5 Sourdough Starter Kits Reviewers Say Are Actually Worth The Money

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Isn't it weird that a sourdough starter is technically a living thing? Sure, that's kind of an oversimplification — you won't be able to get it to do tricks anytime soon —  but the fact that you have to feed the yeast and bacteria inside the starter in order to get a good loaf of sourdough is at least a little trippy. Do you have to name it? When you inevitably eat it, how are you supposed to feel? And where do you go online to order a good one?

If you ask some in the baking community, they will tell you that you don't need a starter kit at all. All you really need is flour, water, and a bit of patience. But it's certainly nice to have a head start on the sourdough-making process rather than having to start from scratch, so it's at least worth checking out some of the options online. Here are five starter kits that have plenty of satisfied customers. And if you buy any of them, you can also get the affordable Costco butter that rivals Kerrygold to smear on the bread that the kits will yield.

This starter kit, courtesy of Costco's Nordic Ware, gives you absolutely everything you need to make sourdough — with one notable exception. You get a bread baking pan, a Danish whisk (this is Nordic Ware, after all), a bench scraper, a glass jar for your starter, and more. Some may balk at its price tag, which is notably higher than some of the other options on this list, but you can't say it doesn't give you what you need.

Well, you could say that, depending on your perspective, because this kit doesn't actually give you the sourdough starter culture itself. Maybe that's a deal breaker for some, but it does give you detailed instructions on how to make your own culture, so it's not so bad. Give someone a sourdough starter and they'll be fed for a day — teach them how to make their own and they'll be fed for life. "This set includes everything needed to get started on your sourdough journey," raved one review. "The pictured instructions are PHENOMENAL and take the guesswork out of accurate measuring and cook times."

You can buy this starter kit from Costco for $79.99.

Breadtopia takes almost the opposite approach of Nordic Ware. Whereas Nordic Ware gave you everything you need to make a sourdough loaf but the starter itself, Breadtopia gives you the starter without a whole lot else. This may sound like a drawback, but if you're already a baker, it's pretty helpful. After all, you don't necessarily need two dough whisks or bench scrapers, do you? (Of course, if you're a baker, you've probably made sourdough before — as a pandemic baker if nothing else — but maybe you just have a well-stocked kitchen.)

The kit comes with a tall glass jar with an O-ring, a spatula, and Breadtopia's dry sourdough starter. It's refreshingly no-fuss, and according to reviews, it's just the thing to give you some lovely, hearty loaves of sourdough bread. One Amazon review, titled "May Just Be the Cadillacs [sic] of Sourdough Starting Kits," goes on to note, "It's sturdy, thoughtfully designed, and makes sourdough life way less messy."

You can buy this starter kit from Amazon for $27.

If you're looking for an incredibly thorough starter kit but you don't want to spring for Nordic Ware, TeeMars' Sourdought Starter Kid, which is priced at almost a third less than Nordic Ware's price, is your best bet. TeeMars' sourdough starter kit contains 11 different items and will give you just about everything you need (again, aside from the starter itself, but it gives you detailed instructions on how to make it). Not only do you get a fancy 34-ounce glass jar (enough for four or five loaves), you also get a silicone spatula, proofing baskets, a feeding time-tracker for cultivating your starter, a bread-trimming knife, and much more.

According to one Amazon review, TeeMars' kit — which also sports an upbeat title ("Everything you need for a newbie like me!")— claims, "It provides all the essential tools to confidently begin your sourdough journey and create delicious loaves of bread." Another concurred that it was very beginner-friendly, with one caveat: "My only zonk is that they didn't put any beginner friendly recipes on the card." (Man, what a delightful turn of phrase "zonk" is.)

You can buy this starter kit from Amazon for $28.99.

Ooh la la! What a fancy name this starter kit has — French has a way of making everything seem sophisticated, doesn't it? Well, despite the name, the Sur La Table Sourdough Starter Kit isa relatively bare-bones package. It offers two glass jars with vented lids, a spatula, measurement bands, and a recipe book. But again, it's pretty handy if you already have all the necessary baking equipment, and you shouldn't underestimate how useful two glass jars can be.

Maintaining a sourdough starter means you have to do a lot of feeding, or pouring flour and yeast from one container into another. By using two identical glass jars, you can easily transfer starters from one to the other without having to worry about the ratio going off. It may not be as flashy as the bells and whistles you'll get from TeeMars, but it's a pretty good deal all the same.

You can buy this starter from the company website for $39.95.

Sometimes it's hard to keep track of what's going on in your life. Whether you're trying to remember if you paid your estimated quarterly taxes or if you simply don't know if you left the oven on when you left the house (you should always preheat the oven, but not when you're away from home), it can be difficult to keep everything running smoothly. Luckily, the KneadAce Pro Sourdough Starter Kit is able to help, at least when it comes to your sourdough.

Its glass jar comes with an elastic band that lets you keep track of the last day you fed your starter, making sure the living organisms in your starter don't skip a meal. It also comes with a thermometer, which means you're able to better control your bundle of yeasty joy's environment. Reviews on Amazon generally agree. "I absolutely love this sourdough starter kit!" said one. "It's super beginner-friendly but also great for more experienced bakers. Everything you need comes in one set, and the jar is sturdy, well-designed, and easy to maintain."

You can buy this starter kit on Amazon for $29.98.