Rehydrate Dehydrated Sourdough Starter

Frequently Asked Questions

*

1. Can I use other gluten-free flours or gluten-free flour blends besides brown rice flour or buckwheat flour?

– While brown rice flour and buckwheat flours are most commonly used for gluten-free sourdough starter and work the best, you can use other flours. I don’t recommend using a flour blend because these often contain xanthan gum or guar gum and this shouldn’t be used in the starter. Other flours to try that may work (I can’t guarantee as I haven’t used these): millet flour or sorghum flour.

– Don’t use a starch such as tapioca flour, potato starch, cornstarch, cassava flour, or arrowroot powder. 

*

My starter isn’t bubbling after 7 days.

– That’s ok! Sometimes it’s too cold in your kitchen for your starter to be very active. Try placing the jar of starter in a cold oven with the oven light on and allow it to sit for 6-12 hours and see how it reacts. 

– You can still bake with it after 7 days even if it isn’t bubbling much or rising much after being fed. 

*

How do I measure if my starter has risen 4-6 hours after feeding?

– I place a rubber band around my wide-mouth mason jar at the level of the starter once I have fed it. After 4-6 hours it has usually risen above that rubber band line. 

*

I’m not gluten-free; will this starter work for me to bake with wheat flour?

– Yes! This gluten-free sourdough starter will work great with wheat flour. You may see better results since the gluten becomes very developed in sourdough starter.

– Don’t use wheat flour if you’re gluten-free.

*

My active sourdough starter has grown mold on it! What do I do?

– Throw it away! Your sourdough starter has died. Time to make a new sourdough starter. Molded sourdough starter is not safe to eat or bake with. 

*

My sourdough starter has dark liquid on top of it. Is it still good?

– Yes! This dark liquid is called hooch. It means your sourdough starter is hungry. Pour out that liquid and gently scrape off the top of the starter and throw away the liquid and the scrapings. Feed your sourdough starter as normal and stir well. 

*

My sourdough starter isn’t enough for the recipe I want to use. What do I do?

– The solution is very simple: feed it extra. Usually I’ll feed it the amount I will need later. My recipe calls for 200 grams of sourdough starter, so I will feed it 100 grams of buckwheat flour and 100 grams filtered water (instead of my usual 50 grams each of flour and water) and allow it to peak over 4-6 hours before using it. This way I have enough for my recipe and still have some left over to keep the starter healthy and growing.