So you bought a dried starter. Now what?

Congratulations on choosing to buy a dried starter. This is a great way to jump into the wonderful world of sourdough without having to go through the long process of making your own starter. You may be wondering though, what do I do now?

Luckily, dried starter can last almost indefinitely, so there is no rush to use it. But below are the directions to make it as strong, if not stronger, than the mother starter.

Before you start, you can even name it. Naming a starter makes it more likely that you will continue to care for it. Mine is named Marge. Another person I know named hers Frodough. Names are highly personalized. Do what feels right to you.

Initial Rehydrate

Before you can actually use that starter to start making some yummy homemade bread, you have to wake it back up and strengthen it.

1) Weigh 30g of dried starter flakes and add to a glass measuring cup or small bowl. Add 60g slightly warmer than room temperature water and try to submerge all flakes.

2) Stir the flakes every half hour or so. Eventually they will completely dissolve.

First Feeding

Now that your starter is no longer dry and crispy, you can start feeding it.

1) Once the flakes have disappeared, stir in 30g all-purpose flour. Cover lightly with a kitchen towel and let it sit somewhere warm, like your oven with the light on, or a warm sunny room. Leave it alone for about 6 hours.

2) After a few hours, take a look at your starter-you're looking for small bubbles. If you see some, or lots, great! Move on to the next step. If you see none, return it to its warm place for a few hours, and check again.

Strengthening Your Starter

You might think that at this point you're ready to use it to cook, but unfortunately, your starter is still sluggish. Think of it as being woken up from a really deep sleep. It needs fuel and time to fully wake up.

1) Feed your starter with 30g flour and 30g water. Don't discard any; it's not ready for that yet. We're still trying to build it up. Mix well and put your starter back in its warm place. Watch for more bubble activity–this could take anywhere from 4 to 12 hours depending on, well, many factors. If you're seeing lots of bubbles, move on. If you're seeing none or only a few, wait a couple hours and check again.

Repeat At Least One More Time

The goal at this point is to make your starter as strong as possible. So repeat the above step at least one more time. This time, you should see it double in size. This could take anywhere from six to 12 hours. If it gets bubbly, but doesn’t double in size, repeat this step.

If it has doubled, it is ready to be used to make bread.

If not, you will need to repeat the step one more time.

***The flavor of your sourdough will change depending on you water and air.***

There are a few ways to maintain your starter. You will need to pick the one that's best for you.

I maintain my starter by feeding her every two days. I pour 50 grams of starter into a jar, add 100 grams of water, stir until combined, then add 100 grams of unbleached flour and stir. Then I top it with a paper towel and the jar ring and let her do her thing for 2 days. I feed the rest of the starter to make more dried starter to sell.

There are a lot of ways to maintain a starter, do some research if you need lower maintenance.

If you don't want to maintain your starter long term, you can always dry it out after you've baked with it.

Feed it with equal parts water and unbleached flour. Let it sit until bubbly. Spread a thin layer on either parchment paper or a silicone pad and set it in an OFF oven with the light on to dry out.

Store indefinitely in a jar or plastic bag.