Drying Sourdough Starter For Long Term Storage

There’s not much to this process. Just smear some fresh sourdough starter in a thin layer over a piece of parchment paper and let dry. Once dry the starter will separate from the paper easily and can be ground up into small pieces and placed in a plastic ziplock bag.

Store your starter in the freezer for as long as you like. This is not a bad idea, as a routine measure, in order to backup your working batch of starter in case it meets with an unexpected demise.

Note: At the end of the video, I mention that you will find the video for reviving a dried starter below this one. I have since moved it here.

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Comments on Drying Sourdough Starter For Long Term Storage »

January 22, 2007

Ray Cudd @ 9:44 pm

very good video,it is certainly easy to follow .keep up the good work

breadtopia @ 10:17 pm

Thanks Ray

February 11, 2007

Josie @ 7:29 pm

Love your site. Fabulous. Please give your Canadian readers information re ordering supplies. Would appreciate it very much. Thank you.

breadtopia @ 7:57 pm

Thanks Josie. At present, the best thing is to email me which items you wish to order with your town and postal code and I'll email back with instructions. The procedure is not difficult, it's just that I have to check postage for international orders manually.

Sorry for the hassle. I'm working on the fix but it's going to take a while.

Eric

May 31, 2007

Mary Lair @ 1:17 pm

Sir, I was told of this website from a friend in Missouri, who has been wanting me to sent him a starter. I have been using the same starter for twenty years plus, and mine is not thick like yours, what can I do to make it that consistency.I live in Ky. and I need to mail it to MISSOURI. I love the website, it is so interesting. I'm like a kid in a candy shop, so much I just don't know where to start.
ML

breadtopia @ 1:26 pm

Hi Mary,

All you have to do is mix in less water when you feed your starter. For every cup of flour I feed my starter I add somewhere around 2/3 to 3/4 cups of water. That gives it the thick consistency you see.

Thanks for your nice comments!

Eric

July 30, 2007

Phil Link @ 7:10 pm

Hello Eric,
This may seem like a silly question, but can you estimate approximately how much live sourdough starter is needed to create say one ounce ( 27 grams) of dried, powdered sourdough?

Thanks,

July 31, 2007

breadtopia @ 4:04 am

Hi Phil,

It's not a silly question, I'll just don't think I can venture much of a decent guess. I need to make up some more dried starter in the next few days. Hopefully, I'll remember to take some measurements and report back.

August 3, 2007

breadtopia @ 9:46 am

Phil,

Okay, I used 82g of wet starter and ended up with 48g of dried starter. Which makes sense considering the hydration level of my starter. So, in my case, I think 46g wet would have made about 27g dried. Most people are going to get different results because of the moisture content of their starter.

September 20, 2007

Rider CariƱo @ 9:52 am

If I need 1 cup of sourdough starter not dried, then what quantity of dried starter do I need and how I restore to normal?

Rider.

breadtopia @ 10:08 am

Hello Rider,

You can start with any quantity of dried and just follow the instructions here: http://www.breadtopia.com/starter_instructions
to restore to normal.

December 27, 2007

bananna @ 1:41 am

My sourdough starter is potato flake based instead of flour based…will the drying method work for that as well?

Also have you ever tried the potato based starter, is there a major taste or texture difference? Thanks!

breadtopia @ 12:43 pm

I've never tried a potato based starter but I don't see why the drying technique wouldn't work the same.

February 13, 2008

Bob Packer @ 9:52 am

I dry my potato flake based starter all the time to send to other people. Dry it just like you would straight flour based. In reviving, use potato flakes to revive, instead of flour. I use about a tablespoon of starter, one cup of warm filtered water and about 3 Tablespoons of potato flakes and one-third cup sugar.

March 1, 2008

esther @ 2:43 pm

So, on the subject of potato starter…for my gluten free friends…..is it made in the same way as with flour? Just add pineapple juice and follow the same instructions??

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