This heritage starter will produce delicious and gorgeous bread, and it has a story that goes back to the 1800s!

First, you should know that my 93-year-old mom has lovingly cared for this starter ever since I can remember – it’s become like one of her children. You might ever say it’s her first child, as it predates both my sister and me.

Mom’s a retired school teacher, dad is retired U.S. Navy (RDML), and they have been married just shy of 70 years. Mom bought the sourdough starter from a very famous bakery in San Francisco in 1951 while she and my father were traveling for the Navy. Our starter’s name is Bodie (take a guess where it comes from... Hint: it’s exactly where you’re thinking. Lol

The baker at the time told mom that the starter had been in use at the bakery since 1850. And not only that, the founder of the bakery had the starter in his family for 40 years before opening the bakery. This means that we can trace Bodie’s history directly back to 1810!!

This starter has been treasured and lovingly maintained for 230 years! Mom’s stewardship of Bodie began the day she purchased it over 7 decades ago, and she has been feeding and caring for it daily to ensure it is always happy and healthy. As a result, my sister and I had a childhood filled with amazing bread, cookies, pancakes, pizza dough, and many, many other tasty treats. As kids we had no idea how special the sourdough starter was.

Mom is still feeding and maintaining her starter it to this day. Now myself and my sister are helping her share Bodie’s goodness with others by managing the Etsy account for her. When you buy from us, you’re not only getting an amazing sourdough starter that has been lovingly cared for, you’re also becoming a part of our extended family, and helping to support Mom in her retirement years (which we appreciate immensely).

The main reason she continues the daily routine is her love of sourdough and a passion to share with others. If you have any baking questions, don’t hesitate to reach out — when it comes to sourdough, mom loves sharing her passion with others.

We will happily email over a word document with a dozen of so of our absolute favorite recipes : ) -- Just send us a message and let us know you want them.

Thanks for your support and we know you’ll love the results as much as our family has over the years.

Nick, Nicole, and Patricia (Mom)