Mellbree Sourdough Starter Jar Kit, 24 oz Sourdough Bread Starter Jar Kit for the Perfect Sour Dough Bread & Sourdough Starter Kit

It has been a while since I made Sourdough bread, and I was wanting to do so again but my gallon starter jar is busy with sauerkraut so time to expand my inventory.This kit is put together well. The 32oz jar is sturdy and large enough for a healthy batch of starter, and it was well packed to avoid damage during shipping. That's always a plus. It is marked in both milliliters and ounces, so you don't have to worry about unit conversion.It comes with an elastic band with days/times printed on it to help as a feeding reminder. That will prove handy to me, as I typically refrigerate the starter between bread batches to reduce the effort in feeding my 'sourdough pet'. This way I don't have to mark a calendar to remember when I last fed it. It also has an adhesive thermometer which I probably will not use, as I don't know how it will stand up to washing, especially the dishwasher. Besides, I know the temp of my house, and precise temperature is not critical when making starter, between 65 and 77F is fine (in my experience). And it has a very sturdy narrow stirring spatula that will make feeding much easier (no more using a giant spatula to stir!).The kit also comes with a breathable cover (think cheesecloth with an elastic band) for the initial fermentation, and a hard lid with a seal for later on. Be very careful when using this, never screw it down tight as you may create a glass grenade, not something you want in your kitchen. There are a couple indentations in the lid , presumably to prevent this, but too much force might defeat that. There are no instructions or warnings included, that would be a good warning to add to the kit if they ever make any changes. Oh, and the lid is larger than a wide mouth lid, so don't lose it, it may not be easy to find a replacement.As mentioned, no instructions are included, so you'll have to look elsewhere if you need the details on how to make starter. I picked up Ruth Allman's book on Alaska Sourdough while in Fairbanks some decades ago, but there are now many resources available on the Internet, so nothing really missing there.

The glass jar in this kit came very well packages so that it would be highly unlikely to break in shipping. The ~24oz jar reminds me of a slightly oversized canning jar similar to what is often used to make pickles. I like the shape of this jar better than the one I bought from a prominent baking company because the slimmer shape takes up less room in my refrigerator AND because it has thicker (canning-style) glass. I have been maintaining sourdough starter for about a year now and recently killed my first batch with neglect. This kit has a sturdy elastic strip that you place around the jar to see how much the starter has grown and it is printed with the day of the week and the 3 hour intervals so you can have a visual reminder of when to feed it next. The kit includes a very nicely sewn elasticized muslin top so you can feed the starter at room temperature and let it breath. The kit also comes with a tight sealing lid (similar to a wide-mouth canning jar lid, except slightly bigger (so not interchangeable). A temperature strip is included but I don't have experience with using one of those, so I will have to do more research to understand the target temperature for optimal performance of the starter. Among my favorite things that came in this kit is the slim rigid silicone spatula that can be used to stir in the feed and scrape down the side of the jar. This was missing from the system I originally bought and I was always a little annoyed by the layer of "skum" that collected on the glass. Before killing my starter in my previous setup, I dehydrated and froze some, I am on my way to the kitchen now to unthaw and revive that reserve so that I can use this new system to get back to using sourdough. There are so many more recipes that call for sourdough that I can't wait to get back to a point where I can try some.

I love baking bread but new to sourdough making. I don't know if it was just me, but my kit didn't come with any information, so be sure to look at the photos in the product description to know what everything is for. Aside from that, it's an excellent kit for yourself or for gift giving.The jar is a good thickness, and the markings are super helpful. I even knew how much to discard easily because the jar lists it's own weight. The thermometer was easy to adhere to the jar and is accurate. The band helps me easily keep track of how far along in the process I'm at. In the photo you can see my starter grew quite a lot past the line it originally was at, which is very promising. The fabric cover keeps things tidy, and the metal lid will be great if it later goes to the refrigerator.This might sound silly, but the kit is worth buying just for the little silicone spatula alone. It can get into the nooks of any jar of a similar size, so that is going to stay very handy.I have hope that I'll succeed at sourdough thanks I'm large part to this set!

This starter jar kit is perfect for a beginner like me. After washing everything I attached the thermometer to the outside of the jar. I washed the linen cover separately, by hand, in a little soap water and then rinsed it and let it air dry. I don't think I will throw it in the washing machine or dryer because linen shrinks. At first, I was a little unsure about how to attach the thermometer. I figured it was self-adhesive, but the back didn't seem to separate easily. I was afraid to peel the back off in case it wasn't. There were no instructions, so I finally just peeled it off and it attached easily. The jar is large enough to hold the starter and was big enough for me to use the silicone spatula to stir the flour and water then clean the inside of the jar. I liked that the jar was straight sided because it was easier to stir and to scrape the sides clean. The elastic band for tracking the fermentation went on easily and will be helpful in days to come as I feed the starter. The linen cover was easy to put on and will allow the starter to breathe. I can't wait to get the starter established and make a loaf of bread. I think the description should include "self-adhesive thermometer" or there should be a notation on the sleeve that the thermometer was in.