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Can you freeze sourdough starter? Yes! Freezing sourdough starter is a simple way to preserve your starter for up to a year without feeding it. If you need to take a sourdough hiatus, this is a perfect way to save starter for later use.
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Over the years, my baking habits have had their ups and downs. Lately, with a three-year-old in preschool, I’m baking less because we’re constantly battling whatever bug is going around (preschool germs are no joke, y’all).
For yeast breads, no big deal. But sourdough bread? That’s trickier since a healthy starter needs regular care.
To keep my starter thriving even when I’m not baking (or stuck on the couch with yet another cold), I freeze portions of my mature starter for long-term storage.
It’s an easy way to make sure I always have some of my precious starter on hand.
Since originally publishing this blog post, I’ve also learned more about freezing starter. It’s now 2025, my little one is four years old, and I use my frozen starter as a backup and for quick discard recipes.
It’s really nice to have frozen starter on hand because if I want to make a late night skillet cookie or impromptu sourdough biscuits and gravy, I have discard ready to go.
Of course, I still use it to preserve starter. But it’s now one of my go-to ways to store starter for discard recipes.
Benefits of Freezing Sourdough Starter
- No Feeding: Frozen starter can be stored in a freezer bag for up to a year. During that time, you don’t have to worry about feeding it at all.
- Easy: It takes about 5 minutes of hands-on time. And to revive it, you’ll just have to let it thaw and feed it for a few days. It’s as easy as that.
- Backup Starter: With frozen starter on hand, mishaps are no problem. Moldy starter? Toss it and grab your frozen backup. Jar shattered? Frozen starter to the rescue!
- Stash Your Excess Starter: Even though you can store starter in the fridge, if you end up with too much, keeping it in the freezer saves fridge space.
Ingredients
- Starter: You will need an established sourdough starter. If you don’t have one, check out my sourdough starter beginner’s guide.
- Flour: I recommend using a 50/50 mix of all-purpose flour and whole wheat (or rye) flour.
- Water: With each feeding you will need to give your starter an equal portion of starter, flour, and water.
Get the full list of ingredients and measurements on the printable recipe card below.
Tools You Will Need
- Silicone Molds: These are useful because the frozen starter will pop right out. I love these silicone bee molds and silicone flower molds.
- Mason Jar: When you are ready to revive your starter, thaw and feed it in a glass jar.
- Loose-Fitting Lid: Cover your starter with a cloth lid and rubber band as you revive it. You could also use any loose-fitting lid. Be sure that your lid is not airtight.
- Kitchen Scale: I use a waterproof kitchen scale to weigh my ingredients. Remember, the 1:1:1 ratio always references grams, so a scale is helpful.
How to Freeze Sourdough Starter
Step 1: Feed your starter. Allow it 4-12 hours to become active and bubbly. How long that takes depends on your starter, so keep an eye on it.
Step 2: Once your starter is bubbly and doubled in size, spoon dollops of your active starter into a silicone mold, ice cube tray, or muffin tin lined with plastic wrap.
The amount of starter depends on your mold. Fill it to the top.
Step 3: Freeze for 12-24 hours or until completely frozen.
Step 4: Once frozen, remove the starter from the mold. Place the frozen starter in a Ziploc bag and seal. Your starter will last up to a year in the freezer.
Step 5: To thaw, first, weigh your frozen starter. This will help you determine how much to feed it.
Step 6: Place the frozen starter in a jar, loosely covered, and allow to sit in a warm spot until completely thawed.
Mine took about 4 hours to get back to room temperature.
Step 7: Combine equal parts (in grams) starter, flour, and water. Stir until thoroughly combined. Allow it to sit at room temperature for 12 hours.
Step 8: Discard half of the starter. Again, combine equal parts (in grams) starter, flour, and water.
Step 9: Continue feeding your starter every 12 hours. Once it consistently doubles after each feeding, it is ready for baking.
Step 10: Once your starter is revived, resume your regular feeding routine.
Tips for Success
- Use the Right Flour: For the first few feedings, use either all whole wheat or rye. After a day or so, I usually switch to a 50/50 of all-purpose and whole wheat. You can use any type of wheat flour for feeding starter.
- Use a Silicone Mold: Freezing starter in a silicone mold is easy and practical. Plus, pretty designs make pulling out flower-shaped starter a fun little treat.
- Use a Mature Starter: For best results, freeze a mature, active starter fed within 4-12 hours. While you can freeze inactive starter, an active one performs better.
- Weigh Your Starter: For best results when reviving your starter, note its weight before or after freezing. Write it on the freezer bag so you’ll know how much to feed it later.
Video Tutorial
Check out how I freeze my sourdough starter in this video tutorial!
And don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel. New videos come out weekly.
Using Frozen Starter
- Bread: After a few feedings, your starter will be ready for baking bread. Use it for any sourdough recipe, such as sandwich bread, maple oatmeal bread, or cranberry walnut bread.
- Discard Recipes: I often thaw start for discard recipes like brownies, lemon bars, and pancakes. For dicard recipes, you don’t even have to worry about feeding it!
- Pizza Dough: One of my favorite ways to use up starter is to make large batches of freezer-friendly pizza dough. It makes for an easy scratch-made pizza night.
- Gifting: Sourdough starter makes a sweet handmade gift. Check out this sourdough starter gift guide for free printable instructions and gift tags for your sourdough gift set.
FAQs
Yes! Some of the yeast and lactic acid bacteria may die off during freezing, but enough remains dormant to be reactivated once thawed and fed for a few days.
No, you will need to feed your starter for a few days after thawing it. This revives the yeast and encourages new growth of bacteria and yeast.
Technically, yes. But you are better off freezing an active and healthy sourdough starter for the best results.
Because some of the yeast dies when frozen, you want the starter to have as much healthy yeast as possible before freezing.
Dried starter is great for long-term storage, lasting over 12 months. However, it requires more time and can mold if not dried properly. Frozen starter, on the other hand, is quick to prepare and mold-free.
Yes! You can easily freeze sourdough bread, and it lasts months! It’s a great way to extend the shelf life of homemade bread. You can also freeze sourdough bread dough so you can bake at your convenience.
Let’s Connect!
If you tried freezing your starter, let me know how it went. Leave a review or comment below.
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How To Freeze Sourdough Starter
Equipment
- Mason Jar
- Loose-fitting lid
Ingredients
- Sourdough starter
- Whole wheat or rye flour
- All-purpose flour
- Water
Instructions
FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS
- Feed your starter. Allow it 4-12 hours to become active and bubbly. How long that takes depends on your starter, so keep an eye on it.
- Once your starter is bubbly and doubled in size, spoon dollops of your active starter into a silicone mold, ice cube tray, or muffin tin lined with plastic wrap. The amount of starter depends on your mold. Fill it to the top.
- Freeze for 12-24 hours or until completely frozen.
- Once frozen, remove the starter from the mold. Place the frozen starter in a Ziploc bag and seal. Your starter will last up to a year in the freezer.
THAWING & FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS
- To thaw, first, weigh your frozen starter. This will help you determine how much to feed it.
- Place the frozen starter in a jar, loosely covered, and allow to sit in a warm spot until completely thawed. Mine took about 4 hours to get back to room temperature.
- Combine equal parts (in grams) starter, flour, and water. Stir until thoroughly combined. Allow it to sit at room temperature for 12 hours.Sourdough starter, Whole wheat or rye flour, All-purpose flour, Water
- Discard half of the starter. Again, combine equal parts (in grams) starter, flour, and water.
- Continue feeding your starter every 12 hours. Once it consistently doubles after each feeding, it is ready for baking.
- Once your starter is revived, resume your regular feeding routine.
Notes
- For the first few feedings, use either all whole wheat or rye. After a day or so, I usually switch to a 50/50 of all-purpose and whole wheat. You can use any type of wheat flour for feeding starter.
- Freezing starter in a silicone mold is easy and practical. Plus, pretty designs make pulling out flower-shaped starter a fun little treat.
- For best results, freeze a mature, active starter fed within 4-12 hours. While you can freeze inactive starter, an active one performs better.
- For best results when reviving your starter, note its weight before or after freezing. Write it on the freezer bag so you’ll know how much to feed it later.