How to Rehydrate Your Starter
Step by step guide to bring your starter back to life.. no magic needed!
Within five days you'll have an active bubbly starter ready to feed all of your loaves. Before we begin let me give you a little additional information that will be good to know before you start this process. Your dehydrated starter is hungry and it just needs three things to reactivate - filtered water, flour (I prefer bread flour but if you have another kind it should work the same) and a warm spot to grow - preferably above 70 degrees. I'm going to add the amount of water and flour in grams as well as in volume. If you do not have a scale it's ok but I would HIGHLY advise buying one. I have this one and it works just fine.
Day 1
REHYDRATE & FEED
Add 15g OR 1 Tbsp of your dehydrated starter to a jar or container. I LOVE using old togo containers from takeout but any jar with a lid will work. Try and use one that's around 64oz that way it can stay and you don't have to move it to a larger jar later on. Now add 44g OR 3 Tbsp warm filtered water. The water should be luke warm. If it's too hot it'll kill the starter. Better cold than too hot! Stir and let sit about 5-10min. Add 30g OR 2 Tbsp of flour and stir until completely combined. Let sit on the counter for 24hrs loosely covered.
Day 2
FEED
Uncover your starter and add 30g or 2 Tbsp of flour and 15g OR 1 Tbsp of warm filtered water. Mix well until combined. Your starter should be a nice thick consistency but not dry or runny. Cover loosely and let sit for 24hrs.
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Day 3
FEED
At this point you may start to notice bubbles forming and that means your starter is starting to wake back up. We're going to feed her again today. So add 30g or 2 Tbsp of flour and 15g OR 1 Tbsp of warm filtered water. Mix well until combined. Cover loosely and let sit for 24hrs.
Day 4
FEED
You may start to see you starter growing and falling at this point. When your starter falls all the way down she's ready for feeding. So we're going to feed a bit more today. Add 120g OR 1/2 cup filtered water and 120g OR 1/2 cup flour. This is very close to the ratio I'm going to recommend feeding going forward. Mix everything until well combined. Cover loosely and let sit 24hrs.
Day 5
CARING FOR YOUR NEW STARTER
Now that it's Day 5 your starter is officially ready to go! Now let me give you some tips on how to care for your starter. As you might've noticed your starter is pretty big now which means before you feed it you'll want to "discard" some. This just means that in order to feed it a 1:2:2 ratio (the 1 being the starter) you'll want the beginning starter amount to be less so you're not making a crazy amount of starter. This discard can be stored in a separate container and used for discard recipes or you can literally just toss it in the trash - no judgement. I normally use 50g of starter to 100g water and 100g flour (1:2:2). Some people prefer to feed 1:1:1 and you'll pick up your own way as you go. If you're keeping the starter on the counter you'll want to feed it everyday around the same time. Meaning you don't have to go crazy if you're an hour or two late or early. When you feed the starter it'll take about 5ish hours to "peak". You'll know when your starter has peaked because it no longer has a domed top and it may even be starting to fall back down. If you decide you want less maintenance you can put your starter in the fridge. You'll want to feed once a week in this case. If you plan on using it just take it out a day or so before hand, feed it and keep it on the counter. That's it. Now you have an active sourdough starter. Happy Baking! If you have any questions feel free to email me or reach out to. me on socials!