If you have purchased or have been gifted a dehydrated sourdough starter or have made your own dehydrated sourdough, this is a quick step-by-step guide on how to reactivate a dehydrated sourdough starter.
To begin with, I recommend that you purchase a good digital kitchen scale that weighs in grams and ounces (this will give you more precise/accurate measurements). When I bake with my sourdough, I weigh all my ingredients in grams or ounces.
If you have dehydrated sourdough chips, you will want to grind them into course granules (I use a food processor or mortar pestle) before weighing them.
Reviving your dehydrated sourdough starter could take up to 4-8 days, depending on your environment, the temperature of your home, and the flour that you use.
A dehydrated sourdough starter will give you the base that you need to build off of for other recipes. These dehydrated microbes will come back to life once activated by the water, temperature, flour, and wild yeast in the air.
Patience.... working with sourdough requires a lot of patience which allows you, as you perfect your technique, to get a feel for the dough, and how it changes in your hands. In due time, you will reap the rewards of creating beautiful, nutritious, and sustainable baked goods.
Directions:
Day 1 Morning: Crush a few of the sourdough chips into course granules, (like crushed crackers) (weighing in grams) weigh 10 gm of the powder in a glass jar and add 50 gm of lukewarm filtered water. Stir with a spatula until completely combined. Cover and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for an hour. After an hour, add 40 gm of bread flour (I use King Arthur organic bread flour) and stir with a spatula until completely combined. (This will be thinner to hydrate the starter and activate the yeast bacteria.) Cover and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours.
Day 2 Morning: Combine 20 gm of starter mixture (discarding the rest) and add 50 gm of bread flour and 50 gm of lukewarm filtered water to a clean glass jar. Stir with a spatula until completely combined. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours.
Day 3 Morning: Combine 20 gm of starter (discarding the rest) and 50 gm of bread flour, and 50 gm of lukewarm filtered water in a clean glass jar. Stir with a spatula until completely combined. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours.
Day 4 Morning: Combine 20 gm of starter mixture (discarding the rest) and add 50 gm of bread flour and 50 grams of lukewarm filtered water to a clean glass jar. Stir with a spatula until completely combined. Place a rubber band over the jar at the starter level and check back in 12 hours.
Day 4 Evening: You should start noticing bubbles and the starter slowly rising. Check back in the morning (wait another 12 hours).
Day 5 Morning: By now the starter should have doubled, based on the location of the rubber band. Add 20 gm of starter, 50 gm of bread flour, and 50 gm of lukewarm filtered water to a clean glass jar and stir with a spatula until combined. Place the rubber band at the starter level, and once the starter is active and bubbly and has doubled, it is mature and ready to use.
Happy Baking!
Disclaimer:
I am not a doctor, nor do I diagnose or treat people. While I seek scientific confirmation of the safety and effectiveness of the herbs and natural remedies I use, remember that using herbs and natural remedies is a personal choice. The information that I share on my blogs are not intended to diagnose, treat or prevent disease. All things on these blogs are my opinions and shared knowledge, based on my research or the research of others. Also, if you have a medical condition, are taking pharmaceutical drugs, or are pregnant, please consult with your physician prior to taking herbs or attempting natural remedies.
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