December 8, 2022 - 5:14pm
Dehydrating Sourdough
Hello everyone, I'm still trying to learn my way around here, for I just joined. I live in B.C Canada and love all my neighbors.
My question is I was gifted official Yukon Sourdough from the chilkoot Trail ( apparently it was tested) . Im asking how can I dehydrate it safely for shipping and storing for later use. Thanks everyone.
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What I do is mix it with extra water to thin it out, then spread it on a sheet of teflon or silpat, and let it dry. Once it is dry, I break it up by hand, then put it is the food processor to grind it up a bit. Have never had a problem refreshing it.
Hi Rose, there are two ways, modern and ancient.
The older way is to rub your starter with flour (into a powder in a food processor) or with bran flakes (breakfast bran cereals works too, mix by hand using a spoon). Then spread that mixture thin on a baking sheet and let it dry at room temperature for about a day. Then store it in a dry place at room temperature. One tablespoon or less of such dry mix quickly (in 18-24hrs at 30C) restores itself into a living starter once warm water (40-45C) is added to it.
Sourdough starter and a handful of All Bran cereal in a mixer.
Rubbed together and dried
Many people use the more modern way of spreading starter thin on a non-stick surface, silicon pad, non stick baking sheet, parchment paper, etc. And letting it dry at room temperature. It can take up to three days to dry thoroughly or only three hours if you use a fan. Modernist Bread encyclopedia shows how to do it and how to restore it. (1) Rehydrate. Add 50g water to 50g dried starter and leave it alone for two days at 18-25C. (2)Feed. Then add to that mix 100g water and 100g flour and wait for another day. That's it. I tested it and it works very well too.
It worked a treat! I did not bother with the food processor I like the bigger flakes. Say hello to Slow-Mo. In his active state, and also in his insurance against catastrophic failure state.