Converting a wet sourdough starter to a dry sourdough starter

Converting my wet sourdough starter to a dry sourdough starter completely changed my sourdough journey for the better! I began saving on flour, money, and time with this conversion and I can’t preach about it enough!

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Before we begin, my Organic Sourdough products will make your sourdough journey much easier!

I happily approach sourdough with the dry starter method and talk a lot about this in my sourdough guide which you can find here. If you don’t currently have a starter, check out my Organic, Spring Water-Fed Sourdough Starter that only takes 24 hours to rehydrate.

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What is a sourdough starter?

A sourdough starter is a mixture of flour, water and time. Time allows for the natural, wild yeasts and good bacteria (aka lactic acid) that’s in the flour to colonize and eventually ferment when added to water. This means your starter is alive and active! When these wild yeasts and bacteria get together, they give off CO2, gas, and alcohol. This is what makes your bread rise and gives your bread its distinctive taste!

What is a wet starter?

A wet sourdough starter is what you may be more familiar with. You know, the bubbly liquid in a jar sitting on the counter at room temperature that you have to feed once (or twice) per day, discarding a good portion of it, and sometimes forgetting the last time you fed it (and you’ve also probably wondered ‘is it supposed to smell like that?’).

I’ve been there too! I’ve kept a successful wet starter in the past, but a wet starter goes through a lot of flour due to feeding it once or twice per day in order to keep it strong. This can feel wasteful. I went through A LOT of good quality flour to keep my wet starter alive in the past and it felt like I was throwing money away!

Then, if you forget to feed it over a few days, it’ll need another few more feedings (and time to rise) before you can bake again. All in all, this can be very discouraging, especially for a sourdough newbie.

What is a dry starter?

I wrote a guide on how I use the dry starter method called The Journey of Sourdough. In this guide I explain why the dry starter method is important for saving flour, money, and time.

A dry starter is a dense, stiff, full-of-active-and-wild-yeast dough kept in a container with a tight lid, tucked inside your fridge, waiting patiently until you’re ready to bake.

I make levain with my dry starter just about every day and only need to feed or “refresh” my starter once a week or two. This is MEGA! A dry starter will only need to be fed once you have 10g/1 Tbsp. left in your container (you can read more on this in my post How to make Sourdough Levain). And it’s one of the biggest differences between a wet starter.

Why should I convert my wet starter to a dry starter?

1. There’s no discard: a wet starter requires discarding a portion of the starter and refreshing it with new water and flour. A dry starter does not require this.
2. Save money on flour: a wet starter needs to be fed every day in order to be strong. A dry starter doesn’t need to be fed every day. You’re saving A LOT of flour.
3. Save TIME: A dry starter is kept in your fridge until you’re ready to bake. There’s no stress on feeding it daily.

How to convert a wet sourdough starter to a dry sourdough starter

Tools you’ll need:

• Small or medium bowl
• Fork or standing mixer
• Silicone lid, wet tea towel, or plastic wrap

Ingredients you’ll need:

• 20g (1-2 Tbps) mature, wet sourdough starter
• 50g (1/3 cup) warm water
• 100g (2/3 cup) flour (preferably organic, bread flour)

If you currently have a wet starter and want to convert it to a dry starter, we can do that! You’ll need an active and mature wet starter to make this conversion. If you don’t have a starter already, you can have some of mine.

Steps to convert wet sourdough starter to a dry sourdough starter

1. Combine the wet sourdough starter with the warm water and mix with a fork or standing mixer until roughly combined.
2. Add the flour and mix until the mixture becomes stiff. Transfer the contents to a clean, floured surface and knead dough for 1-3 minutes until you’re able to form the dough into a ball.
3. Place dough ball in a clean bowl and cover for 8-12 hours at room temp. After 8-12 hours, the dough should have doubled in size.
4. Place dough in a clean, sealed container and store in the fridge until you’re ready to make levain!

This is my STARTER (below).

If you’re used to the wet sourdough starter, this thicker, dry starter may seem odd! It should be the consistency of play dough, or bread dough, and it should smell good, like yogurt.

I keep my starter in a sealed container in the fridge until I’m ready to prepare a sourdough recipe. It’s that easy.

My other sourdough ventures and recipes

• Intro to Sourdough and Sourdough Starter
• How to Make Sourdough Levain
• Easy, Fluffy Sourdough Tortillas
• The Easiest Rosemary, Garlic, & Parmesan Sourdough Focaccia