The process of drying sourdough has been, in a few words — aromatic (what is that smell, that is somehow —  appealing?!) interesting, easy and fascinating.

It all started by smearing some of my vibrantly healthy French sourdough starter on parchment paper,and just letting it sit

and literallydry- out

until all moisture was gone,

and I was able to crumble it up into little ziplock bags (quite fun) and send out to those who want a fresh start.

It was that simple!

I saved a small batch for myself — just in case something would ever happen to mine. (Store it in the freezer in a well-labled jar). The rest is about to be mailed to those who need a start.

Now — how do you bring a dried sourdough back to life? Quite simple, really:

Reviving Dried Sourdough Starter

2013-05-09 13:39:43

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Ingredients

Healthy, dried sourdough starter

Instructions

Reviving Dried Sourdough Starter

Soak ½ tsp. dried starter in 1 tbs. lukewarm purified or spring water for a few minutes to soften.

Stir in 1 tbs. all-purpose flour, cover and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours. While not necessary, stirring again once or twice during this 24 hours will expedite the fermentation process.

Stir in another tablespoon of flour with an additional tablespoon of purified water. If the dried starter is at all viable, as it should be, you will most likely see the bubbling action of fermentation begin somewhere between about 24 and 48 hours. If not, something is most likely wrong.

Continue with twice daily feeding

If using a scale, combine equal amounts of sourdough starter, flour and water by weight. For example, feed 50 grams of sourdough starter with 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water.

If using measuring cups, feed one part starter with one part water and a scant two parts flour. For example, feed 1/4 cup of starter with 1/4 cup of water and a scant 1/2 cup of flour.

Mix the starter, flour and water together and stir vigorously, incorporating plenty of air. Cover the starter with a loose lid, towel, plastic wrap pierced with a fork several times, etc. (so the naturally created gas can escape). Leave in a warm spot for 4 to 12 hours until the starter becomes bubbly.

After a few days you will have a vital sourdough starter that can be used for baking and be put on a maintenance schedule which requires minimal attention and effort.

By Breadtopia

Susiej http://www.susiej.com/

I love bread. But I rarely eat it. It’s the bad carb. This is about to change. For about three months now, in between feeding a family of six, heading to Disney, while the snow has fallen, stopped and the sun has shone bright and warm, I have been faithfully feeding a sourdough starter. I know. Why add another mouth to feed? Who has time? Because sourdough holds the magic elixir to make bread a good carb. The wild yeast that makes sourdough bread rise is the same beneficial bacteria that you find in yogurt — the same kind that helps strengthen your immune system. But in bread, the benefits go even further. While bread is considered the carb to stay away from, as your body will simply turn the carbs into sugar, the bacteria in sourdough does some heavy lifting in the flour to make it a healthy carb.

Research on sourdough white bread, showed healthy physiological responses, including lower blood glucose levels after eating sourdough white bread compared to whole wheat, whole wheat with barley and plain white bread. Interestingly, the subjects tested after eating whole wheat bread fared the worse — with spiking blood glucose levels. You may have heard of the negative effects of phytic acid, found in grains. Because sourdough takes a longer rise time than yeast breads, this creates an ideal pH for the enzyme phytase, which breaks down the phytates. Also, the bacteria and yeast in the sourdough culture work to predigest the starches in the grains, thus making bread easier to digest.  In short, it means you’ll actually be getting nutrients from the grains in the bread — including protein.

If you want protien and other nutrients from your bread, make it with the whole grain — not whole wheat. More on that can be found here. Better, sprout your own wheat berries… but that’s for another day.

So, after much research, I ordered a sourdough starter, dried, — not from San Francisco — but from Provence: Organic French Sourdough Starter. This one, I read, is not as fussy as the starter from San Francisco. Although — keep in mind, that as soon as the sourdough comes alive in your own kitchen, it will become activated by the yeast in your own kitchen, wherever you are. But, I have to say, what’s left of the Provence starter is quite sweet and delightful. But, the good news is, I have starter for you! If you live close by, and you want some, please stop by, and I will be so happy to get you started. If you live far, I know how to dry it and ship it off to you. Please — let me share this with you. Because it grows every day, so quickly, and I have so much! To receive your starter, leave me a comment below, and let me know how you follow Susiej on social media —  if you don’t quickly add me:

Leave a comment here, at the end of this post, and let me know which of the social media platforms you are following me on, below:

How hard is it? At first, you’re watching and measuring every step of the way, pouring some off. And, that first two weeks is critical, and there is little pay off. But soon, you can start making waffles, pancakes, biscuits, tortillas… and bread. And then, you can put it in the fridge for awhile and let it rest. And then, pull it out again, adding a cup of flour and water, and it’s alive and kicking again in less than 8 hours. Here’s a breakdown — and while the rules are here, below, you’ll be checking them twice, and tripe, but soon, they just become habit, and you don’t have to keep checking again and again:

• When you feed your starter, feed it with approximately equal weights of flour and water. That equates to about 2/3 to 3/4 cup of water for every cup of flour.
• The amount you feed your sourdough starter depends on how much of it you have to start with. You want to approximately double the amount of starter you have each time you feed it. However, if you already have a couple cups of starter on hand and typically only use a cup of starter in your recipe, just dispose of a cup or more of the starter and then double what remains.
• If using a scale, combine equal amounts of sourdough starter, flour and water by weight. For example, feed 50 grams of sourdough starter with 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water.

If using measuring cups, feed one part starter with one part water and a scant two parts flour. For example, feed 1/4 cup of starter with 1/4 cup of water and a scant 1/2 cup of flour.

• Be sure to store your starter in a container that’s not air tight. It expands.

Yep, I know it’s getting warm, and who wants to bake bread in the summer… but remember, your crockpot can do the job in less than two hours, and, keep your kitchen cool at the same time.

This is an incredible pesto. If you’ve been finding it difficult to jump on the kale-health bandwagon, because kale shakes aren’t cutting it for you, and you can’t quite master the fine art of making Kale Chips crispy — don’t give up yet. This pesto might be you’re ticket. (Kale is sooooo good for you….)

But you don’t have to limit yourself to Kale here. Any “Green” will do. Spinach, turnup greens, radish tops, dandelion… anything green here.

You can’t taste the greens this recipe. For some, that may be a bad thing…

Simply strip off the leaves, and add them to the food processor, along with a couple of tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive oil, a teaspoon of sea salt (or more), a clove of garlic, nuts of your choice, and a squeeze of lemon juice. (If there are no lemons around, just use any vinegar – a teaspoon of two.) Then puree, and add cheese.

Here’s the cheat sheet:
Ingredients
2 cups packed greens
1/2 cup toasted nuts. Pine, Walnuts, Almonds (I actually left out the nuts, none around, and the pesto was still very good.)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Now, you can eat it with crackers, chips, or serve it over pasta or add it to soups. It is so delicous.

Make the whole batch, and freeze the leftovers into little sandwich bags to throw into soup for a quick lunch.