Revive a Sourdough Starter
So you put your sourdough starter in the refrigerator. Now its time to get it out and get it going again. If you’re looking to revive a sourdough starter, you’ve come to the right place!
If you are anything like me, you get super busy at times and need a little break from the daily feeds to the sourdough starter. When we need those breaks, it’s great to have the ability to stick the sourdough starter into the refrigerator and let it be for a bit. I am going to share with you some tips on how to revive a sourdough starter after its been stored in a fridge.
Sourdough starters, although easy, need to be fed regularly. They are pretty resilient though and because of that, they can be placed in the back of the fridge as long as they had plenty of food and water to begin with. Sometimes, the longer they were back there, the longer it takes to revive them. But if now is the time, read on!
All it takes is consistent feedings, filtered water and a little TLC and you’ll be ready to resume baking in no time!
What you’ll need
- Sourdough starter – just a small portion will do!
- Water – filtered is best
- Flour – when I revive a sourdough starter, I like to use organic whole wheat flour. All purpose unbleached flour is also a good choice.
- Clean jar – I like to start fresh with a clean jar.
- Wooden spoon or spatula with a wooden handle – wood is a better choice than metal spoons.
My sourdough starter has created a layer of hooch, what do I do?
Some people prefer to pour off their hooch. But, if my starter hasn’t been in the fridge long and it doesn’t have a super strong smell, I just stir mine in. You do you!
Revive a Sourdough Starter
Start of by placing a jar on a kitchen scale and zero (tare) it out.
Pour in 25 grams of sourdough starter. Then, zero the scale out again. Add in 25 grams of your choice of flour. Zero your scale one more time and add 25 grams of filtered and room temperature water.
Use a wooden spoon to stir until combined. Some have used silicone during this process with no problems. I just try to stay away from metal as that has been said to react with the sourdough.
Set it in a warmer location. Between 70-80 degrees is best, however, cooler can still work, but it may be a slower rise. Leave it be for 24 hours or until the starter doubles.
If the starter doubles within a day or two, you can probably start baking with it within a couple days. If it is slower to double, keep feeding it at a 1:1:1 ratio until the starter doubles a few times and seems happy with the consistency. Make sure it doubles 3 consecutive days.
(What I mean when I say 1:1:1 ratio, I mean 50 grams of starter (this means removing some from the jar or pouring some into a new jar), 50 grams flour and 50 grams filtered water.)
When you dump out the discard, don’t throw it out! There are many sourdough discard recipes, including my Easy Cinnamon Sourdough Muffins.
When NOT to revive a sourdough starter
If there is any type of mold, it is time to throw out the sourdough starter. It is not worth ingesting it.
Revive a Sourdough Starter
Ingredients
- 25 grams sourdough starter
- 25 grams filtered water room temp
- 25 grams flour organic whole grain or all purpose bleached
Instructions
- 1. Add a clean jar to a kitchen scale. Zero (or tare) it so it goes to 0.
- 2. Add in 25 grams of sourdough starter from the refrigerator.
- 3. Next, add 25 grams of filtered water.
- 4. Then, add in 25 grams of flour.
- 5. Stir well. Loosely cover the jar and place in a warmer location (70-80 degrees).
- 6. If the starter does not double within 24 hours, get a new jar and use 25 grams of the sourdough starter, 25 more grams of filtered water and 25 grams of flour. Repeat as many times as necessary until it doubles more regularly.
- 7. Once it is regularly doubling, feed it for 2-3 more days before baking with.
