Went to a bakery in Portland and noticed everyone using the same sourdough starter

I stopped by a little bakery in Portland last weekend, and I saw three different bakers all pulling from what looked like identical starter jars... it got me thinking. The owner told me they all started from a single batch she got from a baker in San Francisco 5 years ago. Has anyone else noticed how many bakeries in one area seem to be working off the same lineage?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_wendy17h ago

Theres probably a secret starter black market in Portland and nobody wants to talk about it. You think that baker in San Francisco just handed it over for free?

thompson.christopher6h agoMost Upvoted

Yeah I feel that. The whole sourdough starter thing got blown way out of proportion during the pandemic but honestly there's something odd about how secretive some people are with it. I had a buddy who tried to get a piece from a bakery in Seattle and they basically acted like he was asking for their bank account number. Made me wonder too if there's some underground trading happening with the really old starters.