Day 1
- In a small bowl or jar, mix the 2 grams of dehydrated sourdough starter with 6 grams of 80°F water.
- Allow the starter to sit for approx 2 hours, or until the dried starter dissolves.
- Stir in 6 grams of flour.
- Loosely cover and let sit overnight at approx 78°F, or for 12-14 hrs.
This is using a 1:3:3 ratio on Day 1 to kick things off. Adjust as necessary if you have more than 2 grams of dehydrated starter. For example, for 5 grams of dehydrated starter, you would use 15 grams of water and 15 grams of flour in the above steps.
Day 2
- Without discarding what is in the bowl or jar, stir in 10 grams of flour and 10 grams of water.
- Loosely cover and let sit overnight at approx 78°F, or for 12-14 hrs.
Day 3
- Without discarding what is in the bowl or jar, stir in 10 grams of flour and 10 grams of water.
- Loosely cover and let sit overnight at approx 78°F, or for 12-14 hrs.
Day 4
Your starter should have risen since the last feeding and you should see bubbles.
- Discard all but 15 grams of the starter.
- Add 30 grams of flour and 30 grams of water.
- Loosely cover and let sit overnight at approx 78°F, or for 12-14 hrs.
Day 5
- Discard all but 15 grams of the starter.
- Add 30 grams of flour and 30 grams of water.
- After approx. 7 hrs your starter should have tripled in size. If not, check again in an hour or two.
- At this point your starter should be fully active and ready to create a levain.
Maintanence
Here are a couple of great guides for how to maintain your starter:
https://www.theperfectloaf.com/how-do-i-feed-my-sourdough-starter/
https://www.theperfectloaf.com/keeping-a-smaller-sourdough-starter-to-reduce-waste/
I use a 1:4:4 ratio for my regular sourdough maintenance. (1 part active starter, 4 parts flour, 4 parts water.)