How To Rehydrate Your Sourdough Starter
Your step by step instructions on how to rehydrate you new dehydrated sourdough starter.
Thank you for your purchase of my sourdough starter. If you have any questions please feel free to email me with the form on the website you were just on. I will get back to you as soon as possible. I will help you with whatever I can and walk you through what you need help with.
I understand that sourdough can be intimidating. Don’t let it be. Yes there are a lot of steps but if you follow them and take care of it you will never have to start over again with creating a starter from scratch ot purchasing another dehydrated starter.
I also know there are many different ways written about out there on how to rehydrate and maintain your sourdough starter. This is what has 100% always worked with my starter. I’ve been doing this for a long time and haven’t had any issues yet. If you do come across any issues please contact me from my website and I will troubleshoot with you. You can always bring the starter back to full activity, it just might take more time due to your environment and time of year.
Please try to use filtered water if you want to be successful. Tap water has chlorine in the and will key the yeast. If your starter isn’t activating and you are using tap water that is probably why. Also make sure whichever type of flour you choose to use, it is unbleached.
Items you will need:
Your 10g package of dehydrated sourdough starter (I always put a little bit extra just in case you may spill a little. I usually do so that’s why I do this lol).
Unbleached flour
Filtered water
Kitchen scale to weigh ingredients (highly recommended but not needed)
Weighing is much more accurate than measuring cups because the flour can be less or more packed because of environmental factors so you may not get the correct ratio of flour - water - starter.
Day #1 - Rehydrate flakes and feed #1 -
In a mason jar or glass container, empty your package of dehydrated starter (10g)
Add 30g of luke warm filtered water and mix until all flakes are moist.
Let sit for 10 minutes. Mix well to make sure all of the flakes are dissolved. If they aren’t, continue to let them sit until most or all of the flakes are dissolved, (a few tiny bit is ok because they will dissolve during the process). This may take up to a few hours depending on the environment.
Once everything is dissolved mix well and then add 20g of unbleached flour. Mix until there are no bits of flour left. The consistency should be like a thick pancake batter. After this first feed it will be a little runnier because of the extra water we added to help initially rehydrate the flakes. Cover with a lid lightly or with loose plastic wrap. Whatever you choose to use make sure it is loose but that it will keep any bugs from getting inside your container. I usually use my mason jar lid without the band by just sitting it on top of the jar.
Move the jar to a warm draft free area and let it sit for 12 hours. If your area is cooler then you can place it by your stove or on top of your refrigerator.
Day 1 Feed #2 -
After your starter has sat for 12 hours it is time to feed it again. You may start to see activity at this point. It does depend on how quickly your starter acclimates to its environment. Mine usually increases within the first 6-8 hours.
Add 30g of filtered water, mix well and add 30g of unbleached flour. Mix until everything is combined and there are no big lumps of flour left.
Now you will want to use a rubber band or something similar to mark the height your starter is at after you feed it.
It’s time for your starter to sit again in a warm, draft free area again, this time for 24 hours.
Day 2 - Feed #1 -
Now is a good time to get a larger container to switch your starter into.
Now you should see activity (bubbles and the amount has increased). Mine more than doubles because I live in Florida. You may have the same result or it may not be as active yet. You should see bubbles and some increase in volume at least at this time.
After the 24 hours has passed, feed your starter again. Add to your starter, 40g of filtered water, mix, add 40g of unbleached flour. Mix until all bits of flour are combined. Mark the top of the starter with your rubber band and place it in a warm, draft free are and let it sit for 24 hours.
Day 3 - Feed #1 -
If your starter has doubled in size you can start to discard part of your starter before you feed it again and every time from now on. I discard all but 40g of my starter and then feed 40g of starter 40g of filtered water and 40g of unbleached flour.
If you need to increase your amount of starter for a recipe you can choose to just not discard anything.
After this feed your starter should now or will soon double in size 6 - 8 hours after you have fed it. That is how you know it’s ready to be used. You can also do the float test to see if it is ready.
To do that just take a teaspoon of your starter and drop it into water and it it floats it’s ready to be used.
If it hasn’t, continue to feed it, then let sit in a warm draft free area for 12 hours until you starter doubles in size and has bubbles 6 - 8 hours after your last feed. Make sure to always feed 1 - 1 - 1 ratios (starter, filtered water, unbleached flour).
If it hasn’t doubled in size, let it sit in a warm, draft free area for another 24 hours. Again and make sure it doubles in size. Continue this step until it doubles in size around the 6 - 8 hour mark after feeding. But don’t feed it then you want to wait the 24 hours before you feed it again.
Your starter shouldn’t take more than 4 - 5 days to be ready to use. If your temperature is cooler in your house it will probably take closer to the 5 day mark to be ready. Don’t be discouraged if you are on day 4 and it hasn’t doubled. It just needs to acclimate to your environment for a little longer.
Day 4 -
If your starter did double in size and is active and you are ready to bake you are almost good to go. Feed your starter and when it is at its peak (highest point before it falls), measure out how much you need. This can take anywhere from 4 - 12 hours depending on your environment. Just remember the warmer your environment the faster the activity happens. I live in Florida so I am always at a warm and humid environment so my starter that will usually take 2 - 4 hours for me to peak after I feed it, could take12 hours or possibly up to 24 hours if it is pretty cold. So don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t happen as quickly for you as it does for me or someone in a warmer temperature.
A very important note is to make sure when you are using the starter to bake, after you have measured the amount you need for your recipe, make sure you keep at least 40g of starter to put back in a jar and feed it so you will continue to have starter for the future.
Maintain Your Starter -
Now that you have used the bulk of your starter for your first loaf of bread or which ever sourdough recipe you decided to make, it’s time to keep the 40g or more that you kept to work with.
Take your 40g of leftover starter, 40g filtered water and 40g of unbleached flour and mix them together until incorporated. Now this is where you want to decide if you are going to bake often or maybe just a few times a month. If you are going to bake a couple times a week or more, leave your starter on the counter and feed it the same way as above. That means discard and feed it every day. If you aren’t going to be baking a lot then you can store it in your fridge. Just make sure you have fed it and then out a lid on it that can seal so it doesn’t dry out and place it in the fridge. You will only need to feed your starter once a week while you aren’t baking.
If stored in the fridge -
When you are ready to bake you need to plan ahead a day when you are storing it in the fridge. Remove the starter from the fridge and feed it equal parts water, flour and starter. Put it in a warm, draft free area and let it sit. Check on it after 6-8 hours to see how the activity is. If it is peaking you can go ahead and use it. If it is moving slowly and increasing but not a lot then you want to wait until 12 hours have passed. Once the 12 hour mark arrives, if it is still moving kind of slow and doesn’t have a lot of bubbles on top, feed it again. Then you want to cover it loosely and place in your warm, draft free area. Check on it at the 6-8 hour mark and you should see a lot of activity and it will be peaking. If it is cooler in your house and it is still moving slowly than feed is again and place it to sit again. Check in 6-8 hours and repeat until it has doubled in size. You will know it’s ready by doing the float test or it will have doubled in size and have a bunch of bubbles on top.
Tips -
The temperature of your kitchen is a huge factor. Sourdough starter thrives at 70°F - 85°F. The cooler the kitchen, the slower the yeast will grow. If your kitchen is cool, try to keep your starter in a warm spot such as the top of your fridge or near your stove.
You’ll know your starter is ready to use when it is active and nearly doubled in size about 6 - 8 hours after being fed and has bubbles. You can also test it by dropping a teaspoon sized amount into water. If it floats it is ready to use. If it sinks, feed it again.
If possible, always feed your starter with filtered water. The chlorine in tap water can kill the yeast.
Save your good flour for making your dough. Feed your starter all-purpose flour.
If your sourdough starter has a dark liquid on it, it wants to be fed! Pour the liquid off and feed it.
Once your sourdough starter is happy, feed it daily if kept on the counter and weekly if in the fridge. Feed it 1-1-1 of starter, flour and water.