Testimonials

Linda,

I just wanted to say THANK YOU! I got your SF sourdough starter via Amazon a while back as well as a wire bail mason jar. I have always liked the IDEA of making my own bread but never really tried it for real. I have tried bread machines in the past as well as those box "kit" breads in the box. Not very good.

So I wanted to give "real" bread a try. I was so excited to find your starter on Amazon but worried that with my busy performance schedule (I am a professional musician - harpist) I might not be able to make it work. But I had a week between engagements so I took the time to study your EXCELLENT book and see if I could succeed at something that has always eluded me.

I had had the packet for over a month before I tried so I was concerned. But everything happened exactly as you said it would. A couple days ago I took 1/3 cup of my starter out of the fridge and did my first ever attempt of real bread making. The process is the exact opposite of how we all live our lives today where we expect instant success and immediate gratification. As you know, the process takes a few days but it is worth it. I just pulled my first two loaves out of the oven and they look glorious. My house smells terrific!

As a busy professional with a hectic schedule, it is SO amazing to stop and slip into a Zen state and make this bread. I will take some of my masterpiece to the orchestra at the next rehearsal. I will become suddenly very popular!

Thank you so much for what you do.

Linda,

You shipped me some replacement starter about a month ago. It replaced some dead starter I got from Amazon. The replacement is wonderful! Within an hour the mixture had greatly thickened and was starting to bubble. Thank you so much and I think your product is wonderful.

Bill R.

Note from Linda: San Francisco sourdough starter shipped directly from Amazon sometimes arrives dead because of the heat of Amazon's transport vehicles and warehouses. That's why I have my "Free No-Questions-Asked" replacement guarantee. -- Linda

Good Morning, Linda,

I ordered some of your starter on Amazon and am currently working on was certain I had done something wrong. It thickened but I wasn't getting the bubbles. I figured it was working, though, since it thickened, so I tried "feeding it." I started another bowl and, then, fed them both. This morning, the original bowl had lots and lots of glorious bubbles and the 2nd bowl had some hooch! I stirred that one really well and transferred a cup to another bowl to "feed."

I am beyond excited. My extended family is from the Bay Area and I was stationed at Travis AFB for 8 years. It's been almost that long since I've had SF sourdough and I've so been missing that piece of home. I have such high hopes for this bread! Thank you for your wonderful instruction booklet and your website. I placed another order, via your website, last night with additional tools to make this wonderful bread!

Sincerely,
Trish
Landlocked by marriage in Illinois ;-)

Note from Linda: After some emails, we discovered that Trish's home was on the very cool side, but since her starter had thickened, she was correct to assume it was alive. The first bubbles are so very tiny, it is easy to miss seeing them. All's well that ends well. -- Linda

Linda,

The speed of your reply is absolutely amazing! So few have such dedication to service once their products are sold. You earn my highest regard. Thank you and continued success in your business. You deserve it.

Pat

HURRAY!!!!! It worked, my first ever true sourdough bread with no commercial yeast.

Linda, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me through this trial. The bread turned out fantastic. And the start is still just as active as ever. THIS IS SOOOOOO COOL!!!!!!!!

Hey Linda,

Ten or twelve years ago I was struggling mightily to concoct a brilliant starter. Just capture your own wild yeast, the book said. It will be unique (yeah, it was. Yuck). Or use potatoes or apples or grapes (I tried them all). Yuck,yuck,yuck! My sister, in her own quiet way, slipped me a packet of your starter, and I misplaced it.

This past weekend, while rooting around in the back of an old desk drawer, and I found it. I immediately mixed it with three ounces of water and four ounces of organic unbleached white flour, and it was bubbly within twenty four hours.

Just wanted to say thank you for this wonderful product. I'll be making bread with this new mother over the next month or so, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. So far, the rise is impressive, and I am absolutely astounded that yeast, casually stored in an old desk drawer for more than a decade, could activate so readily.

Thanks again

D

Here's a review an Amazon buyer posted for the San Fran starter I market. You can see it here:

Awesome product!! I left the Bay area 3 years ago and have tried a number of starters so I could have bread from home. None of them produced the the crumb, crust or taste of San Francisco bread until this one!

Amazon Buyer

Thanks so much Linda! You have truly been amazing with everything. I'm super passionate about baking with sourdough and so appreciate your help!

Scott

I received the starter I purchased from you yesterday and mixed it following your directions. I am an experienced baker and always have sourdough on hand. However, my currrent batch which I purchased from King Arthur Flour was never satisfactory and I failed to feed it too many times and decided to start over.

I like to use my microwave as a proofing oven with a glass pitcher of water heated almost to boiling for warmth and moisture. In one hour, the starter was already bubbly. My previous experience with dry starters has not been good so I am pleasantly surprised.

I did want to share the microwave trick with you as I live in the northeast and the house is rarely above 70.

Will see how this goes but I anticipate success

Barbara

PS My original "starter" came from Texas from a friend and was reported to be over 100 years old. I treated it like the precious commodity it was and had it for over 20 years. We went on vacation and had someone house/dog sit. When we came home my familiar crock was in the dishrack. My house sitter thought it was spoiled and threw it out. I have never been able to replace it so my hopes are up this will be a good batch.

Thank you so much Linda! If everyone ran a business like you do, it would be a better world! Blessings to you.

Katha

Hi Linda,

I bought your starter on Amazon and New Year's Day began activating it per your instructions. I must say that the inclusion of your booklet made the purchase more than worth it. Great job.

Well, it's only Jan 5. Your starter has come along like gangbusters. At 8:10 this morning, and following your instructions, I started the sponge. Just ½ Cup of the reactivated starter and 3C flour and 3C water. I couldn't believe how quickly the sponge took off.

I'm now in the suggested autolysis period and was surprised at how active that mix appears: nice, fat bubbles all over the place.

Monday, January 4, 2016 9:00 PM
To: Linda Wilbourne
Subject: RE: Starter...

Your dedication and wonderful customer service have clinched my decision to buy the rest of my bread making supplies from you. I will be purchasing a rising bucket and proofing baskets shortly.

Good Morning Linda, from SW Ohio.

For Christmas, one of the kids got me your starter kit and I started it going Tuesday AM. Being anal retentive, fared me well during my years as a Pharmacist, I followed your directions right from your book. Fed it a number of times and this morning it looked just like your pics on your site. Tonight's dinner will be Steak au Poivre, asparagus, baby potatoes and hopefully a loaf of your Sour Dough Bread topped with a little of my honey (became a small time beekeeper this year) . I probably should throw in a good Cabernet and/or Champagne,

Thanks for writing an easily understood manual.

Have a great 2016.

Tim

Dear Linda:

It was such a lovely surprise to read your note this day.

I will be looking forward to making another attempt at producing this wonderful bread with the new starter.

It is very rare to have a busy professional take a personal interest in a customer's dilemma.

Thank you so much,

Sylvia

baking is a joy!

Linda,

Thanks for the shipping refund and prompt shipping.

I have never had the continuous success with sourdough until I used your starter and instructions!

Now I have the confidence that when I start a batch, I KNOW it will be GREAT

The Rising buckets are for my sons who want to get starter from me, so they will make great Christmas presents and I will be able to keep some loaves for myself!

Thank you,

Steve

I got the bread bags today and am very pleased. I had just finished baking 2 loaves of Cinnamon Swirl bread and the bag was a perfect fit for 1 loaf. It would have been fine for both if there had been any left.

Thanks again,

Sue

Linda,

Thanks for the info. Your recipe produced an absolutely perfect bread today!!

Best regards,

Deb

Hi Linda -- this is Mark, your sour dough stepchild.

I took the batch of starter you sent me last Spring and nurtured it thru the summer--- too hot to bake in Dripping Springs in summer-- but when the cool front came through yesterday, I fired up a double batch. The wife and I are faint from eating so much of the wonderfully sour sourdough loaves. THAT's what I was talking about!!! SOUR DOUGH!!!

Faint here. Hard to verbalize the experience. (Better get some neighbors over to share the last loaf and see if they can put it into words better than me)(I'm out of butter, yikes!)

Thank you

Mark in Dripping

Dear Linda,

What a delightful email - you do care, we can see. Are you really a person or is this a corporation with caring people displaying great attitude? Either way - all this is most welcome!

Hi Linda,

Everything arrived timely and in wonderful condition. I had to write and let you know that my bread is AMAZING! I grew up in the Bay Area so truly delicious sourdough was prevalent. Last year we moved to WI and I've been in search of any type of sourdough ...not to be found. Your sourdough starter answered all of prayers.

Thanks, Linda. I can see why you get so many positive reviews. The personal touch you give to each customer is great.

Pam

HOORAY HOORAY! Graduation day,
Thanks for showing me the way
Your expertise has ruled the day

All kidding aside Linda, your help and patience were invaluable.

Jim

Dear Linda,

I have read your booklet over and over and most of the info has made sense and eventually clicked in my head with absolutely no baking experience whatsoever so you have done well.

Thanks,

Gary

Hi Linda,

Been wanting to write to let you know if no one else has done, we have achieved success with sourdough bread where the weather is 105-110° F. Thank god it has been in a warm room.

Three times was the charm! Two loaves and it was pretty darn good. My recipe booklet is well worn. Perhaps what would've helped me although the narrative is great - it is a list of items;
1) Put in frig
2) Watch for bubbles, etc. etc.

Maybe after the narrative - it was like reading a Butterick pattern where the words don't change but reading it again and again finally makes sense.

Once I was able to follow it as you talked about it worked better. It has been the longest baking experience of my life.

Maybe baguettes the next time. My friends from the U.K. had never heard of sourdough. Those Brits...

Thanks and my husband loves it too. We were so happy.

Phyllis

thanks linda, you're awesome!

my mother, gone 16 years now, used to make sourdough pancakes weekly when i was growing up. i had some of her ancient starter years ago, then "lost" it during a move, and have missed it ever since.

though i am a lifelong vegetarian, my mom "kicked it up a notch" for the carnivores in the family, by frying 1" pieces of bacon on the griddle (no need to oil!), then pouring the sourdough pancake batter directly on top of the cooked bacon pieces, so the yummy bacon was centered in the pancake, then served with real maple syrup. these were a pretty fantastic hit with everyone who tried them!

can't wait to get your starter and try the bread recipes too!

cheers,

tracey ~

Linda,

I have been making a really delicious bread. I use your recipe with King Arthur baking flour and at the last step substitute whole wheat for white so it has a bit of whole wheat. i add sunflower seeds and dried cranberries. It is delicious. My sister-in-law from NY says it is the best bread she has ever eaten. All that is missing to make it even better is a Baker's Apron, don't you think?

John

Thank u so much for all your help here! Without all your help I do not think I would have been successful in doing this!!! And for that I am very grateful! Ok I will def do this and make more bread :))) Great reason to eat more bread LOL

Sarah G

Hi:

For me your sourdough and instructions have been a real boon to my bread making. I made sourdough that was (okay) a long time ago. Started again and wasn't having much luck until I ordered starter from you. The instructions were most useful and have enabled me to make bread that I can brag about. My sister, who is a really good cook, shares my interest in old things and doing things the old way got some starter from you. She has a starter I must have gave her around 35 years ago. But yours seems to have excited her about sourdough again. The last one from you is for my daughter. She is excited about making sourdough bread also. She likes the flavor but it is too expensive for her to buy. She will excel at making the bread. So you have strengthened our family bond by helping us share a common interest. It is a pleasure to do business with someone who takes a personal interest in her customers and serves them well.

Thank you so much,

Doug W

Hi Linda,

Well I was able to bake the sourdough but it didn't last long. I had friends over unexpectedly and it all got eaten in very short order. Many compliments on the bread and it does have the "San Francisco sourdough" taste to it! Thanks so much for your help and the bread was delicious.

Hi Linda,

I'm very impressed so far. The starter settled down after the first day, so I gave it a full three day activation (noting the signs that you said to watch for). It is doing everything you said it would do! Perfect!

The directions you provided are excellent and detailed. I thank you for your passion and providing your expertise to this. Thanks and regards,

Daniel

Hi Linda,

I just wanted to let you know that I had my first slice of fresh, hot, homemade sourdough bread last night. By the time the second rise was complete it was already late in the evening, but I wasn't about to go to bed without trying this wonderful smelling bread. It was so amazing, I woke my husband up so he could try it while it was still warm. I had it toasted this morning. Oh my goodness! My loaf had a sort of funky shape, but who cares!? The bread rose up out of the slit on top, so it was poofy in the middle. Beauty is only skin deep, right?

The FAQs on-line were very helpful. I think I would have gotten very impatient with the time it takes for the rises if I hadn't read all your responses to those questions.

I've ordered some new tools from the website to help with the next batch, which I guess I'll have to start soon since the first loaf is almost gone.

Thank you so much for your amazing customer service. You are awesome. I will be a forever fan!!!

Hello Linda,

I'm a wondering how old your starter is. I know they have to be old for them to be able to sit in the fridge for long periods of time. Yours is so vigorous it's got me to wondering how old it is. I love it, btw! This is my second go round with sourdough, and I've been quite prolific. I've even purchased the pasta maker I've been wanting for awhile just so I can make sourdough pasta. We're reducing gluten around here, and have been insanely enjoying sourdough everything! I made a sourdough cake a couple of weeks ago that was insanely amazing!! So glad you've made your sourdough available. I can tell it's a labor of love for you. :) Thanks!

S

I made my first sourdough bread! It was definitely a labor of love :) I am so stoked! It was such a journey full of mixed emotions! My final test was, of course, to taste my bread and oh man!! It is SOURDOUGH!!! I just wanted to thank you for your wonderful starter and all your help.

I'm THRILLED with the starter, I have been making the most delicious bread :) thank you,

Just finished my first loaf with your starter. Looks great! I'm going to toss my home made "stash" away. Thanks for a great first loaf.

I have to say I am impressed with your website and the booklet we got with our starter. You cram so much information into the booklet and explain many things I was wondering about but nobody else explained. I will definitely be coming back for some of the items on your site for bread making, also. Thank you for the information.

Sharon

Good Morning,

I had submitted a review to Amazon regarding this product, but I do not see it listed with this item just yet. (It would be my 1st review actually, but my husband asked me to submit one because of our great satisfaction with your product. We searched long and hard for what seemed to be the 'real thing' and finally decided upon your product!)

We wish to let you know how delighted we are with your product. The added bonus of an instruction booklet is very nice, too. We read it through and followed the instructions. After approximately two weeks of souring, my husband, Julius, made several loaves of bread, which already evidenced a nice amount of souring; he even made a couple of pizzas, using the starter as the leavening for the pizza dough. He has since then made two more loaves in preparation for a sourdough stuffing for a wood-smoked turkey that we'll finish off in the oven. The starter continues to sour and we are filled with anticipation to find the resulting sourness after a full month's time.

Again, thank you for a wonderful product. Please feel free to post our review to either Amazon or your website (which we also visited prior to making our final decision to purchase).

Sincerely,

Sharon

Linda,

thanks for the honesty.....it's so rare nowadays. (Note from Linda: I sent him a refund for shipping charges he paid that I didn't use--and it was onlly $1) Truthfully, your prices are the best on the items you carry (I do a lot of internet searching). Also......wanted to let you know that I gave up on my first starter (it smelled awful) and started over with the second one you mailed for no charge. It has worked out perfectly! No issues whatsoever. It smells/acts just like it should. This I know from working with various starters of my own for many, many years. The only thing I can figure is I must have somehow contaminated the first one possibly with the container I placed it in.

One other thing, I'll be ordering a few more of your items soon. Your prices and shipping are just the best I can find.

Hi Linda,

Just a quick update to let you know that we dyed the Sourdough Breads flour sack towels in tea and coffee and made them into kinda-sorta Roman shades with grosgrain ribbon to raise and lower them. They look pretty cute! We washed them in hot water and dried them in a hot dryer before dying them and they really didn't shrink a lot or produce very much lint.

There is a rectangular fluorescent light fixture (bleagh!) in the room that my sister hates with just cause. We had one dyed towel left over, so I cut it in half and used a serger to finish all the sides. Then I sewed the halves together to form a long piece -- which I wrapped around the revolting fluorescent object, stretching it tight and tying the corners in artful knots. It looks so great!!! It disguised the fixture and softened the light.

Thanks, again, for such quick delivery of such nice towels,

Mary Jo

Hi Linda,

I received your starter on a Friday, now it's the following Thursday and my first loaves of bread are done. They are very good, the best I've ade. I've been making breads for 6 years and tried making my own starter 5 different times. I thought I killed this one then suddenly the next day it was very happy. Thank you for the product and very fast shipping, not to mention your instruction booklet!

Thank you,

Dean

Hi Linda

I just wanted to tell you I love the tea towels. Exactly what I was looking for. But what I really wanted to say is I babied 5 sourdough starters. And even though I almost gave up on yours I pushed forward and got it to where it needed to be. And im so so glad I did. It was the one my family loved the most. It beat out King Arthur Flour and Cultures of Health. So again thank you so so much!

Wendy

Linda,

Thanks for the personalized email … nice touch. Everything arrived on Friday 04/04 in good shape. I am looking forward to working with the San Francisco Sourdough Starter. I bake sourdough once or twice a week to take to work or rotate through the neighbors. There is something about baking bread and sharing that is wholesome and personally satisfying … much like sharing a good home crafted beer, or fresh vegetables from the garden.

I have bookmarked your sourdoughbreads.com site and enjoyed the non-commercialized, non-mega-corporation look and feel of the whole thing. I was most impressed with your shipping ideology. Just for the record, I bought from you *because* of your small look and feel and the shipping statement ‘sealed the deal’ for me. I am a small businessman (I teach girl's Fastpitch softball pitching lessons) and I prefer to do business with other small businesses. I have been in business for myself since 1997. I recently sold my softball equipment e-commerce store, but after about 12-years of operation, I know first-hand what it takes to own and operate one. So kudos to you and your sourdough niche.

Thanks for what you do.

-Ron

I am writing to let you know I've been successfully baking delicious San Francisco sour dough bread, thanks to your wonderful SF sour dough starter. For your further info, I had very active starter within 24 hours of mixing your dry starter in with the flour and water. temperature was well within your prescribed range(between 78-81 deg.). I want to thank you again for your wonderful work. happy baking,

Ahmad

Thank you for the refund. Man, honest people with integrity. Who knew? I'll be sure and do the old word of mouth advertising. And I'll remember to look to you when shopping in the future.

Linda,

Thank you for the email and the kind words. My partner and I have been spreading the word about your fabulous culture. We bake it here, in London, every two weeks, my partner's parents do the same in Italy and now, with the new order, my parents in Chicago will start to use it.

I'm heading home to Chicago in a few weeks and look forward to introducing my family to your fabulous bread!

Thanks again!
Your fan,

Tim

Hi Linda,

Thanks for your help and optimism. I was ready to quit using natural leaven and stick with active yeast and your encouragement greatly helped me keep with it and keep trying different things.

Thanks again for your outstanding support of your product!

My bread is delicious!

all the best,

Nick

I baked my first 2 loaves of bread today. Oh my God, they turned out so beautiful. I want to thank you again!

Rick

Hi Linda,

I'm so glad I found your website. I wanted to thank you for sending out my order so quickly and especially for going to all the trouble of sending the delayed items separately.

Thanks also for letting me know when I can expect to receive the shipments. The kit will be a Christmas gift, and it is a relief to know that I can count on having it in time for the holiday.

Sincerely,

Norma

Thank you so very much for your extremely quick response. I appreciate that you are able to ship immediately. You are truly. An AAAAA+ rating in customer service.

Lynne G

Gotta say that this is the most durable Starter that I have used. I picture the old 49'rs in California did not measure in perfect weight ratios to keep the starter alive and did not have the perfect temps that all of the purist's recommend. I can feed it just by the texture and it's very happy. Also very forgiving to my mid week bake that might not have the time for anything more than a 30 minute autolize, but still comes out fine. I dumped my other Starter today because it was not as hearty as yours. And was very unforgiving as to exact measurements. I feed, I sniff, I bake. All good.

Gary

Hi Linda,

Sorry it took me so long to follow up with you. I have finally been able to get the starter active enough to rise bread on its own. My problem was not giving the starter enough time to fully grow between feedings. I have used your starter to make bread several times now (delicious) and thought you would appreciate hearing back that all is well after my difficult beginning. I know time frames are somewhat unpredictable and can vary a lot, but including some rough guesstimates in your instructions might be helpful to novice beginners like me. Thank you for all your assistance. I have shared your website with several friends. Appreciatively,

Scott