Short answer: To revive the 15 g Ishpatina dehydrated sourdough starter, mix the dried culture with flour and water, then feed it repeatedly until it shows a reliable rise-and-fall cycle after feeding. Temperature, flour and your kitchen environment can change the timing, so use the starter’s behaviour—not the clock alone—to decide when it is ready to bake.
This guide is written for Lodestar’s Ishpatina Wild Yeast Sourdough Starter, Field Release 001.
What you need
- 1 full 15 g package of Lodestar dehydrated sourdough starter
- Bread flour or another flour suitable for maintaining sourdough
- Water suitable for baking
- A clean glass jar or other food-safe container
- A kitchen scale that measures grams
- A clean spoon or spatula
A straight-sided transparent container makes it easier to see bubbles and measure rise. Mark the level immediately after feeding with an elastic band, piece of tape or washable marker.
Activation schedule
Day 1 · Rehydrate the culture
- Put the entire 15 g package of dehydrated starter into a clean container.
- Add 30 g water and 15 g flour.
- Mix until the dried culture is fully moistened and there are no obvious dry pockets.
- Cover the container so it is protected from debris while still allowing normal gas release. Leave it at room temperature.
You now have approximately 60 g of mixture. Do not worry if activity is limited at first. The dried culture is rehydrating.
Day 2 · Morning
- Add 40 g flour and 40 g water.
- Mix thoroughly, mark the new level and cover again.
Day 2 · Evening
Move to a 1:1:1 feeding by weight.
- Keep 25 g of starter.
- Add 25 g water and 25 g flour.
- Mix, mark the level and cover.
Days 3–6 · Build a predictable rhythm
- About every 12 hours, keep 25 g starter and feed it 25 g water + 25 g flour.
- Mark the level after each feeding.
- Watch for a repeatable pattern of bubbles, expansion, peak and decline.
The number of days is a guide, not a deadline. A cooler kitchen can slow fermentation. If the culture is clearly active but taking longer than expected, continue the feeding sequence and judge it by the pattern you observe.
How do I know the starter is active?
A starter that is ready for regular baking should show a consistent response after feeding. Look for several signs together:
- bubbles distributed through the culture;
- visible expansion after feeding;
- a repeatable rise, peak and fall;
- a clean fermented aroma rather than visible signs of spoilage.
Many active starters can roughly double after feeding, but there is no single rise time that applies to every kitchen. Flour, hydration and temperature all change fermentation speed.
Temperature
A moderate room temperature works well. Around 22–23°C is a useful starting point, but precision is not required. Cooler conditions generally slow the process; warmer conditions generally speed it up. Avoid exposing the culture to excessive heat.
Troubleshooting
It is bubbling but not rising much
Keep feeding on schedule and consider the flour and temperature. Visible bubbles are evidence that fermentation is occurring even when volume change is modest. A straight-sided container makes small changes easier to see.
It is taking longer than the schedule
Continue the feeding sequence if the starter is showing normal fermentation activity. Activation time varies between kitchens. Do not compensate by making large, untested changes to the feeding ratio all at once.
I missed a feeding
Resume the regular feeding schedule. One late feeding does not automatically mean the culture has failed. Watch how it responds over the next feeding cycles.
I am unsure whether the starter is safe
If you see visible mold, unusual coloured growth or another clear sign of contamination, discard the culture. Do not scrape off a contaminated area and keep the rest. If something looks or smells abnormal and you are not confident about it, do not taste it; discard it or contact Lodestar for support.
Maintaining the starter after activation
Once the starter has a reliable feeding cycle, you can maintain it like another sourdough starter.
If you bake frequently, you can keep a small starter at room temperature and feed it regularly. If you bake less often, refrigeration can slow fermentation and reduce how often it needs to be fed.
A simple maintenance feed is 1:3:3 by weight: for example, 10 g active starter + 30 g water + 30 g flour. Your preferred ratio can change with your baking schedule, temperature and flour.
What happens to the Ishpatina culture in my kitchen?
The documented story of this culture begins with two wild yeasts collected during fieldwork near Ishpatina Ridge and identified by Escarpment Laboratories in Guelph, Ontario. Once you activate and maintain the starter, it becomes a living culture in your own environment. Flour, water, temperature and ongoing care can change the microbial community over time.
That is part of the release: forest → sample → laboratory → Lodestar culture → your kitchen → your culture.