dehydrated sourdough starter

Follow this step-by-step guide to reactivate a dry sourdough starter. The process takes about a week, but is very easy to do! By the end, a small amount of dry sourdough will transform into a voluminous, bubbly, active culture - ready to bake with. But not just once! With a little love and weekly care, one sourdough starter will provide you with years and years of delicious, nutritious, and rewarding sourdough baking at home.

How To Reactivate A Dry (Dehydrated) Sourdough Starter

Tbsp sourdough starter culture

white bread flour flour

water

How to Reactivate a Dry (Dehydrated) Sourdough Starter

In a clean pint-size mason jar (or similar) combine 1/2 Tbsp of dried sourdough starter powder or flakes (one H&amp;C package) with 1.5 Tbsp of filtered lukewarm water. Allow the dry sourdough starter and water to sit for several minutes to soften and combine. Use a fork or spoon to stir it on occasion.

Add 1 Tbsp of flour. Mix thoroughly. (See consistency notes below)

Cover the jar with a lid, beeswax wrap, plate, or other cover to prevent it from drying out. Set the container in a moderately warm location (70 to 75F is ideal). Come back in about 24 hours.

Day 1

Into the same jar as yesterday, add 1 Tbsp of flour and 2 teaspoons of water to the starter. Mix well.

Cover the jar or container again, and allow it to sit for another 24 hours.

Day 2

Repeat the same feeding process as Day 2 (1 Tbsp flour and 2 teaspoons water).

Day 3

This time, add 1/3 cup flour and 1/4 cup water to the starter. Mix well.

Cover the container and set aside once again. Consider marking the level of the starter after feeding. It should rise quite a bit by this time!

Day 4

Transfer your starter from the mason jar into a clean mixing bowl.

Add 1 scant cup of fresh flour (just a hair shy of a cup!) and 1/2 cup of water. Mix thoroughly.

Transfer the starter into a new larger container of choice (such as a 1 to 2 liter glass flip-top jar). This will be the starters &quot;forever home&quot;. Set it aside at room temperature once again.

If your starter is now actively bubbling, rising and falling - congratulations! You have successfully reactivated the dry sourdough starter. When a starter rises to double its size and then stays elevated, that is considered “peak activity” and is ready to bake with. It will deflate after a few hours and need to be fed or refrigerated.

Day 5

To learn how to feed and store you now-active sourdough starter, please refer to our sourdough starter maintenance article (linked in the notes below). If you aren&#039;t sure what to do next, put your active starter in the fridge while you do your homework!

Ongoing Starter Maintenance

This recipe creates a small volume starter with minimum discard.  Since the starter volume is less, it peaks very fast and you will have to feed it 3-4 times a day. This quick feeding will help to mature and stabilize the starter much quicker than any other conventional recipe( where you feed cups of starter 2 times a day). That is why I call it a quick sourdough starter.

Quick sourdough starter recipe with minimum discard

flour

200 g Filtered water (for the first 5 days)

Start in the afternoon. About 3:00 p.m. This is the warmest time of the day, hence it is ideal to initiate a starter. But if you live in a warmer climate, you might want to start early in the morning.( For more clarity on the schedule, refer to the schedule table in the post)

Take a clean and dry glass jar, preferably sterilized. We start by mixing 5 grams of flour in 5 grams of water. Mix well to ensure that no dry flour patch is left. If you are using whole grain rye flour, increase the water to flour ratio to 1:1.25.

Use colder or warmer water to adjust the temperature of the starter to 80 0 F ( read temperature section).

Place the lid on the jar properly, ensuring that no air enters the jar. The thing is that it is a very little amount of flour and water mixture. We do not want it to dry due to being exposed to the air.

Let it stay like that for about 24 hours.

Feeding l: Next day: 9:00 am

Place the jar on a weighing scale and tare it. Now add 5 g of water and mix well, to obtain a batter-like consistency, now add 5 g of whole wheat flour (or whichever flour you are going to use). Mix well so that there are no dry patches of flour left. Scrape down the sides and even the top.

Cover with the lid. Please note we are not going to discard anything until the starter starts to double up in volume.

In the first 24-48 hours we want to initiate maximum microbial activity in the starter. It will only after a substantial fermentation has kicked in, we will try to clean your starter and try to strengthen the desired microbiota.

Place a rubber band around the jar to mark the level of starter or use a marker. Now observe the fermentation activity in the starter. Depending on the weather and climate in your place, it may take longer. So wait till some fermentation activity kicks in.

Feeding ll: 2:00 pm - 3:00pm

You should start to see good activity in the starter by this time. Do not discard anything, just add more flour and water. 20g of flour and 20 g of water this time. Starter: flour: water ratios will be 1:1:1for this feeding and onward. Though you can modify it if your starter is very vigorous. ( read the maintenance notes)

Place a rubber band or maker to measure the microbial activity in the starter.

Feeding lll : 9:00 p.m.

The starter would have doubled or tripled in some cases. If this is not the case for you, do not worry. Just follow the schedule, it will kick in eventually.

Now discard 50 g of the starter and retain only 10 g.

Then, add 10 g of water, mix well and then add in 10 g of the whole wheat flour. Mix well, mark, and cover the starter.

Feeding l: 9:00 am

In 12 hours your starter would have doubled or tripled. And there are chances that it might have already fallen, which translates that the starter is hungry now.

Now discard 20 g and retain only 10 grams of the starter. To do that you can simply place the jar on the weighing machine and tare. Now start removing the starter from the jar. You know that there was 30 g of starter in the jar last night, so just keep removing it till the scale reads -20g.(Alternately note the weight of the jar before starting, it makes all measurements easy.)

Now you will be left with 10 g of the starter. Feed it with an equal quantity of water and flour, 10 g of each. Cover the jar and mark the levels. Observe how much time is it taking to become double or more in volume.

Observe the larger bubbles on the sides and especially at the top surface you would be seeing some dimples left by the bubbles. When the starter would be rising or in its exponential ( log phase) you would observe a dome-shaped top surface. But when it has peaked, the top surface will start to become straight and then fall eventually. The perfect time to feed again is before it starts to fall or when it has just begun to fall.

Feeding ll: At 2:00 p.m

Discard 20 g and feed the remaining starter with 10 g of flour and water each.

If your starter starts to fall much before say in 2-3 hours, modify your feeding ratio to 1:2:2. i.e. for 10 g of starter, feed 20g of flour and water each.

Feeding lll: At 9:00 p.m.

For the night we have to scale the volume of the starter as it will be staying at room temperature for 12 hours. So, discard all and retain only 10 g of starter. Add 30 g of water, mix well, and then add 30 g of whole wheat flour. ( feeding ratio 1:3:3).

Please note there is no one size fits all recipe for making a sourdough starter. Your starter might not be peaking in even in 6 hours or 12 hours. In such cases don't increase the feeding ratio. Stick with 1:1:1.

By now, you will have an idea about how much time does the starter takes to peak. So schedule your feeding ratio and timing according to that. Feed it at the peak, preferably before it starts to fall.

And it might be the day to change the flour if you want to. Start by using half the volume of bread flour or all-purpose flour ( whatever you want your starter to be).

Feeding 1: 9:00 a.m.

Start by retaining 10 grams and discarding the rest. First, dilute it with 10 g of water and then feed it with 5 g of whole wheat and 5 g of all-purpose flour.

By feeding 2 or 3, replace the whole wheat flour with all-purpose flour.

Repeat your last feeding schedule. If you want to test if your tap water will work, this might be the time to test it.

If everything looks well, you could use this starter to leaven some pancakes. Give it at least 10 days before you use it to leaven a bread.

Repeat the process. You can limit the feeding to 2 times a day placed 12 hours apart, by simply scaling the feeding ratios. You can conveniently go up to 1:6:6 ( in the case of very vigorous starters) But 1:3:3 will just work fine for most of the cases.

If you always retain 10 g of the starter, you will have a stable starter of 70 g by the end of the 10th day. After that, if you want to scale your starter, just retain more. You would have got the hang of it by that time.

I would wait for up to 2 weeks before baking with the starter, but many of my friends have baked bread with it much before that with satisfactory results.

Day 6-10

A detailed guide on how to revive dried sourdough starter to full strength in less than a week.

How to Revive Dried Sourdough Starter

sourdough starter

unbleached bread

filtered water (room temperature)

Please reference the photos and observation notes in the article above before proceeding.

Day One Morning: Combine 5 grams finely crumbled dried sourdough starter in a small glass jar. Add 25 grams (100°F/38°C) filtered water. Stir until the dry starter is completely submerged in the water. Cover with a lid and allow mixture to sit for one hour at 76°F/24°C or room temperature.

After an hour, add 20 grams bread flour (I recommend King Arthur brand for this guide) and stir with a spatula until thoroughly combined. Note: We&#39;re using slightly more water than flour in this first feeding - a thinner, more hydrated starter allows for increased activity for yeast and bacteria.  Cover with a lid and store at 76°F/24°C (or room temperature) for 24 hours.

Day Two Morning: Combine 10 grams starter mixture (discard the rest), 25 grams bread flour, and 25 grams room temperature filtered water in a glass jar. Mix with a spatula until thoroughly combined. Cover with a lid and store at 76°F/24°C (or room temperature) for 24 hours.

Day Three Morning: Combine 10 grams starter mixture (discard the rest), 25 grams bread flour, and 25 grams room temperature filtered water in a glass jar. Mix with a spatula until thoroughly combined. Cover with a lid and store at 76°F/24°C (or room temperature) for 24 hours.

Day Four Morning: Combine 10 grams starter mixture, 25 grams bread flour, and 25 grams room temperature filtered water in a glass jar. Mix with a spatula until thoroughly combined. Cover with a lid and store at 76°F/24°C (or room temperature) - check back in about 12 hours time (see below).

Day Four Evening: Roughly 12 hours later, you&#39;ll notice many small bubbles on the surface and sides, and the starter should shown signs that it is slowly rising. Continue storing at 76°F/24°C (or room temperature).

Day Five Morning: At this point, the mixture should have nearly doubled in volume and there will be small and big bubbles throughout the mixture. Allow starter to reach peak activity before proceeding with a feeding. If everything remains on track, you can get back to baking sourdough bread again.

Once the starter has reached peak activity, start regular daily feedings: combine 5 to 10 grams starter, 25 grams bread flour, and 25 grams room temperature filtered water in a glass jar. Mix with a spatula until thoroughly combined. Cover with a lid and store mixture at 76°F/24°C (or room temperature) until starter reaches peak activity. Repeat.

A Dehydrated sourdough starter is the best way to preserve the sourdough starter for a long time. We all know that maintaining an active starter takes a lot of active efforts and time. But for the times when you want to put your baking spree on hold, drying out the sourdough starter can come in handy. Here, we discuss, how to dry a mature sourdough starter to store or preserve it for a long time. And, how you should be rehydrating and reviving the dry sourdough starter.

How to make Dehydrated sourdough starter and reviving it?

g Mature sourdough starter

Take a measured quantity of ripe, and mature starter. By ripe I mean the starter, should be fed, active, and bubbly. A starter more than 5-6 months old is considered mature. ( for more details read  the post)

Prepare a baking tray and line it with parchment paper. for the sake of convenience,  secure the parchment paper on the baking tray with tape.

Put the starter on one side, on the parchment paper, and start to spread it towards the other side using an offset spatula or a silicone spatula. Try to make a thin layer so that it dries faster. ( instead of parchment paper you can use a silicone mat)

Place the tray in a cool and well-ventilated place in your kitchen. let it air-dry for 24 to 42 hours until it dries off completely. the starter will leave the parchment paper and become like dry chips.

Now transfer these starter chips/pieces/ starter shards to a food processor and give them a pulse.

Transfer the powdered dry sourdough starter into an airtight glass jar, or a Ziploc packet, and store for as long as you want.

Making Dehydrated Sourdough Starter

Weigh the starter and mix with an equal quantity of flour and warm water. The temperature of the water should be around 100-110 0 F.I recommend you start with 15 grams of dry starter and mix in 15 grams of warm water.

Let the dry starter rehydrate for 3 to 4 hours until it regains a starter-like consistency. By the end of time, if you are lucky, you will see one or two bubbles on the surface of the rehydrated starter.

Feeding 1:Now is the time for the first feeding. Add 30 grams of each, whole wheat flour and water, and mix well. Cover the jar, and let it rest in a warm corner of the kitchen for 9-12 hours or overnight. Be flexible here, you want to let the starter rest until you see considerable activity. If you feel the need, extend this period until 24 hours. The starter should get bubbly. (refer to images)

Feeding 2: Discard 45 grams of the starter and feed 45 grams of flour and water each.

Let the starter regain its vigor. Keep it covered on the kitchen counter for 6-7 hours and observe its activity. It should start to rise. To keep track of its activity, place an elastic band around the jar.

Feeding 3: Give another feeding, by discarding 65 grams of the starter and feeding with 65 grams of flour and water each. Your dehydrated starter should have regained its normal activity by this point. (I was able to revive my starter by this point but in case the starter has not shown normal activity after feeding 3 go ahead and do another feeding.)

Feeding and maintenance of the starter: Go ahead and start your normal starter feeding and maintenance schedule. Start by discarding 100g of the starter and add 100 g of water and flour each.

Now go ahead, and use this starter to bake your favorite bread! Something like this... 

Reviving the Dehydrated Sourdough Starter

Come learn how to easily dehydrate sourdough starter, either in a food dehydrator or air-dry. The result is a dry starter that is easy to store, ship or share. Dry sourdough starter is alive but dormant (preserved) and stays good for years to come!

How to Dehydrate (Dry) Sourdough Starter to Preserve It

Wet sourdough starter ((active))

For the best results, feed your sourdough starter before drying it. Allow it to reach peak activity (when it has at least doubled in size after feeding, but hasn’t started to deflate yet) before collecting some of the starter to dry.

Once it reaches peak activity, take some of the wet starter from the container. Use a spatula to spread the wet starter out in a thin layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, or on a food dehydrator tray liner. The more thin and evenly you spread it, the more quickly and successfully it will dry. (For reference, about 1 cup of starter will cover a 14 x 14 inch tray)

Dry the starter in a food dehydrator set to 105°F or less (heat will kill the starter culture) OR set the tray out (uncovered) in a cool, dry and well-ventilated location to air dry. Tip: If your oven has a convection fan, put the tray of starter in the cool oven to air dry (oven off, fan on).

Allow the starter to dehydrate until it is completely dry, brittle, and snaps when bent. The time it takes to fully dehydrate sourdough starter depends on the method you use, how thick you spread it, and the ambient humidity in your kitchen. We usually run our dehydrator on 95°F for about 24 hours.

Once it’s 100% dry, you can break up the dehydrated starter into chips or flakes, or grind it into a powder in a blender or food processor.

Store dehydrated sourdough starter in a cool, dark, dry place inside an airtight container. It should stay viable for many years.

To use the dry starter, you must reactivate (reconstitute) it back into wet active starter first. Follow these instructions or google &quot;Homestead and Chill reactivate dry starter&quot; to find them.

I've got my dried starter in a zip lock.  Can I just put that in a box and mail it to my friend or do I need to do anything else special if I want to ship it?

I got my starter so quickly in the mail!  I baked sourdough for years and --unlike so many during the early pandemic--I gave it up during the pandemic.  I seemed to have a knack for getting starter going from scratch (ie, no powder starters to add like this).  However, for some reason, this time my attempts were completely unsuccessfull.  After several weeks of absolutely no success with my own starter, I decided to give Deanna's a try. For years I have admired how super active and valuminous her starter could get! I am on the third day of reviving Deanna's starter, and it is already bubbling away. It is so much more active and happy than my other attempts with other instructions!!  So excited to finally get back to baking sourdough!

Hi Deanna!
I purchased your sourdough starter and have had great success!  It's been fun baking my own bread per your instructions.  I have made your other sourdough recipes as well and each have been delicious.  I do find that when I discard I may not have enough for a recipe.  Do you have a suggestion for creating more bulk so when I discard I would have enough for other recipes?  Thank you in advance.  I often turn to your website and channel to learn from for all things in the garden.

Hi,

Thanks for writing this!  I've always wondered if the starter can be frozen or preserved somehow for exactly those times...

Do you have any idea if the same could be done with SCOBYs for pausing the Kombucha production for a period of time?  I'm tempted to try.

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