Activating Your Dried Sourdough Starter

Day 1: In your jar, soak dried starter in 3 tablespoon lukewarm (just above room temperature) water for a few minutes to soften. Then stir in 1 tablespoon all-purpose or bread flour, close jar loosely and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours.

Day 2: To the above mix, stir in 1 tablespoon of flour and 1 tablespoon of room temperature water and let it continue to sit covered as before for another 24 hours.

Day 3: Stir in 1 more tablespoon of flour and just 1 teaspoon of water this time. Within the next 12 to 24 hours you will likely start to see some bubbling action of fermentation. The warmer the room, the faster the activation.

Now, discard about half of what is in the jar. Then, stir in 8 Tablespoons of room temperature water and 13 Tablespoons of flour.  Within about 12 hours you should have a lively, spongy starter!

Continue to feed the starter every 12 hours by discarding all but 1 Tablespoon of starter and mixing in 7 Tablespoons of room temperature water and 13 Tablespoons of flour.

In order to make more starter depending on your recipe, simply add more flour or water to the starter to attain the weight needed for the recipe you are making.

 

What’s next? Keep feeding! A consistently fed starter is a happy starter. Try mixing in some rye or whole wheat flour to create new recipes. 

How do I use it? Once your starter is happy and growing consistently it’s time to find a recipe! There are so many fantastic recipes in books and on the internet. Look for something simple to start, and don’t give up if it’s not perfect the first time! Even if it’s not the picture perfect loaf, keep trying! 

Want to store your starter in the fridge? Once your starter is strong and growing consistently, simply feed as usual, place in the fridge for maximum 1 week. Feed the starter as usual weekly, or remove from the fridge and feed every 12 hours for atleast 3 days before using to make bread.