This little back up starter can save you from tears and fits if you ever kill your beloved sourdough starter.
Sad, Sad Demise
Do you use sourdough regularly? Have you ever killed your starter? Have you ever forgotten about your starter and found it when it was pink and putrid inside?
Has your jar ever broken with your entire precious starter inside? Has your sweet child ever dumped all of your starter down the drain and scrubbed the jar clean in an attempt to wash all the dishes? Have you ever had a fly die in your starter?
Having a back up starter can be so helpful especially when life happens. I have had all of the above incidents happen to my starter over the course of the thirteen years that I have been doing sourdough. I have been so very grateful for a back up.
So Simple and Easy
Making a back up starter is actually very simple and easy. It just requires a healthy, bubbly, active starter, parchment paper and some time.
The starter is spread out thin on the parchment paper and left until it is completely dry. That dry starter can then be broken into chunks and stored in a jar up in your cupboard.
If you live in an especially humid environment, you may need to dehydrate your starter.
Options For Its Use
The back up starter flakes can be reconstituted and made into a brand new starter. They can also be added to a sad starter to help perk it back up.
If you need a break from sourdough but know that you don’t want to give it up forever, those fantastic fermented flakes will rest away in your cupboard until you are ready to pull them back out again.
First Step
When I teach sourdough classes I always encourage people to make a back up starter as their very first sourdough experiment.
Before they attempt a beautiful loaf of bread, before they make their first fluffy sourdough waffle, even before the amazing sourdough cinnamon rolls, I try to persuade them to make a back up so they can always enjoy the delicious sourdough foods for the rest of eternity!
Go make a backup sourdough starter. Your future self will thank you!
Backup Sourdough Starter
1 cup active bubbly sourdough starter
one sheet of parchment paper
Find a corner of your kitchen that will not be disturbed and place your piece of parchment paper there. Pour the one cup of sourdough starter onto the parchment paper. Spread the starter as thin and evenly as possible. Leave the starter for 24-48 hours or until it is dried completely. If you live in an especially humid climate, your starter can be dried in a dehydrator as well.
To use the dried starter:
-Add one or two flakes to an active sourdough starter when it is looking a little sad. The flakes can boost the beneficial bacteria and make it feel happy again.
-Place two tablespoons of flakes in a plastic ziploc bag and then into an envelope and mail them to a friend who wants to start on a sourdough adventure.
-Start a new sourdough starter for yourself because yours died, was contaminated, got dropped, was too annoying, turned pink, [ insert any other reason here], etc.
To Start a New Sourdough Starter From Backup Flakes
Place two tablespoons of dried flakes into a clean jar. Break up the flakes as small as possible. Add three tablespoons water and two tablespoons flour (the same flour (all-purpose, rye, spelt, etc) that was used to make the starter will be the best but not necessary). Stir as best you can. It will be chunky, because of the flakes. Let sit for twelve hours on your countertop.
You may see bubbles at this point, if you don’t, never fear. This time add just two tablespoons water and two tablespoons flour and stir again. Let sit on your countertop another twelve hours. Voila! It should be bubbly now. Feed it equal parts starter:flour:water (if you have 1/4 cup starter, you will feed it 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup flour) and you can use it! If it doesn’t have bubbles yet, you can still feed it equal parts flour and water and let it sit another twelve hours. Continue doing that until you see bubbles. The bubbles will come, as long as the starter was active and happy when it was dried.
