History of this 225+ Year Old starter and sourdough starters in general
* NOTE: THESE WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS ARE PER 0.5 oz / 14g packet, the video above is for 1oz / 28g or 2 packets so adjust accordingly if you are not using the standard 0.5oz packet or using multiple
We highly recommend getting a kitchen scale, but if you can't/don't want to, you can find some wet sourdough starter conversions on the regular feeding post, and you can easily type into Google the amount of flour and water in grams and convert to cups and tablespoons! (It's just going to be more like 1/4 of leveled cup + 1 tablespoon of spooned in flour instead of a rounded gram measurement like 50g or 100g. The volume of flour also changes by flour type, and can throw off the measurements.
Article Quick Links:
1. How to Reconstitute Your Dried Sourdough Starter (This Post)
2. Regular Feeding Schedules (Fridge and Counter)
5. History of this 225+ Year Old starter and sourdough starters in general
Instructions
1. Empty 0.5oz (14g) of dried starter into a glass or plastic bowl and crush any large pieces into smaller ones (If you want, this helps them dissolve faster but they are small enough as they come).
*Sometimes you have little over 14g and that's alright, 1g doesn't make a difference. For best results use glass or plastic, certain metal bowls can be degraded by the fermentation process but stainless steel is alright.
2. Pour 1oz (28g) of warm (80-85F) water on crushed chips to dissolve and cover with a lid loosely. Chips may take a few hours to dissolve fully, so stir every so often until completely dissolved. Cover lightly with a lid, not tight!
*If you'd like, go ahead and use a marker or rubber band to mark where the line of the starter is. This is helpful for later!
3. Check on it after about 2-4 hours. Add in 0.5oz (14g) of flour and stir. Cover and leave someplace warm for a few hours (ideally 70-85 degrees). An oven with the oven light on or on top of a fridge usually works if your air temperature is less than 70 degrees. Warmer just means faster and better results, but too warm will cook it.
*Avoid over 85F or so, and if your oven light gets that hot, prop open the oven to vent and check on the starter often. Most newer ovens get too hot with the light on, so really check it so it doesn't cook.
4. Let sit until bubbles appear. Can be 8-12 hours or more, but could be less depending on the temperature. If it's been 24 hours, still go ahead to the next step and feed, and you should have bubbles after that.
5. Feed again with 0.5oz (14g) of water and 0.5oz (14g) flour without discarding any starter. Cover again and let sit for another 4-12 hours in the warm spot until bubbly. Mark the progress of the bubbles. To get a better gauge of this, use a marker line or rubber band (you're shooting for a 2x rise - however please note that certain flours like whole wheat, rye, and einkorn may not rise fully to 2x at this stage because they are denser, but should still rise to almost 2x and will still be fine for baking!).
6. Now you can discard half and feed again, using the discard for baking if you'd like!
7. Once the starter achieves at least a 2x rise or a spoonful of the non-stirred, bubbly starter can float in a glass of water, you are ready to bake and get on a regular feeding schedule! See post for regular feeding instructions.
8. If you still do not have bubbles or rise, take out 1-2oz (28-56g) and feed at a 1:1:1 ratio of starter:water:flour, and wait 4 - 12 hours depending on the temperature in your home, before feeding again without discarding. In winter it can take up to 24 hours!
9. If you still are having issues, please visit the tips and troubleshoot post for common issues, and reach out if you need specific one-on-one help!
10. Rate and Review on Etsy if you can! We appreciate it!
Next post: Regular Feeding Schedules (Fridge and Counter)
Further Reading:
Putting your starter on hold by King Arthur Flour
Other posts: