Never heard of putting spores in rice bags? We started with tubes of sterile petri dishes. An agar (jello) solution was prepared from agar, boiled potato water and dextrose.
Once dissolved was sterilized in mason jars in a pressure cooker. Agar transfered to dishes in a small sterile chamber and allowed to cool.
Then again in sterile chamber, the dishes were inoculated with sterile loop and set aside. Another batch of agar filled petri dishes are prepared, and pieces of germ free mycelium used to inoculate new dishes.
Eventually, you will get several dishes that will be pure white. These are used to transfer mycelium to whatever medium you are using. We used rye grain with a little gypsom sterilized inside mason jars.
Bubba