About Us - Sourdough Bread Starter Kits

A note from Josh

Hey, I'm Josh, the founder of You Knead Sourdough.

I never set out to become a sourdough baker, let alone run a sourdough business. It wasn't passed down through generations or scribbled in a family recipe book. I came across it one day and thought, "Why not give this a go?"

What makes that more surprising is that I didn't grow up in a house full of the smell of fresh bread. If anything, the opposite. My mum has coeliac disease, so there wasn't much gluten at home. I came to sourdough with no tradition behind me and no real expectations, just curiosity about how something so simple could be so rewarding.

This wasn't the plan

My days used to involve construction plans and hard hats, not sourdough starters. I studied structural engineering and worked in construction management, building things a fair bit more solid than bread. If you'd told me back then that I'd end up running a sourdough business, I probably would have laughed.

It was a good career, but it never lit me up the way baking did. Looking after a starter gave me a small daily routine that was calming and satisfying, and I found life felt better when I slowed down and paid attention, for my family as much as for me.

The hobby became a habit, and once my kids came along it became a way to feed them too. There's something hard to beat about knowing the bread on the table came from your own hands.

The idea behind the kit

You Knead Sourdough started small, bubbling away on the side much like a starter. I began teaching friends to make their own loaves, firing off long-winded text instructions and answering frantic "why is my dough so sticky?" messages late at night. I loved it, especially that moment when something clicks for someone and it all falls into place.

I'd been through the confusing YouTube spirals and the sticky disasters and the loaves that came out more like bricks, so I knew exactly where people got stuck. I wanted to take away the overwhelm and hand people some confidence instead. So I put together a kit. It wasn't fancy, but it had everything you needed to bake a first loaf, with instructions I wrote carefully and tools I picked for a reason.

I still remember packing those first orders at the kitchen table, a bit stunned that someone out there wanted to learn sourdough from me. No warehouse, no clever fulfilment software. Just boxes, a label printer, and a lot of excitement.

How far it's come

The first kit went out the door in early 2021, and the response floored me. Photos of first loaves started landing in my inbox, along with stories of parents baking with their kids and messages from people who'd nearly given up on sourdough before the kit.

Since then we've grown more than I ever imagined. What began as a side hustle with a single product has now reached more than 90,000 home bakers. These days there's a small, dedicated team behind the scenes, and our support has turned into a real community of bakers helping each other out.

We've expanded the range carefully so there's something for every stage, with premium flour grown by Australian farmers and tools chosen to make the whole thing simpler. The heart of it hasn't changed: helping people feel confident enough to have a go and share something homemade with the people they love.

What we believe

Sourdough isn't only for professional bakers. It belongs in everyday kitchens, around busy schedules, with plenty of learning as you go. It suits Sunday afternoons, sticky fingers, and curious kids hanging off your elbow.

In a noisy world, it pulls you back to something basic. You slow down, you pay attention, and you make something real with your hands. I was never chasing a perfect loaf; what kept me hooked was the patience it asks for, and it still does. That's what we knead.

So grab a mixing bowl, dust off your banneton, and let's get baking. I can't wait to see what you make.

Cheers,
Josh