A few weeks ago, excited by Michelle and Rachel’s successful attempts at sourdough baking, I wrote a basic sourdough tutorial.
At the same time, I was trying to figure out a viable way to send starter to friends. Posting liquid starter, as I’d done on a few occasions in the past, was expensive and bulky – and I always had the niggling concern that it might leak in transit and cause a bio-hazard scare at the post office.
I mentioned this to my neighbour Maude, who told me that she’d recently dehydrated some of her starter to send overseas. It seemed like a sensible option, and one that should work, given that the original starter I bought had arrived in a dried form.
I fed a bowl of my starter (Priscilla) until she was bubbly and frothy, and then ladled her out onto a couple of silicone mats. Spread the starter out as thinly as possible and then leave in a warm spot to dry – we used to sit it on top of the fish tank, but these days we just leave it on the dining room table for a few days…
The dried starter was crumbled into small flakes. Because it was quite thick and chunky (as can be seen in the photo below), I gave it a quick blitz in the food processor to break it down a little more. I tested it (twice!) and then packaged it up, crossed my fingers, and mailed it out to friends.
I whizzed this up in the food processor (briefly) to make it a little finer…
I can’t tell you how happy I was when the photos starting coming back!
Priscilla’s offspring have spread far and wide! Allow me to introduce you to part of her family tree (hopefully there will be more to come)…
. . . . .
Son: Navarone (Linda Woodrow)
–> Grandsons: Elvis (x2), Boy George, Bruce
–> Granddaughters: Bubbles and Julie.
I sent starter to Linda in liquid form nearly two years ago, and she’s been baking up a storm ever since. She has also passed the starter on to her family and friends, and most of the offspring have thrived!
Linda’s loaves are baked in a completely different way to mine (I love that!) – her everyday sourdough recipe is here, and this photo is of her gorgeous oat and linseed bread…
. . . . .
Daughter: Stella (Rachel @ The Food Sage)
Rachel has truly hit the ground running – the diary of her first attempt at sourdough sparked our latest baking frenzy, and her second loaf (using this recipe) was a great success. You can read all about her grain bread here…
. . . . .
Daughter: Marion (Ali and Nick @ This Blooming Life)
I’ve had so much fun chatting to Ali and Nick in the past couple of weeks about everything from baking bread to growing leeks to rowing. Marion is only a couple of weeks old, but they’ve had some fabulous adventures with her already – their very first loaf (below) involved an emergency drive to pick up a new oven door…
. . . . .
Daughter: Princess Patsy (so named by Jan in Brisbane because she’s absolutely fabulous, daaarling..)
Darling Jan rehydrated her starter and whipped up a loaf as soon as she got her envelope in the mail. We were both squealing with excitement when she sent this photo of her first attempt at sourdough – a pair of kissing loaves…
. . . . .
Son: Kevin, aka “Big Kev” (Claire and Will @ Claire K Creations)
Big Kev is pulling out all stops! Claire has a deft hand with all things baked, and not surprisingly, her first loaf was a stunner – read all about it from start to finish here…
. . . . .
Son: Sydney (who now lives in Bristol with my beloved friend Joanna @ Zeb Bakes)
Joanna didn’t need my sourdough starter as she has several of her own, but when she mentioned that she’d be happy to give Priscilla a go, I eagerly popped an envelope in the mail to her. I was so thrilled that she’d be baking with my starter, because I knew she’d create amazing bread with it. And she has…
. . . . .
Son: MO (named by Moo’s son, an acronym of Michael and Oliver)
Our old friend Moo is a perfectionist. When he pulled his first sourdough rolls out of the oven, he said to me, “Hmmm. It’s a bit dense, and I’d like a bit more of a blistered crust next time”. I thought they looked fantastic, as did his young son Oliver, who helped to shape them…
. . . . .
Sharing Priscilla’s clones has been like giving away a litter of puppies from a treasured pet – they’ve all gone to friends who will look after them and hopefully get years of baking pleasure from them. There are still a few envelopes in transit – I’ll let you know of any future additions to Priscilla’s family tree!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
What a fun post! Great idea to dry the starter Celia I’m so glad it still worked OK. I loved seeing all of Priscilla’s puppies and how they’ve spread across the globe! :) xox
Becca, it’s been a blast! There are hopefully still more to come! :) xx
I agree, this is a fun post, I did not want it to end. Priscilla is not only of international fame, but so are her offspring. Thank you for sharing those lovely photos.
Norma, thank you, and I’ll be sure to write a follow-up post if any more photos and stories come in! I’m sure they will! :)
Great Post – loving the captures – the kissing loaves – ha! Happy Thursday:)
Thanks Renee, aren’t they cute? Jan’s a star! :)
A wonderful post. Very interesting about dehydrating the sourdough to ship.
Thank you! It worked much better than I’d hoped! :)
I love the drying technique! What a discovery. I have to admit to a lot of self interest in spreading Navarone’s offspring around. It means that if disaster strikes (as it has once – the great sourdough in the wheel well saga) I can get him back.
Linda, the dehydrating worked really well – much better than I thought it would. My original dried starter took a few days to bounce back, but Priscilla’s babies have been leaping back to life in 24 hours! Not sure if the recovery time extends the longer that they’re stored though…
Thanks Celia, thanks Priscilla. It has been so much fun getting to know you both. Have to be brief, I’ve got a dough to get going! xxx
Ali, haven’t we had fun! And didn’t your loaf today turn out well! :)
Well done you on spreading the sourdough love! I especially like the name that Rachel picked. It’s the name of our hand-raised calf and also the name of the new literary award for Australian women’s writing!
Amanda, I wondered if she chose it so that when the starter was being fussy, she could shout “Stella!! Steeelllaaa!” at it, a la Marlon Brando in Streetcar.. ;-)
So delicious… and so beautiful. Thank you dear Celia, love, nia
Thanks Nia! xx
I’m happy to say that yesterday I received my starters from Northwest Sourdough in the mail. I got the Northwest and the San Francisco starters, and cannot wait to get them started and ready to play with. Wish me luck!
Stephen, they’re wonderful starters, and I’m so glad you bought from Teresa, thank you. She’s fabulous, and her starters are really great! Good luck – our starters will share common ancestry now – Priscilla evolved from one or both of those starters that you now have! :)
Thank you. I’ve got my starter going, I’m following Teresa’s notes, and we’re onto day two, so fingers cross that it all works. I’m going to give it a name but I’m just waiting to see how it behaves first.
What a fun post! I think it’s pretty cool that you dehydrated it before sending. Just a note of curiosity. Do the different starters taste different? Or are they made from different yeasts?
Manuela, I used to be able to taste a difference between them when I first got them, but over the years, they’ve all merged into Priscilla. I think the original starters are made from different yeasts, but they tend to morph a bit depending on the environment (local yeasts and bacteria) that they’re exposed to…
What a fun idea!! Spreading the “joy”, Joy
Joy, over the years, I’ve had two friends named Joy, and both of them are the happiest people I’ve ever known. I hope you are as “joyous” as they are! :)
Thank you so much for the introductions: it seems I better begin thinking of fun & meaningful names too. My starter still has to arrive – perchance a little love letter across the Pond may be in order :) !
Eha, I hope it comes soon! Do email Teresa (northwestsourdough@gmail.com) if they don’t! :)
You’re so innovative. I can’t believe you thought of drying out the starter to resolve your postal issues then used your fish tank to dry it out. Of course! I love how this is the gift that keeps on giving xx
Charlie, you’re kind, but it was Maude’s idea! Though the fish tank did work well for drying it out! :) xx
Great post, and gorgeous photos from all of you. When the times comes that I can find time to bake bread without driving myself crazy, i’m thinking Linda’s gorgeous oat and linseed bread takes my fancy :) I went by your fish post also… they are lovely. Surely by you now have 3 generations of Labidochromis caeruleus!
ED, we’ve had so many generations now that I can’t keep up. The tank is still full, although the Shellies have passed on now. We must get some more – they were great fun!
Hehe this is so cute! I’m trying to think of names for when I get some starter-Kevin is actually the name of my Chinese Masterstock and I’m just trying to think of another name for the sourdough!
I’m sure you’ll come up with something! :)
What an amazing story!! I just love that so many people have had the opportunity to make descendants of Priscilla! Such a great blogging thing to do :)
Thank you – it’s been great fun baking along with friends! :)
Lovely to know where your offspring are living now!
I have only given one away………..and it’s new home are so impressed…….even husband of the house who wouldn’t eat sourdough loves it.
My starter is a suggestion from Joanna @ Zeb Bakes; a Dan Lepard recipe for Rye starter; from his Baker & Spice days Baking with passion.
Everything was organic: apple juice, low-fat yoghurt, currants and non-fluoride water. It just takes off like a rocket!
Elaine, I’ve given away several more over the years, but very few of my other friends have named theirs! Does yours have a name? :)
Celia, I have two………you never know when you may need a second.
The original one is called Tarawera and its offspring is Tauhoa.
I should have asked for some while you still had it. I made my own and it has a wonderful flavor, but sometimes I wonder if it has enough of ‘oomphH!
Yours is in the mail, Heidi, it should be with you soon! xx
Thank you so much, Celia! I am looking forward to a little Australian tang in my sourdough!
Congratulations Celia on spreading the sourdough ‘word’. I dried my starter and took it to Missouri with me when I visited my family. I was a bit concerned about going through customs but no one batted an eyelid when I declared it.
Liz, I thought I’d have all sorts of trouble with quarantine when the starters first arrived, but they were fine – they opened the packages and had a look, then sent them on! :)
It’s wonderful to hear Priscilla’s story. No baking for me this weekend so I’m looking forward to adding to the brood soon.
Jo, look forwarding to see how you go and what you name yours! :)
Hello to all Kevin’s brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews! Thanks again Celia for your wonderful gift and help. I’m going to try drying Kevin out so he can have some kids of his own!
Claire, what a fabulous loaf you made!! xx
Priscilla is one classy lady, what adventures she has been on, makes me want to get baking again.
Kirsty, she’s the drag queen of my refrigerator, and named after Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Have you ever watched the movie? :)
[…] Fig Jam & Lime Cordial’s Celia inspires me with her flair for living, food, family & friends but her post about empowerment touched me, because she has empowered me. […]
I love that you are spreading the sourdough love. Another way to send starter is to mix it to a very thick dry dough with flour and send it. It will come back when rehydrated. The woman that taught me this method says it lasts for ever this way. But I do keep some dried as well, just in case.
Tania, my friend Jo sends hers like that too! This way was much cheaper to send though, as it could go in a standard envelope!
Thanks for sharing this with everyone, Celia my friend. Your starter brought some extra sunshine to my kitchen this month and I have enjoyed baking with young Sydney greatly, it’s been fun!
Darling, I was so chuffed that you and B liked Sydney’s loaves! It will be interesting to see if he stays the same, or whether he’ll mingle with your other starters! :)
Heehee, Princess Patsy loved her sashay down the red carpet:). I ‘ve just got home from work and the first thing I’ve done is give my Princess something to eat and drink (although I think I might have overdone it – half a cup each of flour and water?). I can’t wait to make another loaf tomorrow and see If I can improve. Such fun Celia and I’ve loved seeing all the cousins!
Half a cup of flour and water is fine, love. Will you give her one more late feed before bed, and bake tomorrow? Don’t forget to keep some in the fridge for next time – I know I go on about that, but I’ve used up all my starter on a loaf before, so now I always double check! :)
Yes, I’m just about to read her a bed time story and see if she will come out to play tomorrow. I won’t forget to keep some back for storing in the fridge, I would hate to lose her. Nighty night Miss Celie.
Drying is something I’ve not tried with Sedrick. I’m going to give it a go as soon as my new kitchen is finished, the dust settles in the house, and the builders are gone. Can’t have dried Sedrick mixed with plastic dust! :D
Sedrick! What a great name, Misky! I had to laugh at the thought of having a little concrete mixed into ol’ Seddy though.. :)
How funny to think of a sourdough with a family tree! Maybe you should go onto one of the genealogy sites to find Priscilla’s siblings. Your post made me smile Celia. I now feel very neglectful that my starter doesn’t have a name or offspring.
Anne, the naming thing isn’t for everyone (my friend Maude just quirked an eyebrow at me when I suggested it to her), but it has been great fun. You bake wonderful bread with your starter, so neglectful is definitely not the right word! :)
Celia….I have always sent my starter out in dried form. The silicone mats as you discovered are perfect, and as you thought if you paint an uber thin layer it dries in a few hours and crumbles like fish food flakes. I create a few backups this way, vacuum seal them and in freezer they go, with date.
Sara, thank you for the advice! How long do your starters last for in their dried form?
What a great post! I never knew you could dehydrate starter. I love all the photos and the stories.
Anna, thank you! It’s been fun to share it around, and there’s more to come! :)
Can I have some more humus and sourdough bread please :)
Anytime, darling.. xx
Back when I was heavily involved in sourdough baking, I sent “flakes” to a friend so that he could start his own. It worked perfectly and I’ve some flakes saved in my freezer just waiting for me to “activate” them. Those loaves, Priscilla’s offspring, sure look great, Celia! You not only provided the starter but you’ve taught them all well. :)
John, you’re always so kind, thank you for saying that. It’s been great fun sharing the love – and the loaves.. :D
What a fantastic post Celia! I can’t wait to receive mine in the mail. Thank you so much!!! Xx
Hope it works well for you, Em! xx
A very interesting post, dear Celia! I learned a lot, again, here! Your breads look amazing, tasty & very appetizing too!
Thanks Sophie! :)
Amazing how these kids travel around the world so well.
They do love to wander, don’t they Doc? :)
I am so excited to have a particular Priscilla in my home! We are away for the weekend so she will be started on our return :)
Tandy, I can’t wait to see what Cordelia comes up with! :)
Oh.. this is so wonderful, I think there’s a children’s book here.. the traveling starter, the naming, the children and grandchildren. How wonderful! I’ve just signed up for a sourdough starter class here in Calgary because of you. Oh, the lives you’ve touched, Celia!! xx
Also, would one have to dehydrate their starter if leaving on vacation??
Barb, thank you love, you’re very kind. x How wonderful that you’re going to a sourdough class! I hope you enjoy it and come out with a brand new passion! Re vacations – I think it’s probably a good idea to dry some of the starter as backup before you go away. The starters can actually live for quite a while I believe, but the longest I’ve ever left mine in the fridge without a feed is two weeks.
I love how you are sharing the sourdough love and your knowledge Celia…it is also very entertaining! I am fascinated too looking at the way you dried the starter…very clever!
Jane, it wasn’t my idea, but I do think that drying the starter is a very clever thing! I wish I’d tried it earlier! :)
Lovely to hear about some of Stella’s siblings – and to see how differently everyone’s bread turns out! And i’m very impressed with your dried starter project. I’m just prepping a batch of starter as i type – it’s a little sluggish tonight, not bubbling as much as it has done in the past. I’m putting it down to the wet Sydney weather … after all, i don’t feel too bubbling myself today. Great post.
The weather has been bonkers, hasn’t it? Look forward to catching up this week! xx
I can’t wait to start cooking with Maggie! She’s all happy and bubbly this morning. There will be a loaf of bread on the way.
Clare, that’s so exciting! Thanks for letting me know!
Can’t wait to get cracking with ? (all will be revealed) now that it’s finally arrived.
Oooh, you’re such a tease, Sally.. ;-)
Don’t forget the branch of the family tree you started when you gave me some four years ago! Offspring have travelled far and wide, up and down the coast of Australia. Most are thriving. None of this branch of the family have names though….a genetic mutation you think?! :)
I am about to switch over to keeping a lower hydration starter and can’t quite bring myself to stop the original hydration starter (I have been experimenting and started a second bottle with the lower hydration). Feels like I will be betraying my original, even though it is still the birth mother of the newer one. Hmmm. Ridiculously attached to it!
Speaking of lower hydration, perhaps you could reduce the hydration and roll it out into a very thin sheet before drying – would that speed it up?
SG, you’ll have to think of a name now, so we can add him to the family tree! Re the lower hydration – Joanna told me that you can rub flour into a little starter until its crumbly, and store it that way…
Celia,
Someone told me that the older your starter, the better your bread will be. You can also pass it down to the next generation.
That’s a lovely thought, passing Priscilla down to my sons.. :)
Hi Celia,
Priscilla’s offspring passed through NZ Post’s scanning and was delivered to the letterbox without any issues, thank you so much.
Well the name is sorted. Shebru son/daughter of Priscilla. My Pete suggested Sheila or Bruce and I decided an amalgamation would fit the bill – or the starter in fact. So here’s to happy baking and look forward to the first bread on Saturday.
Good to hear it, Anne! Can’t wait to see how Shebru goes for you! :)
[…] fed Stella — my sourdough starter (read about her history here) — mid morning, then again at lunchtime before i went to work. She immediately emitted a couple […]
This is just completely amazing! I am not sure how I stumbled upon your blog, but I am delighted that I did. I shall do a proper trawl through all your posts and perhaps this weekend follow your sourdough tutorial (always wanted to have a go) and start my own – so although not part of the great Priscilla it will at least have virtual kinship! Excited at the prospect of your jam posts too! better get a move on…
[…] is a very special sourdough starter all the way from Sydney, Australia (thanks again Celia!) Her name is […]
Hi there! I am interested in dehydrating my starter to send to friends but, I was wondering if you could give me the steps on how to reactivate it! Enjoyed reading this so much!
Of course! Here are the instructions I sent off with the dried starters:
The starter has been dried. To bring it back to life:
1. Early in the morning (say 8am), empty the sachet of the dried starter into a medium sized bowl. Whisk in ¼ cup each of bread (bakers) flour and filtered water. Cover the bowl with clingfilm. Note that it has to be bread (bakers) flour, as that has the higher protein content that the yeast organisms need.
2. Repeat step 1 at lunch time or mid-afternoon. Cover the bowl.
3. Before going to bed, whisk in ½ cup each of bread (bakers) flour and filtered water. Cover the bowl.
Hopefully by the following morning, you will have a bubbly starter to play with, but if not, continue feeding the starter until it perks up (it might take a couple of days). Once the starter is alive and active, pour off a portion into a container, give it a small feed of flour and water, and pop it into the fridge. From now on, you’ll need to feed your fridge starter regularly to keep it alive.
Hope that helps!