How to Dry Sourdough Starter

Learn how to dry your sourdough starter for long-term storage.

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I have had drying out my sourdough starter on my to-do list for a while but it was just something that I never quite got around to.

Earlier this year I took a 2 week trip to visit my family in Canada. I left my sourdough starter under the caring watch of my husband (and our refridgerator). When I returned home, it was the colour grey and stank something horrible! It took some time but thankfully I was able to revive it.

We’ve had quite a few trying moments together, my sourdough starter and I. In each of those moments, I think about how easy it would have been to just have some dried starter on hand. That way I wouldn’t have to go through a drawn out process of trying to make her healthy again.

Yes, my sourdough starter is a she. She also has a name.

Why Should You Dry Your Sourdough Starter

Drying your sourdough starter is the best way to ensure that you will never lose your starter. It would be a shame to lose your starter after all that hard work you’ve put into it.

If you are ever in a season of life where you are too busy to tend to your starter or maybe dealing with an illness, your dried starter can act as a back up so that you may begin to use it again when you have more time to maintain it.

Drying your starter is also a great way to transport it during a move or maybe even ship your starter to friends in the mail!

What You Need to Dry Sourdough Starter

• Active and Bubbly Sourdough Starter
• Baking Sheet
• Parchment Paper

How to Air Dry Your Starter

To start, you will need to feed your sourdough starter and allow it to reach peak activity. This will give the yeast and bacteria the best chance to come back to life after being dehydrated.

To air dry your starter, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spoon your sourdough starter onto the parchment paper and spread it thinly on the paper. Cover the starter with a second sheet of parchment paper and set aside. I prefer to store mine in the oven while drying to free up counter space. Just don’t forget that it’s in there!

Depending on how much or little starter you are drying, your starter should be sufficiently dried out after 24 hours.

When the starter is dry to touch, crumble it into flakes. I like to put mine in a food processor and grind it down as much as possible.

How to Dehydrate Sourdough Starter

Alternatively, you can dehydrate your sourdough starter.

Set up your dehydrator and make sure you have clean silicon drying sheets.

Spoon small amounts of your sourdough starter onto the dehydrator and spread it out into a thin layer.

Turn on your dehydrator. Run your dehydrator on it’s lowest temperature. Ideally, you would want it no hotter than 106°F as any hotter will risk cooking off the bacteria.

We have a Presto Dehydrator and while we love it, the lowest temperature is 165°F, which means that it is not an ideal dehydrator for sourdough starter.

Where to Store Your Dried Sourdough Starter

Store your dried sourdough starter in an airtight container like a mason jar. You can store your dried sourdough starter in your kitchen cupboard or in the fridge.

How to Rehydrate Dried Sourdough Starter

When you would like to use your dried sourdough starter, the process to rehydrate it for use is very simple.

In a bowl, whisk together 1 cup of water and 1 cup of flour. Scoop in 1 tbsp of your dehydrated sourdough starter and combine well. If done properly, the yeast from your dry starter will come back to life and take over. By the next day, you should have a sourdough starter that is ready to use.

Sourdough Recipes to Try

Sourdough Sandwich Bread

Blueberry Pancakes

Sourdough Foccaccia

Fluffy Sourdough Cornbread

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