Storing and reviving my sourdough starter

Storing and reviving my sourdough starter

Baking sourdough has become one of my loves, so before I left on vacation, I did a bunch of reading to figure out how to keep my starter alive. I ended up covering all the bases; I froze some starter, dehydrated some and left some in the fridge. I am thrilled to report after six weeks dormant; I was able to revive all of them.

I usually bake every 7 to 10 days. I use the Baking with Jack’s scrapings method, which means I leave only a small amount of starter in a jar in the fridge between baking. It is no waste, no discard method.

As soon as I returned home from vacation, I fed the starter in the fridge. By the second feeding it was ready to go.

The frozen starter responded well too. After three feedings it was active enough to bake and the dehydrated starter also needed three feedings after it was rehydrated.

Storing my 100% hydration rye starter

1.    Fridge method - I fed the starter a few times before I left, to ensure it was healthy. I froze and dehydrated the discard.

2.    Dehydrator method - I took the active starter and spread it on a silicon dehydrator sheet. I dehydrated it at 105 F until it was completely dry. I kept the temperature low because I did not want to kill the living bacteria. I then stored it in an airtight jar with a couple silica packs. I live on the west coast, which has high humidity year round,  so I add silica packs to all my dehydrated food.

3.    Freezer method – I put between 50 and 100 grams of active starter in a freezer bag. I think I will use a jar the next time because it was hard to scrape it out of the bag.

Reviving my 100% hydration rye starter

1.    Fridge method – there was about 50 grams of starter in the bottom of the jar, so I fed it with 50 grams of rye flour and 50 grams of water. During the winter I place my starter near the dehydrator set on low, to keep it warm. After five hours, I discarded all but 50 grams of starter and added another 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water. It was ready to go after two feedings.

2.    Dehydrator method - I took 50 grams of dehydrated starter and rehydrated it with 50 grams of water. After a few hours, I stirred it well, then added 50 grams of rye flour and 50 grams of water. I placed it near the warm dehydrator for about five hours. I discarded about half and added another 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water. I repeated it for a third time, before it was active enough to use.

3.    Freezer method – I defrosted the frozen starter. When it was fully thawed, I added 50 grams of rye flour and 50 grams of water. I placed it near the warm dehydrator for about five hours. I discarded about half and added another 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water. I repeated it for a third time before it was active enough to use.

Update June 2023 - after six months in the freezer, I was able to revive the starter with just a couple of feedings.

First bake after having my starter frozen for 6 weeks