How to Dehydrate a Sourdough Starter
How to dehydrate a sourdough starter to have a back up on hand or to share with a friend. Dehydrated starter is a great way to preserve and store a sourdough starter. Learn why and how.
Prep Time5 minutes mins
Drying Time12 hours hrs
Total Time12 hours hrs 5 minutes mins
Course: Bread
Cuisine: American
Servings: 50 grams
Calories: 5kcal
- 1-2 Cups Active Sourdough Starter
How to Dehydrate
Start off by feeding the starter with equal parts flour and water in grams and let it sit 6-8 hours to rise.
Once the starter is active, take a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. Take a few cups of active starter and spread it out on the parchment paper. It just needs to be a thin even layer. It will feel like you are painting the parchment with the starter. If some areas are thicker than others it won't dry at the same rate. Try to make it as even and thin as possible. Let the pan sit out until the starter is complexly dry and brittle. This can take 12 hours up to a couple of days depending on the atmosphere of your house and how thick it was.
When it's ready, it should crack and break up really easily. Once it is dry, peel it off the paper and break it up into pieces. It will look like dried out paint chips. Once dried out, store in an air tight glass jar in a dark and cool location.
How to Revive Dried Sourdough Starter
Start by breaking the starter up into really small pieces.
Place 20 grams of the sourdough chips into a glass jar or bowl. Reserve any extra to keep as a backup.Add in 50 grams of warm filtered water and let the chips dissolve. I like to warm the water up to 80-90 degrees.It can take 30-45 minutes to get them to completely dissolve. Mix with a fork every 10 minutes to help the process. Add in 50 grams of flour and mix well. It will be a little thick. Cover and let it sit for 12 hours. There may not be any change at all. That is okay! It may need a few feedings to fully wake up. After 12 hours, discard part of the starter leaving 50 grams. Feed it 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of filtered water. Mix well. (You do not need warm water when feeding.)Cover and let it sit for another 12 hours. Repeat the feeding process every 12 hours until it is doubling in size.
Once active, it can be used right away to make bread.
Calories: 5kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 0.1g | Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 0.1mg | Fiber: 0.03g