Ready to turn your dehydrated sourdough starter into something useful? Follow the steps below and you'll be baking in no time!
You'll need:
- 1 packet of Dehydrated Sourdough Starter
- Unbleached Flour (bread or all purpose)
- Water
- small spatula
- basic kitchen scale
- small glass jar
- jar cover, paper towel, or coffee filter & elastic band
Notes for covering your starter: Do not secure a lid as it will not allow the gasses to escape. Simply place it on top or cover with a paper towel or coffee filter secured with a rubber band.
** Notes on discard: Do NOT dump your discard down the drain. It has a cement-like property to it when it dries - just toss it in the garden or in the trash. You can place your discard in a jar and save it in the fridge to use in discard recipes!
Rehydration Process:
- DAY 1: In a small jar mix your 10 g packet of starter with 20 g of 80°F water. Allow the starter and water to sit for an hour or two, then stir in 10 g of flour. Cover and store in a warm spot for 24 hours.
- DAY 2-3: Mixture will look smooth and inactive. Little to no bubbles will be present. Without discarding any of the content of the jar, stir in 20 g of flour and 20 g of water. Cover and store in a warm spot for 24 hours.
- DAY 4: You should see activity! Your starter should have bubbles and may have risen since the last feeding. Discard all but 15 g of the starter. Stir in 30 g water and 30 g flour. (This is a 1:2:2 ratio). Set aside for 7-12 hours. Roughly 7-12 hours after your last feeding you should notice many small bubbles on the surface and sides. This is a sign that your starter is active and growing. If your starter looks like it has doubled in size, this is called ‘peak’. It will soon begin to decrease back to its original state. Continue storing covered and in a warm spot.
- DAY 5 +: Your starter should have doubled in size, be bubbly, and smell slightly sweet.
- Ready to start baking? Discard all but 50 g of the starter and stir in 100 g flour, 100 g water. Wait 6-8 hours for your starter to peak before baking.
- Not quite ready to bake? Discard all but 15 g of the starter. Add 15 g water and 15 g flour. This a low cost way to keep your starter alive without having a lot of discard - though there’s plenty of discard recipes available! Once you’re ready to bake you can bulk up your starter by using the “Ready to start baking” method.
FEEDING & MAINTAINING YOUR STARTER
If you received active (wet) starter from a local or a friend, you’ll need to start regular maintenance. You can either keep it fed and happy so you can bake on a regular basis, OR if you only bake once a week, you can keep a small amount and feed it daily to build discard, or store it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it.
NOT QUITE READY TO BAKE
Discard all but 15 g of the starter. Add 15 g water and 15 g flour. This a low cost way to keep your starter alive without having a lot of discard - though there’s plenty of discard recipes available! Once you’re ready to bake you can bulk up your starter by using the “Ready to Start Baking” method. At this point you can either discard and feed with the aforementioned rates every day so you can build discard, OR put it in the fridge with a lid.
If you choose to place it in the refrigerator, simply pull it out about 8 hours before you’re ready to bake and feed it 100 g water and 100 g flour. Note that peak times may vary, so I recommend doing this the night before and being ready to start dough in the morning.
READY TO BAKE
Discard all but 50 g of the starter and stir in 100 g flour, 100 g water. Wait 6-8 hours for your starter to peak before baking.
MY BAKING SCHEDULE
My baking schedule may vary by day, but I usually work with two options.
Feeding my starter at night to bake in the morning, or I’ll feed my starter as soon as I get out of bed so I can make dough in the afternoon.
