Sourdough Starter “Chips”

Sourdough Starter “Chips”

Drying out sourdough starter is a convenient way to travel with it or give it away. Here are instructions for drying it and then reviving it. I’ve done this only a few times, so I’m not sure how consistent my experience is.

To dry out the starter, smear it to a thin layer on wax paper and leave it out in a dry environment:

sourdough starter smeared onto wax paper on a kitchen counter

Mine is elevated on a wire rack, although I’m not sure there is any benefit to having air swirl beneath the wax paper. When it is 100% dry, peel it off and store it in a sealed bag or container:

a pile of what look like flat, thin crackers with ragged edges, that are actually chips of dried sourdough starter

When you are ready to revive some, put a few chips in warm water in a bowl:

a container of murky water, with a few white, doughy blobs in it

Wait until they are completely dissolved. This will take a few hours or more (I let mine sit overnight):

a spoon holding pale, murky water over a container with more of it; the water has sourdough starter dissolved in it

Add a few tablespoons of flour and mix, until you have a sticky mass with a dough-like consistency:

a spoon in a mixture of flour and water, in a container; the mixture is lumpy and glistening wet in places

Cover and let the mixture sit in a warm environment (over 70F) for about 12 hours. Ideally you would see some bubbles to show you it is alive. I did not see bubbles (see below) but the mixture smelled good. Also, the consistency was a little on the wet side, which can make it harder to see the rising.

a flat wet mixture of flour and water in the bottom of a container, with 3 bubbles showing

Add more warm water and flour, again shooting for a dough-like consistency.

a spoon in a mixture of flour and water, in a container; the mixture is lumpy and glistening wet in places but dry in others

Cover and let it sit out 12 hours, then assess. Mine looked bubbly now, but it still did not seem fully risen (when I banged the container, it did not collapse).

a wet mixture of flour and water in a container with several bubbles showing

So I left it out ANOTHER 12 hours. This time, the mixture was filled with bubbles and collapsed when I banged the container. This is fully risen starter!

a wet mixture of flour and water in a container with several bubbles showing

Since I had about 160 grams, I switched to the usual feeding recipe (160 g starter, 60 g water, 100 g flour), leaving it out for 2 hours before refrigerating.