700+ Year Old Swiss Sourdough Starter- acquired near Zurich, Switzerland.

As an avid sourdough enthusiast I’m always on the lookout for sourdough starters to add to my collection. I recently traveled to Zurich, Switzerland.

Zurich has been permanently settled for over 2000 years and was founded by the Romans who called it Turicum. However, early settlements have been discovered dating back more than 6000 years. I love history and I was in awe the entire trip.

Zurich is such a beautiful place with lots of history. The museums, lakes, restaurants, churches and the gorgeous Swiss alps were all very breathtaking.

During that trip I was able to acquire a sourdough starter from a very old bakery in that area. The very nice person, who worked at the bakery, told me the starter has been in continuous use for over 700 years. This is one of the oldest sourdough starters in my collection to date.

I named the starter “Zury” and she will take her place in my collection next to my family sourdough starter “Sofia”. :)



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———DRY STARTER Activation Instruction————--
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THESE INSTRUCTIONS ARE FOR THE DRY STARTER.


The best way to start and maintain your sourdough starter is to measure starter, flour, and water by weight, rather than volume. I would recommend buying a scale that can accurately measure grams. I’ve included both volume and weight in the instructions.

Directions for 14 grams sourdough Starter pack

Day 1

1. Grab a clean 16oz jar with a non airtight lid
2 . Add 28 grams ( 2 tbs) luke warm filtered water to the jar. Pour 1 bag (14 grams) of the starter and stir to partially dissolve the starter in the water. Let it rest for about 20 minutes to help the starter dissolve.
3. Add 14 grams (2 tbs ) unbleached all purpose + 3 grams (1/2 tbs) whole wheat flour ( whole wheat will speed up the process but it is not necessary)( I prefer King Arthur ). You can use any unbleached all purpose flour.
4. Stir all the contents together thoroughly.
5. Place a non airtight lid on the jar and let it sit at room temp ( 70- 74 degrees Fahrenheit)

DAY 2

If your starter is already doubling at this point skip to day 4. If not than continue following instructions below.
* Without discarding any of what is in the jar, stir in 10 g ( 1 heaping TBS ) of flour and 10 g (2 TSP) of filtered water.

DAY 3
If your starter is already doubling at this point skip to day 4. If not than continue following instructions below.
You may begin to see signs of activity at this point such as small bubbles and a slightly sour aroma. 
* Without discarding any of what is in the jar, stir in 10 g ( 1 heaping TBS ) of flour and 10 g (2 TSP) of filtered water.

DAY 4
You should see clear signs of activity at this point. The starter will have risen since the last feeding and you will see bubbles.  

* Discard all but 25 g (1 TBS) of the starter.
* To the 25 g (1 TBS) of starter add 50g (3.5 TBS) of water and 50 g (6.5 TBS) of flour.

DAY 5
Your starter should be very active at this point. It will have doubled in size, be very bubbly, and smell sweet with just a hint of sourness. By Day 5 or less your starter will be very active. The time it takes to peak will have shortened from the previous days.

IN THE AM
* Discard all but 25 g ( 1 TBS) of the starter.
* To the 25 g (1 TBS ) of starter, add 60g ( 4 TBS) of filtered Luke warm water and 60g (8 TBS ) of flour.

IN THE PM
* Check your starter around the 7-hour mark. If it has close to tripled in size, then repeat the same feeding as you did in the AM. If it has not yet peaked, let it go another hour or two before checking again.
* At this point, your starter should be active enough to bake with.

DAY 6
The starter should be fully active at this point.


From here you can either keep you starter on the kitchen counter and feed it once or twice daily or you can stick it in the fridge and feed it once a week.

If your baking sourdough more than once a week I would recommend keeping it on the counter. If you bake only once a week or less than I recommend putting your starter in the fridge and feeding it once per week.

You can use the same feeding regimen above for the re-feeding. Discarding all but 30 grams of the starter. Adding 80 grams of filtered water. Then adding 80 grams of all purpose flour or 60 all purpose and 20 whole wheat. Let it double before putting it back into the fridge.