Why are we dehydrating sourdough starter you ask? Well, the main reason is to preserve it, so if you kill it off somehow, or you know you’re going away travelling for a long period of time, or you just want a little back up, you have it there. Having dehydrated starter also allows you to share with others.
When you buy sourdough starter from someone (hi, it’s me!), you’re getting dehydrated starter that you will need to rehydrate to use. Lastly, if you have quite a bit of dehydrated starter, some people like to use it to sprinkle on their loaves before scoring, instead of flour. Or people make soap with it. Really, the sourdough options are endless!!
Now, how to dehydrate it.
What You Need:
- Sourdough Starter that’s been fed and is bubbly and alive!
- Bar Pan / Sheet Pan
- Parchment Paper
- Spatula
- Blender (optional)
- Mason Jar (or any container)
- Time and Patience!
What To Do:
- Feed your starter as you normally do – however much starter (I’m not picky about this amount), and then add equal parts unbleached flour to equal parts room temperature distilled/purified water [so, if you put in 100g flour, then add in 100g water]. Stir with a non-metal spatula. Let sit at room temperature uncovered for about 6 hours.
2. Pour the starter out onto a bar pan / sheet pan lined with parchment paper. [Leave some starter in the mason jar if you don’t want to dehydrate all your starter!].
3. Using a spatula, spread the starter out over the parchment paper so it’s as thin as possible. Let the pan sit at room temperature for 24-48 hours, or until it’s completely dry.
4. Once it’s completely dry, it will crack into pieces and you can store it like that. OR, you can pop it in a blender and blend it into a flour consistency.
5. Place in a sealed mason jar (or any other container) and your work is done!! Save it or share it, or both! It will keep indefinitely until you’re ready to rehydrate it or use as is.
Want to know how to rehydrate your dehydrated sourdough starter? That post is coming soon!