Meet Myrtle: How to Bring Our Sourdough Starter Into Your Kitchen
If you’ve followed Mother’s Love Homestead for very long, you’ve probably heard us talking about a woman named Myrtle.
Except Myrtle isn’t a woman.
She’s our sourdough starter. 😉
And she’s responsible for an awful lot of what comes out of the Mother’s Love Homestead Bakehouse.
Now there’s another way to meet her.
You can bring Myrtle home.
Wait…You Can Mail a Sourdough Starter?
Absolutely. We simply dehydrate her.
A healthy sourdough starter is spread thin and allowed to dry completely. Once dry, it can be broken into flakes and packaged without keeping an actively bubbling jar alive during its journey.
What arrives in your pouch may not look very exciting. But add flour, water and a little patience—and Myrtle wakes back up.
Why Start With an Established Starter?
You can absolutely create a sourdough starter from flour and water yourself. Beginning with an established dehydrated starter simply gives you another option: you’re reviving a starter that has already been maintained and used for baking.
And in this case, you’re baking with a tiny piece of the same Myrtle we use here.
Don’t Expect Instant Bread
Rehydrating Myrtle is not like adding instant yeast to flour. She needs time.
During the first feedings, you may see very little activity. Then perhaps a few bubbles. Then more. Eventually, you’ll begin seeing the rise-and-fall pattern that tells you she’s becoming active again.
Don’t panic if Day One isn’t dramatic. Sourdough rewards patience.
We’ve Made the Instructions Easy
We created a complete step-by-step guide showing you how to rehydrate Myrtle once she arrives, so you don’t have to guess what to do with those little dried flakes.
What Can You Make With Her?
Your revived Myrtle can become the beginning of traditional sourdough bread, but she doesn’t have to stop there.
Bagels
English muffins
Pizza crust
Pancakes
Muffins
Scones
Cookies
Crackers
Focaccia
Some recipes use active starter for fermentation and rise. Others are wonderful ways to use sourdough discard. Either way, one little jar can become a surprisingly useful member of the kitchen.
Myrtle Is a Living Thing
Once she’s awake, Myrtle needs care. Not complicated care—but regular care.
If you bake frequently, you may choose to keep your starter at room temperature and feed it regularly. If you’re an occasional baker, refrigeration can make maintaining your starter much easier.
You’ll learn her rhythm. You’ll recognize what she looks like when she’s hungry. You’ll eventually know when she’s ready to bake without staring nervously at the clock.
And yes…you may eventually find yourself talking to her. We don’t judge. 😂
A Little Piece of Our Bakehouse, In Yours
Of all the things we make at Mother’s Love Homestead, there’s something particularly special about sharing Myrtle.
A sourdough starter can keep going. You can feed it, bake with it, share some with a friend and even dehydrate some yourself.
Years from now, the starter bubbling on someone’s counter could still trace its way back to this little South Georgia homestead. We think that’s pretty wonderful.
Happy baking—and welcome to the Myrtle family. 🤍
Mary & Dan
Mother’s Love Homestead
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