Originally published at: http://breadtopia.com/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 easily separate from the paper and can be ground up into small pieces and placed in a plastic ziplock bag. Store your starter in…
Hello, Eric:
I have been wanting to write a thank you note for a while, so, today is the day:
My neighborhood baker was generous enough to gift me a little sourdough starter a few weeks ago and I have been baking your no knead sourdough bread with enthusiasm. Now I will be out of town for
A few weeks and I decided to use your drying method for preserving my
Starter and to take some of it with me for friends to try.
My oven light was not warm enough to dry it overnight, so, I turned the oven to 100’ for one minute whenever it had cooled until the starter
Peeled easily off the parchment. I was terrified that I had killed it.
However my efforts to revive a small amount succeeded.
The test starter is bubbling up nicely and I’ll bake a loaf before heading out.
Thank you, Eric for encouraging us novices to take it easy and proceed
To experiment with your wonderful guidance. You are providing a great service.
Elisabeth
Hi Elisabeth,
Thanks for your nice and thoughtful note. I greatly appreciate it.
Btw, nice move on heating up to 100º. We dry ours at 110º. Yeast dies at about 130º so you’re pretty much safe I think.
Glad you’re clearly having fun with all this.
Cheers.
Just another thank you. In January of 2013 I followed your directions for long term sourdough storage. This week I tried to revive it(also using your directions). Even after eight years it was active almost immediately. I will continue to keep an emergency supply of dried flakes in the freezer, just in case!
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Thank you so much for sharing this. I want to dry it and send to a friend, how do I package it anyone have any experience they can share?
Two and a half years ago, I dried some of my Breadtopia starter as a precaution. I spread it on parchment and left it to dry at room temperature for a couple of days, then blended to a granular consistency, portioned into small baggies and popped in the freezer, where I proceeded to forget about it. Soon after, I managed to neglect my original starter, to the point of no return. Then last week, while using my instant yeast (also stored in the freezer) and lamenting that I didn’t have any sourdough starter on hand, I discovered the long forgotten dried starter. I followed the directions for reconstituting it and was delighted to see it transformed into a lively, robust starter in just three short days!
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I just got my dried sourdough flakes from Breadtopia and am on day three, so far so good! How long will the rest of the starter in the envelope last? Does it need to be stored in the freezer or can it be stored, in an airtight mason jar, in the envelope, in my cupboard? Thanks.
Freezer or jar on a shelf are both fine storage approaches. We’ve heard from people reviving the dried starter after several years of storage.
Thank you. If I lose power [which tends to happen where I live in the winter] and the dried starter thaws, is it still good to freeze again and use later? Thanks.
I would think so. Unless it gets wet, it’s sort of in suspended animation.
Thank you.
After you pull your dry starter out of the freezer from being dried, how do you get it going again? Is there a particular recipe you recommend as far as ratios etc?
I think you could follow the instructions in the second video here: