FAQ

is My starter ready to bake with?

After following the directions on the back of the Frontiersman Sourdough pouch, your starter is ready to take on most baking tasks. For baking loaves of sourdough, we like to feed our starter an additional time at room temperature.

A common rule of thumb is that if a spoonful of starter floats in a glass of water, it is active enough to bake anything with. We commonly find our starter floats after just the second feeding.

Does Temperature Effect my Starter?

Yes, sourdough starter reacts more quickly at warmer temperatures. Feeding times are based on a 70°F room. A cooler room will cause the starter to process a feeding more slowly, a warmer room will cause the starter to process a feeding more quickly.

To create a 70-80 degree warming cabinet, turn on your oven light and shut the door. The heat of the bulb will increase the oven to a higher ambient temperature. In some ovens, over time this approach can create a space even warmer than desired so stick a thermometer in the oven to monitor heat.

What should my starter look like?

We encourage you to visit our instagram and see our story highlight called Active Starter. This helps give a sense of what your starter will look like after following the directions on the pouch. After the first feeding there will be subtle bubbles, after the second there will numerous bubbles and a ripe smell. Mix the flour and water thoroughly at each step to ensure they’re well incorporated. Don’t worry about losing bubbles!

If you find that your starter does not look bubbly like our examples, first consider the room’s temperature. A cooler ambient temperature will cause the starter to take much longer to achieve its active bubbly state. Set the starter in a warmer spot or be prepared to wait a while longer.

If the consistency does not look like our examples, add a table spoon of either water or flour to reach a more similar consistency, mix thoroughly,

Weight vs volume.

The instructions on the package call for measurements of ounces. Ounces measure weight and may only be performed using a kitchen scale (16 ounces to pound). If you would like to measure in volume, approximate ounces to cups conversions are found in the instructions section.

Keep in mind that flour and water have different weights for the same volume, water is much denser. We’ll give our starter equal parts flour and water by weight, not by volume.

Most serious bakers use a scale and bake exclusively using grams, this is what we recommend you graduate to doing for ease, quality, and consistency of your bakes.

How do I maintain my Starter?

Feeding your starter is the terminology used for maintaining a starter by adding equal parts flour and water to the starter, to keep it active and ready for use. See the bottom of the instructions page for details on how to maintain your starter over time

other tips and notes:

A digital food scale makes sourdough starter maintenance and baking much easier and more accurate. Feeding your starter will no longer be a process of measuring scant cups and applying conversions, but simply adding 4oz (113g) of flour and 4oz (113g) of water to the 4oz (113g) of starter in your jar. A scale is a readily available and inexpensive tool that seriously simplifies the process.

Name your starter. You’ll inherently care about it more and have a better experience with your sourdough.

Working with sourdough is as much an art as it is a science! It’s not ALL about ratios, weights, and timers; with experience you can more effectively manage your sourdough by using sight, smell, and feel.

SHIPPING

Orders are generally shipped within one week, however, shipping times may change seasonally and due to the production volume of our product, hand made in Alaska.

Once shipped, Frontiersman is not responsible for products lost or damaged in transit.

We currently only ship within the US.

RETURNS

If you are dissatisfied in any way, we will gladly accept returns on full price items* when postmarked within 7 days of order delivery. The returned merchandise must be free from wear, stains, odor or any condition that would prevent them from being sold as new. We reserve the right to deny any return. Returned items must be accompanied with a copy of the receipt. Refunds are credited to the original form of payment minus the cost of shipping.

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide online exchanges at this time. If you wish to make an exchange, we ask that you return the original item for a refund and purchase the desired item through the website as a separate transaction.

To return merchandise, please fill out this form with the subject line RETURN REQUEST + [Order Number] and we will begin to process the return.

*Sourdough starter and discounted items are ineligible for return.

We are a small team, thank you for being patient!

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