Alive, Bubbling, and Off the Menu: Can You Sell Sourdough Starter in Indiana?

The Healey Farm
Sep 4
3 min read

Step into our kitchen and you’ll find something quietly at work — a living, breathing culture that never stops growing. It bubbles, it rises, and it transforms simple flour and water into the foundation of one of the world’s oldest breads. This is sourdough starter: wild yeast and bacteria working in harmony to create flavor and life.

Many people ask us the same question: “Can you sell sourdough starter in Indiana?” It’s a fair question, because starter feels like something you should be able to share, just like loaves of bread. But Indiana’s Cottage Food Law draws a clear line between what can and cannot be sold.

And while it’s the heart of our loaves at The Bread Barn™, it’s one thing you’ll never see on our menu. Not because we don’t love it, but because Indiana’s Cottage Food Law keeps this wild companion a part of our story — not a product we can sell.

Plastic bins of sourdough dough stacked and rising in a farmhouse kitchen, each container bubbling with life after beginning as a small spoonful of active starter. In the background, clear tubs labeled with different flour blends and bread types show careful preparation. The image highlights the natural fermentation process of wild yeast and flour, transforming into lively, elastic dough ready for shaping, enhancing, and baking into artisan loaves. — From a small spoonful of active sourdough starter to lively bins of dough, the transformation never stops amazing us. 🌾 That little culture bubbles to life, expanding into full batches ready for shaping, scoring, and turning into loaves with character. What begins as a whisper of wild yeast becomes the heart of every sourdough bread we share. 🥖✨

📜 Can You Sell Sourdough Starter in Indiana?

Under Indiana’s Cottage Food Law, home-based food vendors can sell baked goods, dry mixes, candies, honey, and other foods that are shelf-stable and ready to enjoy. But sourdough starter is different. Because it’s alive and requires ongoing feeding, it doesn’t qualify as “shelf-stable.” For that reason, it’s not permitted for sale — even though it’s at the very heart of the bread we bake.

🌾 What Makes Sourdough Starter So Special?

Sourdough starter is more than an ingredient — it’s a living tradition. Just flour and water left to mingle with the natural yeast and bacteria in the air becomes a culture that, with regular feedings, can thrive for decades. Each starter develops its own personality: some taste tangy and sharp, others mild and sweet. Bakers often treat starters like family, passing them down through generations.

At The Bread Barn™, our starter is cared for daily. It’s fed, nurtured, and watched closely, because like any living thing, it needs attention. That’s part of what makes sourdough bread so unique — every loaf carries the signature of a culture that is truly alive.

📜 Why We Can’t Sell It

Here’s where Indiana’s Cottage Food Law comes in. Home-based food businesses like ours are permitted to sell baked goods, dry mixes, candies, and other foods that are shelf-stable and ready to enjoy.

But sourdough starter is different. Because it’s alive and requires feeding, it doesn’t qualify as “shelf-stable.” For that reason, the law doesn’t allow us to sell it — even though it’s at the very heart of the bread we bake.

This isn’t bad news. In fact, it’s a reminder of how special starter really is: it belongs in the rhythm of a baker’s kitchen, not sitting on a store shelf.

So, can you sell sourdough starter in Indiana? The short answer is no. Because starter is alive and requires ongoing feeding, it isn’t considered shelf-stable, which is the standard that Indiana’s Cottage Food Law uses for home-based food businesses.

🥖 How You Can Still Enjoy It

Even though we can’t sell you a jar of starter, you can still taste its magic in every sourdough loaf we bake. Or, if you’re adventurous, you can start your own at home with nothing more than flour, water, and patience. Watching a starter come alive is one of the most rewarding parts of baking, and it gives you a deeper appreciation for every loaf that follows.

If you’d rather skip the feeding schedule and dive straight into the flavor, our fresh sourdough loaves and dry bread mixes are the perfect way to bring that goodness to your table.

While the answer to “Can you sell sourdough starter in Indiana?” is no, the good news is that you can still enjoy everything starter brings to the table through our sourdough loaves and mixes.

❤️ Our Promise

At The Bread Barn™, we believe food is more than fuel — it’s connection, tradition, and story. By following Indiana’s Cottage Food Law, we ensure everything we share with you is not only delicious but also compliant and trustworthy.

And by keeping sourdough starter “off the menu,” we get to keep telling the story of something that’s alive, bubbling, and always teaching us more about the art of bread.