Meet your starter
San Francisco
The tangy, blistered classic that made a city famous.
Hydration
100% (equal parts flour & water)
Peak time
4 hours at 76°F on a 1:1:1 feed
Temperament
Vigorous. Doubles reliably; forgiving of a missed feed.
Origin
Descended from a jar we carried home from a Mission District bakery in 2018 and rebuilt on Sonoran wheat and organic bread flour. Fed on the same 12-hour rhythm every day since.
Flavor notes
- Bright, lactic tang
- Toasted-grain finish
- Long, cool fermentation deepens the sour
Best for
- Open-crumb country loaves
- Long cold retards for maximum sour
- Baguettes and ciabatta
The story of this jar
This is the culture our recipes were developed around. It rose through a Bay Area heatwave and a Sierra winter without missing a peak, and it's what we default to when someone asks 'which starter should I buy first?'
It thrives at room temperature and takes cold retards beautifully — a 24-hour bulk in the fridge is where the signature tang comes from.
Take one home
Ship a jar of San Francisco.
Recipes that love this starter
Bread · Advanced
Traditional San Francisco Sourdough
The tangy, blistered loaf that made a city famous. This is the recipe we developed for our San Francisco starter.
Read recipeBread · Intermediate
The Classic Country Loaf
A high-hydration boule with an open crumb and a deeply caramelized crust. Our workhorse loaf — the one we bake every week.
Read recipeBread · Advanced
Weekend Sourdough Baguettes
Thin, shattering crust; open, custard-y crumb. Baguettes are a two-day project — the shaping alone is worth the practice.
Read recipeBread · Advanced
Overnight Sourdough Ciabatta
High hydration, wildly open crumb, blistered crust. A slipper-shaped loaf that shines under olive oil or split for sandwiches.
Read recipe