When I got my starter it was already old, this is back in the 1970's, got it from a game ranger in Nevada, kept it until 1990's, we were getting to fat. The secret is the aging of the starter, the more you use it the better it gets, it can be frozen, kept in refrigerator, or out on your counter, read all you can on the subject. Quite a history of this bread can be found in library's or internet.