Your Sourdough Starter Guide!

Dehydrated Sourdough Starter Instructions

Welcome to your new sourdough journey! Your dehydrated starter contains wild yeast and beneficial bacteria that can be brought back to life with just flour, water, and a little patience. ☺️ If you purchased some of my starter, you’ll see his name is Albus Dumbledough! My sourdough starter is responsible for every bread, english muffin, bagel, pizza crust, ect that I sell on a daily basis! I hope he brings great bread to your home as well!

What You’ll Need

• A clean jar or container (I like glass Weck jars A LOT for starter!)

• Kitchen scale (recommended)

• Unbleached flour

• Water (best results will be with filtered or nonchlorinated water)

• Spoon or rubber spatula

Step 1: Rehydrate Your Starter

Day 1 - Morning

In a clean jar, combine:

• 10g dehydrated starter flakes

• 25g warm water (not hot!)

Let sit for about 30–60 minutes until the flakes soften.

Then add:

• 25g flour

Mix well, loosely cover, and leave at room temperature for 12–24 hours.

A warm kitchen (around 70–75°F) works best!

Step 2: First Feeding

Day 2

You may or may not see activity yet … that’s normal!

Discard about half of the mixture, then feed:

• 25g water

• 25g flour

Mix thoroughly and let rest another 12–24 hours.

Step 3: Continue Feedings

Repeat the same feeding every 12–24 hours until your starter:

• becomes bubbly

• smells pleasantly tangy

• rises and falls predictably

• doubles in size after feeding

This usually takes 3–7 days, depending on temperature and flour type.

How to Maintain Your Starter

Once active, keep your starter healthy with regular feedings. If you plan to bake very often, you may consider just letting your starter live on your counter top and feeding it every single day. If you plan to bake weekly or less, the second method may be for you!

Counter Method (Frequent Bakers)

Feed daily:

• 1 part starter

• 1 part water

• 1 part flour

Example:

• 50g starter

• 50g water

• 50g flour

Refrigerator Method (Most Home Bakers)

Feed your starter, let it sit at room temperature for 1–2 hours, then refrigerate.

Feed about once per week.

Before Baking

For best results, use your starter when it is:

• bubbly

• active

• doubled in size

• slightly domed on top

This is often called “peak” starter.

Helpful Tips

• A little dark liquid on top (“hooch”) is normal… just stir it in or pour it off.

• Whole wheat flour can help wake sluggish starter faster.

• Cooler kitchens = slower starter!

• Don’t panic if it takes a few days to fully wake up!

Troubleshooting

My starter isn’t bubbling: Give it more time and keep it warmer if possible. Influencers online will make you feel like your starter should be bubbling over the top of your jar/vessel, but this is only true if you haven’t properly done the math. For instance, if you know you’ll have 100g starter when you feed it, it would not make sense to put it in a jar that only holds 75g, it’ll overflow! As long as your starter is at least doubling and smells nice and yeasty, you’re good to go!

It smells weird: A tangy, sour, fruity, or yeasty smell is normal. Pink/orange discoloration or fuzzy mold means it should be discarded.

I forgot to feed it: No worries! Sourdough is surprisingly resilient. Just resume feedings.

Thank you for supporting TFG!! Please reach out to me via email if you have any questions. I’m happy to help when I can! :)

Happy baking!