Say hello to your new pet!
In fact ,give your starter a brand new name as soon as it arrives at your home!
I wish I was joking, but I am not…
Naming your starter will help you to remember to feed your starter. A sourdough starter is a living organism and if it is not fed then it will die. If it is not named then there is a higher likelihood that it will be forgotten. So, come on, what is your starter’s name?
Feeding or Rehydrating Dry Starter:
These tips should work for any dried starter, however I can only vouch for how well they do rehydrating Red Brick Ranch Dehydrated Starters.
On your arrival day:
Yay! Your new friend has arrived! Let’s get her out of that plastic bag and back into the fresh, open air!
Hopefully you have a good kitchen scale that measures by the gram because for the next step we will need it. If you are missing this crucial link, a quick trip to a local big box store should remedy that. If you don’t have a scale that measures by the gram, please wait to proceed as this is a required item that we do not supply.
Instructions:
- Set clean, dry bowl onto scale and hit “Tare”.
- Scale should say 0 or 0.0, be sure you are in “grams” mode. If not, hit “mode” until “g” or “grams” shows on display.
- Pour contents of envelope into bowl and note amount shown. (Should be approximately 60 grams per plastic bag)
- Hit “Tare” to zero scale, add water, amount should be equal to amount of dried starter. (60 grams starter, 60 grams water)
- Stir gently to mix starter and water.
- Hit “Tare” to zero scale, add flour, amount should be equal to amounts of dried starter and water. (60 grams starters, 60 grams water, 60 grams unbleached, all-purpose flour.
- Stir gently to mix starter, water, and flour.
- Optional next step:
Yeast eats sugar as its primary food source, so often as a way to perk up my starter from a dehydrated state, I will add 1/2 tablespoon – 1 tablespoon to my initial starter “wake up” mix. This is the only time I personally add any additional sugar or “boosters” to my starters as I aim to keep them as organic and pure as possible.
- Once your starter mixture has been prepared, place breathable covering over it and secure the covering. I have used a variety of items for this ranging from coffee filters and mason jar rings to scraps of fabric and clean, unused rubber bands. The important thing is to keep it free from dirt, pests, spills, etc yet able to breathe in the yeast in the air around it.
- Your starter will sit on the counter or in a protected space for the next 3-5 days. Over this timeframe you will need to repeat the feeding process. Remember, equal portions of starter, water and flour.
- Example, 16 grams starter, 16 grams water, 16 grams unbleached all-purpose flour.
- By your first feeding you will start to notice that you have extra left over after pouring out your desired grams of starter to feed. This is discard, eventually you will bake with it, but until your starter is fully awake and bubbling, just throw it away.
- Feed your starter 1-2 times a day depending on your baking needs.
Welcome to Sourdough Culture!
Look at YOU doing the dang thing and baking your own bread!
Red Brick Ranch 