Welcome to The Tortured Bakers Department
Every great sourdough loaf starts with a good origin story. Thank you for taking home a piece of my dehydrated sourdough starter, Ruthie SweRise. Whether your starter packet arrived by mail or was hand-delivered, I'm so excited for you to begin this baking journey. Ruthie is meant to be shared in the hope that she brings a little joy, connection, and homemade goodness to your kitchen.
This website will guide you through bringing your starter back to life one feeding at a time. You'll find simple instructions for rehydrating your starter, keeping it healthy, pausing it when life gets busy, and getting it ready whenever baking calls. You'll also find recommended equipment, favorite discard recipes, and helpful tips I've learned along the way.
Consider this your official department handbook—less tortured, more toasted. Happy baking! 🥖✨
Every sourdough starter has a story, and mine begins long before flour and water ever met in a jar.
Ruthie SweRise is named after my step-grandma, Ruth—a woman who could have been the picture in the dictionary next to the phrase Susie Homemaker. Her kitchen was the kind of place where something delicious was always cooling on the counter, rising in a pan, or waiting to be shared with family and friends. She had a gift for baking, and somehow everything she made—from fresh breads to sweet treats—carried a little extra warmth.
Ruth wasn't just a baker; she was a nurturer. She expressed love through well-stocked cookie jars, homemade loaves, and the simple act of making sure everyone left her table with a full heart and a full stomach. Long before artisan sourdough became trendy, she understood what many bakers know to be true: good things take time, patience, and a little care.
When it came time to name my starter, Ruthie felt perfect. It's a nod to the woman who inspired generations of family baking traditions and a playful twist on "sweet rise"—the magical process that transforms simple ingredients into something extraordinary.
Like Grandma Ruth, this starter is dependable, hardworking, and happiest when it's creating something meant to be shared. Every loaf, cinnamon roll, or treat that begins with Ruthie is a small tribute to her legacy—a reminder that some of life's sweetest memories are made around the kitchen table.
So while Ruthie may live in a jar on my counter today, her story really started years ago in Grandma Ruth's kitchen, where flour dusted countertops, bread filled the air with its comforting aroma, and love was measured not in cups or grams, but in homemade baked goods shared with the people she cared about most. 💛🍞