Sourdough Starter Recipe Using Dried Starter Flakes

So you've received the dried sourdough starter in your Complete Sourdough Starter Kit. What next? Here is a comprehensive sourdough starter recipe used to activate your dried starter flakes so it's nice and strong to use for your Sourdough Bread Recipe. If you have any questions or are unsure of any of the steps feel free to message us on Instagram or Facebook or shoot us an email at contact@youkneadsourdough.com.au.

How to activate sourdough starter

1. Fill a jar/container with 50 grams (4 tbsp) of room temperature water (use filtered water - tap water can contain higher levels of chlorine which may kill your starter). Make sure the container is made out of glass or plastic (no metal).
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Place the dried sourdough starter flakes in the water and stir. You will need to leave this for a few hours to make sure it has fully rehydrated (no dry flour). Cover lightly with a lid or plastic wrap.
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. After the dried sourdough starter flakes have fully hydrated, add 35g flour (4 tbsp) and mix well, and cover lightly with plastic wrap so it has room to expand. Leave at room temperature for 8-24 hours until you see small bubbles (time can vary due to temperature). If you do not see any bubbles after 24 hours give it a small feed (30g flour & 30g water) and wait another 8-24 hours. The starter can sometimes take an extra feed to become fully active (temperature can affect it).
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Your sourdough starter is alive! You need to feed it once or twice more before using in your sourdough bread recipe to make sure it’s nice and strong (it should at least double in volume after being fed - this is when it's strong enough). A typical sourdough starter feed is a 1:1 flour:water ratio - I use 100 grams of flour and 100 grams of filtered water every time I feed. Leave at room temperature (lightly covered) until nice and bubbly (should take around 6-8 hours at room temperature). Discard part of the sourdough starter before adding in new flour and water - you only really need a couple of tablespoons worth of sourdough starter left in the jar to keep it going (tip - there are a ton of recipes online that use sourdough starter discard, give them a try!).I hope this sourdough starter recipe was easy to follow, and you have a nice strong starter!
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. The sourdough starter is used in the sourdough bread recipe when it’s at its strongest, so make sure you give it a feed the night before you plan to make your sourdough bread the next morning (or first thing in the morning if you will make it in the afternoon). You’ll need 150 grams of sourdough starter in the recipe, so feed with 100 grams (heaped 1/2 cup) of flour and 100 grams of filtered water (1/2 cup), which will leave enough left over to keep your sourdough starter mixture going.
   
   
6. Your starter is now nice and active and you're ready to bake! Jump over to the sourdough bread recipe for full instructions on how to make your very first loaf of sourdough bread.
   
   TIP: Feeding sourdough starter every day can feel like a bit much, especially if you’re only baking once a week, so store it in the fridge! Simply give it a feed after you’ve used what you need for your sourdough bread, and place in the fridge covered (loosely with a lid or plastic wrap - it needs room to grow). It will quite happily live for 1-2 weeks without needing a feed. When you need it again, say on a Saturday morning, take it out of the fridge on Thursday night and discard some and feed. Feed again on the Friday night and it should be nice and strong to use for your sourdough bread the next morning.