz. package I used less than a .25 oz. and mixed with the Central Milling 100% Organic Bread Flour and filtered 95°F water and placed a rubber band around starter level on the jar and placed in my old oven with the light on and the oven door propped open about a 1/2" at the top of the door. I measured about 7:30pm and the baking stone in the oven was at 83°F and left it until about 2 hrs. ago which was today January 23, 2024 at 2pm and was almost floored when I took a peek, and the starter was doubled and full of bubbles. Take a look at the pics that I attached and see for yourself. I have never experienced a starter respond this quick. I have 3/4 oz. of the remaining starter sealed in the pouch in the fridge, if I ever need it but this is a Giant Thank you to Ed for the amazing starter that you had provided to me. If you have ever had trouble or struggles with getting a starter going (Which I Have) or wanted to try a starter culture from somewhere from around the globe, I can honestly say you should try one of the many starters that Ed Woods offers at Sourdough International. If you have anything close to the experience that I did, you will be delighted at the results.

We bought this sourdough culture along with Ed Wood's bread book, Classic Sourdoughs. You have to build a bread proofing box out of Styrofoam, which we did. Getting the culture ready to use will take about a week or so. Then you will have a sourdough starter that will last your lifetime if you feed it every 1-2 months. This culture makes bread that is exactly the same bread that the ancient Egyptians made and ate. It is delicious!! His book offers a number of recipes, and this culture can be used for just about any bread. He also tells you how to use your bread machine for the kneading and rising process if you want to. You do need the book to do it right...and also, invest a little in a good bread baking stone. WELL WORTH IT!!!!

Revived perfectly from dehydrated state. I used alternate instructions that called for starting by using just one tsp of the dehydrated culture. I was afraid to dump it all in at once just in case since I was using einkorn flour, not all purpose. Everything was fine though. Worked great and the bread tasted really good.

We love this strain because it is a milder flavor. The sourdough pancakes made with this starter are great. The whole family loves it when Grandpa makes sourdough pancakes with this culture.

This hasn't performed as I had hoped, but will still give it a medium review. Although I've used other starters with no problem, this one didn't respond as well, but I'm not going to rule out user goof!

made some really good pizza with this. its less sour than most starter out there.

Did not work out for me, smelt rancid

Nice strong flavor and it is supposed to be a mellower tasting sourdough. Crazy high rise to the dough, it rose almost 4 inches above the line of the pan.