I have two starters, plus sourdough buckwheat pancake dough. My favorite began with a brioche yeast my sister brought back from France, and it's still going strong four years later. I love its mild flavor and texture. (I refrigerate mine and feed them about once a week, including adding about a half a teaspoon of sugar.) The other was from a packet of "Gold Rush" starter purchased in Alaska. The packet sat forgotten in my cupboard for years; the date said 1997. I had bought another packet of the same starter and used it while baking one season at a remote Alaskan resort. The forgotten packet resuscitated well three years ago, and has a more robust flavor and texture than the French strain. I once read that women on the Oregon Trail before leaving home took a piece of cloth, soaked their starter in it and dried it, then reconstituted it with water. A company called Sourdoughs International in Idaho has collected sourdough starters from around the world, including two from Egypt, and one from the Yukon. They are dried and sold in packets. One year, I gave different strains to my siblings as a Christmas present.

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