Bavarian "Black Death" Sourdough Starter Circa 1633 THIS STARTER DISAPPEARED OFF OVER A YEAR AGO, WE ARE BRINGING IT BACK TO CONTINUE ITS HISTORY. WE PERSONALLY CAN NOT VERIFY ITS STORY, BUT IT IS A GOOD STORY AND MAKES A GREAT SOURDOUGH BREAD!!! I maintain a repository for rare and historic cultures that are being preserved for future generations. These historic cultures are now becoming available to the general public. I believe this culture to be one of the finest European starters available. It makes the wonderful bread that has become associated with the southern part of Germany. And, as one would expect, it comes with quite an interesting and rich history as well. Oral history indicates that this starter dates back to around the period of Germany?s Black Death (1633) and originated in or near the town of Oberammergau. It literally took me years to track down a reliable German culture from this time period. I was able to find this strain from a single family who had been handing it down through many generations. Note: One has to remember that commercial yeast for bread making wasn?t available until the 1920's. The only way families and bakeries could bake leavened bread prior to this was by having a reliable starter. With the advent of commercial yeast, most folks simply tossed out the starters they had been using for years. This is the only historic German starter I?ve been able to locate that has been passed down through one single family for almost 400 years. The bread it leavens is absolutely fabulous. Having been born and raised in Bavaria (not far from Oberammergau), I remember this as the bread I ate as a young child in the 1950?s. How fortunate I was in having found it. It is one of my favorite starters and now I share it with you. Upon payment, you will be mailed the authentic ?Bavarian Black Death? dried starter. There are no bulk fillers or commercial yeast Our item is vacuum sealed and has an expiration date of 12/30/2035