How To Revive Sourdough Starter: Is My Sourdough Starter Dead?

Want to know how to revive sourdough starter? Maybe you think your sourdough starter has gone bad or is unable to rise a loaf of bread?

Forgotten about your sourdough starter at the back of the fridge?

Maybe you've been away or just been busy and now you'd like to get back into baking with your sourdough starter - but it's been forgotten at the back of the fridge and now looks like something that grew in a swamp.

Never fear. Unless there's visible mold on your sourdough starter, it will be able to be revived!

Sourdough starters are actually really hard to kill!

And in fact it's very unlikely that your sourdough starter has gone bad!

Even if your starter looks like this! A thick black layer of liquid on top?

Maybe there is old starter on the sides of the jar that looks a bit darker than it should? And the smell ... like nail polish remover or paint thinner!

Believe it or not - this sourdough starter hasn't gone bad and can be saved!

You might think you've killed your sourdough starter, but chances are it can be brought back to life.

Help! My Starter Has Formed Black Liquid

The most common issue that arises from forgetting about your starter in the fridge for a long period of time is that it generally develops hooch.

But, unlike the hooch that forms when your starter is left out, hooch that forms over long periods in the fridge is often dark purple or even black and looks absolutely vile.

The thing is, as long as there is no visible mold on the surface of the hooch - or the sides of your jar - your starter will be fine.

Hooch is just a sign that it is starving. This makes sense given that it's been forgotten about in the back of the fridge.

Your forgotten sourdough starter will more than likely smell really bad too.

Possibly like acetone or nail polish remover - or even worse. But don't stress - this smell is also a sign that your yeast and bacteria are starving.

If you want to know how to prevent hooch from forming in the future, check out this comprehensive guide to preventing hooch in your sourdough starter.

Just a note about mold - if you do see some fuzzy green or black mold on the sides of the jar or even on top of the hooch - you must toss the starter entirely.

Mold is a non negotiable and the spores will have penetrated the whole starter.

You definitely don't want to be consuming mold!

How To Revive An Old Sourdough Starter

In order to restore your sourdough starter to its former glory, you need to do the following:

1. Pour off as much of the dark hooch as you can.
   
2. Discard most of the starter (you can either just remove it from the jar or place some of the starter into a clean jar). You can see how much I removed in the photo below.
   
3. Feed the remaining starter with 100g of flour and 100g of water. Let it sit out at room temp for around 12 hours.
   
4. Take 50g of starter from the jar and feed it another 100g of flour and 100g of water. Leave the starter for around 12 hours. After this second feeding it should double. If it does then it's ready to use. If it doesn't, repeat step 4 every 12 hours until it does.

The above process gives your neglected sourdough starter a huge feed (if you measured it would be somewhere around the 1:5:5.

You need to give your poor starving yeastie beasties a nice big feed to refresh them and get them back to their usual happy selves.

Depending on how mature your starter was when you placed it into the fridge, one or two feeds should be enough to get it back.

But if it your starter is still sluggish after 2 feeds, don't stress, just feed again and you will start to see some action.

Best Tips for Reviving Sourdough Starter

You can see that even when your sourdough starter looks like something from the swamp, it can almost always be revived. Here are my best tips for quickly reviving your sourdough starter back to optimal health:

• Pour off the hooch when it's been stored for a long time. Many people say to stir it in - and this is fine if it's "fresh" hooch. But if it's been in the fridge for a few months, I recommend pouring it off.
  
• Add the water to your jar first, give it a good shake to really move the wild yeast around. Then add the flour and stir. This will super boost your old sourdough starter.
  
• Once your sourdough starter is doubling and smelling healthy, dehydrate a portion of it so you never get caught out again.
  
• Remember to feed your sourdough starter regularly - even if it's in the fridge - to ensure that you don't end up with another swamp monster.

Further Reading

If this post was helpful, you might enjoy these ideas:

• Have I Killed My Sourdough Starter?
  
• Don't lose your starter to neglect or mold - save it by drying it out and storing it safely.

• What to do if you find mold in your sourdough starter.

• Can a sourdough starter really be 100+ years old?

• Need some ideas for all the sourdough discard you've accumulated? You'll find loads of inspiration here.

Share the sourdough love!