One of our favorite sourdough starter cultures, Desem is a Flemish-style starter made with organic whole wheat flour. It makes delicious whole grain bread. For best results, we recommend feeding your Desem sourdough culture weekly.
Desm sourdough culture is available as a dried culture. Dried sourdough cultures are shelf stable and do not have to be fed or cared for immediately (making them more appropriate for busy individuals or to be given as a gift). Dried sourdough cultures can be ready to create baked goods within 3-5 days.
Detailed instructions will be included with your order. Click here to view our dried sourdough instructions.
Shipping Information: Dried sourdough starter is available for international shipping (sourdough starter kits are not available for international shipping).
Option: Desem Sourdough Starter Kit
Get started making sourdough!
Our Desem Whole Wheat Sourdough Starter Kit includes:
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Quart-size jar with plastic lid
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Flemish-style Desem Whole Wheat Sourdough culture
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Wooden spoon
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Baking with Sourdough booklet
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Detailed instructions
Shipping Information: Sourdough Starter Kits are not available for international shipping.
Desem Whole Wheat Sourdough Starter Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. What ingredients does the Desem sourdough starter contain?
A. The sourdough culture contains wild yeast. It has been maintained using filtered water and organic whole wheat flour.
Q. Is the Desem sourdough starter dairy-free?
A. Yes, our Desem sourdough culture does not contain any dairy products (please note, all of our starter cultures are prepared for shipment in the same facility so any starter may contain trace amounts of dairy, soy, nuts, etc.).
Q. Where can I find a good recipe for baking bread and other baked goods using the Desem starter?
A. Here are some excellent sources for recipes:
- Baking with Sourdough booklet available here on our website (21 recipes for a variety of baked goods including bread, biscuits, cookies, etc.)
- Click here to view links to a number of sourdough recipes
- Click here to view a wonderful basic sourdough bread recipe
Q. What is involved with caring for the Desem starter?
A. Caring for a the Desem culture is a simple process. If you make baked goods using your starter during the week, the process will feed your culture for that week. If you do not make anything with your culture during the week, feeding the sourdough culture is a quick process. Simply remove your sourdough culture from the refrigerator. If a dark liquid has formed on top, discard the dark liquid. You may need to discard portion of the starter as well to make room for the flour and water. Mix in 1/2 cup filtered water and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour. Stir vigorously ensuring you incorporate plenty of air. Allow the Desem to sit lightly capped at room temperature for a few hours then return the starter to the refrigerator. For the long term health of the starter culture, we recommend feeding your sourdough culture weekly.
Q. What supplies do I need to care for my Desem whole wheat sourdough starter?
A. To care for your Desem starter we recommend the following:
- A container to keep the starter in (we usually use a glass with a plastic lid)
- A utensil to stir the sourdough culture (we prefer wooden spoons)
- Whole Wheat flour
- Filtered water
To make it easier for you to care for your sourdough starter, we offer the option of a sourdough starter kit which includes a glass jar with a plastic lid, a wooden spoon, the Baking with Sourdough recipe booklet and the Desem sourdough starter.
Q. Where do I keep my Desem culture?
A. If you use your culture daily to make baked goods, you can keep it in a container on the counter. If you only bake with your sourdough culture a few times a week or less and don't want to feed the starter everyday, it should be kept in the fridge with a tight fitting lid.
Q. Is the Desem culture reusable?
A. Yes, all of our sourdough cultures are traditional starter cultures and are meant to be used for many years. We even know someone who has had their sourdough culture for over 30 years!
Q. How is working with Desem sourdough different than working with yeast?
A. There are a couple of fundamental differences between baking with sourdough and baking with yeast:
- Sourdough does require minimal care (weekly feedings)
- You do have to do a bit of advanced planning to bake with sourdough as your starter will need to be fed 1-3 time prior to using it for baking (see below for information on making "fresh starter" for recipes and for fermenting sourdough to achieve a more sour flavor)
- Sourdough requires a longer rise time than commercial yeast. Plan to allow your sourdough bread 4-24 hours to rise (depending on temperature, other environmental factors and desired sourness). If you do not have that much time to allow the bread to rise, a pinch (just a pinch!) of instant commercial yeast (make sure it's the instant variety) will speed the rise process while retaining the complex sourdough flavor.
Q. How do I feed my Desem whole wheat sourdough starter?
A. Simply remove the Desem culture from the refrigerator. If a dark liquid has formed on top, discard the dark liquid. You may need to discard portion of the starter as well to make room for the flour and water. Mix in the equal amounts of water and flour. Stir vigorously ensuring you incorporate plenty of air. Allow the starter to sit lightly capped at room temperature for a few hours then return the starter to the refrigerator.
Q. What is "fresh sourdough starter" called for in most recipes?
A. Fresh sourdough starter is culture which has been fed (see above) within the last 12 hours and allowed to set for a few hours to ferment. For example, if you want to make sourdough bread in the morning, feed the sourdough culture prior to going to bed and leave it on the counter lightly covered. If you want to make sourdough bread after work, feed the culture prior to leaving for work and leave it on the counter lightly covered.
To prepare fresh sourdough in preparation for baking, remove the culture from the fridge and place one cup of the starter in a bowl or other container. Add an amount of water and flour equal to the amount of fresh starter required for your recipe. For example, if your recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups fresh starter, mix the cup of sourdough culture with 1 1/2 cups water and 1 1/2 cups flour. Stir vigorously to incorporate plenty of air and allowed to sit lightly covered (a dish towel works well) for at least a few hours (up to 12 hours). When it is time to bake bread, remove 1 1/2 cups of starter from the bowl to use in your recipe and return the remaining 1 cup of starter to your master sourdough culture in the fridge. This process feeds your master sourdough culture for the week.
Q. Can I use freshly ground flour to feed my Desem sourdough starter? To bake sourdough bread?
A. Feeding your sourdough culture with freshly ground flour is problematic as sourdough culture prefers aged flour. Therefore we recommend placing your freshly ground flour in a bowl on the counter covered lightly with a dish towel for several weeks before using it to feed your sourdough culture. Once it is time to bake bread, you can use freshly ground flour as the flour portion of the bread recipe.
Q. Can I switch the Desem whole wheat starter to a new type of flour (i.e. Spelt, etc.)?
A. Yes, you can switch the starter culture to a different type of flour using these simple steps:
- If you have just received your sourdough culture, first get the culture going (feed it a few times) using the flour the culture is accustomed to (white for white flour starters, rye for rye flour starters, etc.)
- Once the culture is clearly healthy and flourishing, split the sourdough culture in two. Place one half in the fridge and work with the second half. Sometimes there is a bit of a learning curve when switching a sourdough culture to a new type of flour. The half starter in the fridge serves as a back up just in case.
- Start feeding the second half of the starter with the new type of flour.
Q. Where can I learn more about Desem sourdough starter?
A. There are several wonderful information sources and bread baking blogs with reviews of Desem sourdough culture:
Click here for more sourdough starter FAQ's.
Click here for more information on sourdough starter including recipes and informational resources.
