How to Rehydrate your Sourdough Starter
When you recieve your sourdough starter, it is in a dried, dormant state. Follow these simple instructions to rehydrate it and you will be baking before you know it! Keep in mind, your stater could potentially take up to 5 days to be fully ready to bake with.
You’ll need:
Freshest highest quality whole wheat flour, and higher protein (11-13%) bread flour
Tablespoon
Small plastic non-reactive (no metal or aluminum) tupper-ware
Clean kitchen towel
Method:
Day one: Mix together equal parts whole wheat flour and bread flour and store in a small container for consistent use. Pour all of your dried starter into your empty tupperware. Add one tablespoon of warm (not hot) water and lightly stir to combine. Then add one table spoon of your 50/50 flour mixture and stir to combine to a thick pancake batter consistency. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let it sit in the warmest part of your kitchen for 48-72 hours.
Day three: On day two your starter can be left alone. Check in on day three around the same time you mixed it on day one. Ideally you should see some bubbles forming and observe a slightly acidic smell, all signs of fermentation taking place. If at any point you notice a dry crackly skin forming on top, you should be able to peel it right off and discard it. Add two more tablespoons of warm water and two tablespoons of your flour mixture and again set aside in the warmest part of your kitchen for the next 24 hours. If, on day three no activity is happening let it sit one more day before this second feeding
Day four: At this point, when you lift up the kitchen towel, you should notice some clear signs of healthy activity occurring in your starter, i.e. even more pronounced bubbles popping up on the surface and an overripe fruity, sour-but-sweet smell. Go through the same feeding process yet again adding two tablespoons of both warm water and flour and on day 5 you should be ready to build a levain or leaven to mix into your first sourdough, which we will get to soon enough ; )
Materials you’ll need to get ready for bread day:
Large metal, wooden or plastic mixing bowl (mix by hand) or better yet home spiral mixer with dough hook attachment
dutch oven combo cooker or any cast iron pot with sealing lid
plastic dough spatula or house hold rubber spatula
gram scale
wood, glass, or plastic bowl
multiple clean kitchen towels
Stay tuned and we will post our favorite sourdough bread recipe here in the next few days. Congratulations on starting your own sourdough journey! We encourage you to give it time and trust in the process. Happy baking : )