Dehydrated Sourdough Starter

Your Sourdough Journey Starts Here

Picture a slow Sunday morning: the kitchen smells of warm, tangy bread and a golden crust crackles as you slice into your first homemade loaf. This dehydrated sourdough starter is a live culture, carefully dried so it ships well and keeps well. Add flour and water to wake it up, and it becomes part of your daily ritual.

• Shelf-stable: Dried to travel safely and store until you're ready to bake.
• Naturally leavened: Just flour and water, no commercial yeast.
• Deep, tangy flavor: Gives you an open, chewy crumb and a crisp, blistered crust.
• Lasts for years: Keep feeding it and it will keep baking for you.

How to Activate Your Starter

You'll need: a clean glass jar, unbleached flour, lukewarm filtered water (chlorine can slow the culture), and a spoon.

Our flour recommendation: We love King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour. It's never bromated and unbleached, so it gives your starter clean, consistent food. Its higher protein also helps build a strong, bubbly culture and a well-structured loaf.

1. Day 1, rehydrate: In your jar, stir the whole packet of dried starter into 2 tbsp (30 g) of lukewarm water. Let it soak for 30 minutes. Stir in 2 tbsp (15 g) of flour, cover it loosely, and leave it at room temperature (70–80°F) for 24 hours.
2. Day 2, first feed: Add 1/4 cup (30 g) of flour and 2 tbsp (30 g) of water. Stir well, cover loosely, and wait 24 hours.
3. Days 3–5, keep feeding: Throw out about half, then feed it 1/2 cup (60 g) of flour and 1/4 cup (60 g) of water. Do this every 12–24 hours.
4. Ready to bake: Your starter is active when it reliably doubles within 4–8 hours of a feed, looks bubbly, and smells pleasantly tangy. This usually takes 3–7 days.

Ongoing Care

• Baking often: Keep it on the counter and feed it once or twice a day.
• Baking weekly: Keep it in the fridge and feed it once a week. Let it sit at room temperature and give it a feed or two before baking.
• Float test: Drop a spoonful into water. If it floats, it's ready to raise bread.

Storage

Keep unopened packets somewhere cool and dry, away from direct sunlight.