How to Re-hydrate a Dried Sourdough Starter

Recently I have received several questions about re-hydrating a dried starter and I realized that I don't have this information on my sourdough starter page. 

If you get a starter through the mail from a group such as Carl's Friends, it will arrive looking like a small bit of powder. What now?

Some directions require you to add potato flakes. Personally I wanted a purist starter with only water and flour so this is the method I successfully used.

How to Re-hydrate a Dried Sourdough Starter

In a small container, mix one tablespoon of lukewarm water and 1/2 teaspoon of your starter and let stand for a few minutes to soften the starter granules. Then mix in one tablespoon of flour 

Depending on the type of flour (whole wheat or white), you may need to add an additional teaspoon or two of water. You want the mixture to be like a thin pancake batter.  

When the mixture gets bubbly (maybe a few hours or a day), stir in 1/4 cup of water and 1/4 cup of flour. 

When this mixture rises and is bubbly, add 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of flour.  

When this bubbles up, you will have about one cup of active starter that is ready for use. Now you can go crazy baking with sourdough!

Go to the sourdough page for lots more sourdough information and recipes.

Five-Bean Soup Mix - A Homemade Bean Soup Mix

To be honest, this is our least favorite bean soup that I've shared. I guess we just are not vegetarian bean soup folks. It is a rather "beany" and my family prefers some meat - or at least the barley in the Southwestern Soup.

But with a hunk of cornbread, they will still eat it - and maybe you like bean soups more than my tribe. So even though I won't call it a family favorite, I'm sharing it anyway. Besides, this soup is the prettiest in the jar with all those different kinds of beans. Too bad my family just prefers their great northern beans.

You can use any combination of beans that you have on hand. You can even substitute lentils or split peas if you prefer. And if you don't have five kind of beans, as long as you have the same total amount of beans, you can have a two-bean or three-bean soup.

Five-Bean Soup Mix

1 T tomato powder
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp bouillon
1 tsp parsley
1/3 cup great northern beans
1/3 cup kidney beans
1/3 cup black beans
1/3 cup navy beans
1/3 cup pinto beans
1 T dried onion
1 T dried celery
1 T dried carrot
8 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

Layer seasonings, beans, and vegetables in the order listed in jar or plastic bag.

To make soup, dump soup mix ingredients into large pot and add 8 cups of water. Cook until beans are soft, using one of the methods below. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Cooking methods: 

Note: Cooking time will vary depending upon your cooking method and the type and age of your beans but here is what has worked for me.

Oven: Bring water and soup mix to boil in a large dutch oven on stove top. When water boils, cover with lid and place in 250 degree oven for 2-3 hours. This is my favorite method since I don't have to check it.

Stove: Bring water and soup mix to boil in large pot on stove. Turn back heat to a slow simmer for about 2 hours. Add more water if needed.



Slow Cooker: Dump soup mix into slow cooker. Bring water to boil on stove and pour into slow cooker. Cook on high for approximately 5 hours.



Pressure Cooker: Follow the directions for cooking dried beans in your pressure cooker. Mine took about 30 minutes.

Southwestern Three-Bean and Barley Soup Mix

Another homemade bean soup mix.

We rarely eat vegetarian meals but this hearty bean soup is good enough that we don't miss the meat. I especially like the addition of barley.

You may choose any variety of beans. I like the look in the jar of the black beans but usually swap them out for pinto beans since my family doesn't prefer black beans and they make the soup a very dark color.




Southwestern Three-Bean and Barley Soup Mix

1 T chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/3 cup black beans
1/2 cup pearled barley
1/3 cup kidney beans
1/3 cup great northern beans
1 T dried onion
1 T dried celery
1 T dried carrot
1 T dried sweet pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
4 tsp bouillon
8 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

Layer seasonings, beans, and vegetables in the order listed in jar or plastic bag.

To make soup, dump soup mix ingredients into large pot and add 8 cups of water. Cook until beans are soft, using one of the methods below. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Cooking methods: 

Note: Cooking time will vary depending upon your cooking method and the type and age of your beans but here is what has worked for me.

Oven: Bring water and soup mix to boil in a large dutch oven on stove top. When water boils, cover with lid and place in 250 degree oven for 2-3 hours. This is my favorite method since I don't have to check it.

Stove: Bring water and soup mix to boil in large pot on stove. Turn back heat to a slow simmer for about 2 hours. Add more water if needed.

Slow Cooker: Dump soup mix into slow cooker. Bring water to boil on stove and pour into slow cooker. Cook on high for approximately 5 hours.

Pressure Cooker: Follow the directions for cooking dried beans in your pressure cooker. Mine took about 30 minutes.



One more bean soup mix recipes coming.

Peasant Bean Soup - A Homemade Bean Soup Mix

This is another bean soup mix that we've enjoyed. The ease of pouring water and a soup mix in a pan and having a meal all prep is wonderful on a busy day. This also makes a great gift for a busy mom.

I like to add ham to this soup. Since I usually have pre-cooked ham in the freezer, this is an easy addition.

Just a note: make sure that you sort your beans well when you place them in the jar. You don't want to find a stone in your soup!

You can find more information on bean soup mixes on this post.

Peasant Bean Soup

2 cups great northern beans (or other white bean such as navy bean)
2 T dried carrots
1 T dried celery
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp bouillon
1 T tomato powder
1 bay leaf
8 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups cooked, chopped ham (optional)

Layer beans, vegetables and seasonings in jar or plastic bag. I usually layer the vegetables and seasonings first then fill the pint jar to the top with beans.

To make soup, dump soup mix ingredients into large pot and add 8 cups of water. Cook until beans are soft, using one of the methods below. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add ham if desired. Remove bay leaf. Serve.

Cooking methods: 

Note: Cooking time will vary depending upon your cooking method and the type and age of your beans but here is what has worked for me.

Oven: Bring water and soup mix to boil in a large dutch oven on stove top. When water boils, cover with lid and place in 250 degree oven for 2-3 hours. This is my favorite method since I don't have to check it.

Stove: Bring water and soup mix to boil in large pot on stove. Turn back heat to a slow simmer for about 2 hours. Add more water if needed.

Slow Cooker: Dump soup mix into slow cooker. Bring water to boil on stove and pour into slow cooker. Cook on high for approximately 5 hours.

Pressure Cooker: Follow the directions for cooking dried beans in your pressure cooker. Mine took about 30 minutes.



More bean soup mix recipes coming.

He Giveth More Grace

Nothing had went well. The dreary weather matched my mood. None of the projects I started today were close to being finished. Unwashed dishes sat on the counter, unfolded laundry stood in the corner, while unfinished school work was strewn on the table. I wasn't sure how I was going to survive the bickering children until bedtime, especially when my husband called to say that he would be home late yet again.

I happened to catch sight of a verse a poem and stopped to read it.

He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater, 

He sendeth more strength as our labors increase; 

To added afflictions He addeth His mercy, 

To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.

Hmmm...so according to this poem, it is days like this that God gives more grace. I like the idea of getting more grace but not if it means greater burdens, increased labor, added afflictions, and multiplied trials. But is it true that His “strength is made perfect in weakness?” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

I read on.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance, 

When our strength has failed ere the day is half done, 

When we reach the end of our hoarded resources 

Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

I thought of a friend who had been in the hospital with her young daughter. Medication was not controlling her daughter's seizures. Doctors and their medications were failing. Was it true that when we are at the end of our resources that our Father's assets are just beginning?

Or what about my friend whose twin sons were still in the hospital weeks after their birth? Each day seemed to bring another report of a medical complication. Could their family endure another day, week, month of this hospital life?

I thought of another friend, the mother of a handicapped child. I try to care and sympathize, but I can't imagine her sleepless nights and the physical weariness that have plagued her every day for the last thirteen years. I wish I could help carry her load, but how can I help?

But the poem had more.

Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision, 

Our God ever yearns His resources to share; 

Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing; 

The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.

Another friend came to mind. She is my age, not yet forty, with seven small children to keep her days busy. But many days her movements are limited by the pain of arthritis that clenches her limbs. I know that she leans hard on His arms, trusting that He will carry both her and her load.

Out of curiosity, I looked for some information on the author of this poem, Annie Johnson Flint. What life experiences led her to write these words of encouragement? Did she know about great needs that can be filled only with God's resources? 

She did.

Annie was three year old when she lost her mother and soon after, her father also died. Annie taught school but in her second year, she was afflicted with arthritis. Within a few years, she could hardly walk and Annie was forced to give up teaching. Not long after, Annie's adopted parents died. She and her sister were left alone with almost no money.

Annie used her long days of suffering to encourage others by writing poetry and sharing it through hand-lettered cards, gift books, and letters. Many were blessed through the ministry of her painfully twisted fingers though often it was wondered how she could write with such refreshing humor and joy while experiencing her own great trials. Annie was convinced that God had a purpose in her life and that He would glorify Himself through her frailty.

Annie ends her poem with...

His love has no limits, His grace has no measure, 

His power no boundary known unto men; 

For out of His infinite riches in Jesus 

He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

I look around again at my unfinished housework and whiny children and realize that I have a choice. I can be miserable, and make others around me miserable. Or I can choose, like Annie, to accept the limitless grace of my Lord.

The choice seems obvious.

Creamy Chicken Chili - A Homemade Bean Soup Mix

In experimenting with bean soups, I learned that my family prefers white beans such as navy or great norther. I don't know if they have a milder flavor or if it is just their appearance.

And this soup is the family favorite of any bean soup that I have made.

 It is a version of the white chicken chili I share last year. The ingredients are easy to assemble and place in a plastic bag or jar. Then dumped into a pot and and cooked. This recipe does require cooked chicken and sour cream added just before serving. I like to keep canned or frozen cooked chicken for recipes like this.

Creamy White Chicken Chili

2 tsp chicken bouillon powder
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 T dried minced onion
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper - optional
2 cups Great Northern beans - or other white bean
1 tsp salt
2 cups cooked, chopped chicken
1 cup sour cream 

For soup mix layer bouillon, garlic, onion,cumin, oregano, pepper, and beans in a 2-cup bag or jar.

To make soup, dump soup mix ingredients into large pot and add 8 cups of water. Cook until beans are soft, using one of the methods below. Add salt, chicken, and sour cream. Stir and serve immediately.

Cooking methods: 

Note: Cooking time will vary depending upon your cooking method and the type and age of your beans but here is what has worked for me.

Oven: Bring water and soup mix to boil in a large dutch oven on stove top. When water boils, cover with lid and place in 250 degree oven for 2-3 hours. This is my favorite method since I don't have to check it.

Stove: Bring water and soup mix to boil in large pot on stove. Turn back heat to a slow simmer for about 2 hours. Add more water if needed.

Slow Cooker: Dump soup mix into slow cooker. Bring water to boil on stove and pour into slow cooker. Cook on high for approximately 5 hours.

Pressure Cooker: Follow the directions for cooking dried beans in your pressure cooker. Mine took about 30 minutes.



Coming up - more bean soup mix recipes.

Make Your Own Dried Soup Mix

This winter I have experimented with making my own dried soup mixes. I thought I was too late to share this with you all, but winter is not letting us out of its grip, so to me that means soup weather.

I had seen several cute soup mixes for sale. I loved the idea of adding more dried beans to our diet since they are both inexpensive and good for you. I also had some dehydrated peppers, dehydrated onions, and homemade tomato powder in my pantry. I wondered if I could use them to make a bean soup mix.

I wanted a soup mix that I would need to add no more ingredients so I dehydrated some carrots and celery to add to my selection.

As always, I was amazed at how little room dehydrated vegetables took.



Carrots before dehydrating.



Carrots after dehydrating.



Celery before dehydrating.



Celery after dehydrating.

A whole stalk (not a stem - a whole stalk!) fit into a pint jar after dehydrating. What a space saver for the pantry.



But now to use these dried vegetables.



I pulled out my dried beans and with a couple online recipes as a base, I started experimenting with various combinations.



The process that I decided worked best for me was to first place the seasonings in the jar.



Then add the beans, and finally add the dried vegetables. For my family, a full pint jar was the perfect amount for a meal. To feed a crowd, I could have used a quart jar with a double amount.

While I had my ingredients out, I would make several jars. With gift tags added, they were a simple gift. And I loved the simplicity of dumping the jar into a pot, adding water, and having my meal prep finished.

I chose to add all the ingredients at the same time, except for the salt. If you prefer to pre-cook your beans, drain the water, and then add your veggies and seasonings in fresh water, you would need to package them separately. With the long cooking time that beans require, the spices are not as strong but it seemed to work for our family. Maybe you would prefer to have a little baggy with the seasonings which you would add at the end of the cooking time.

A few of the soups I added meat which could not be included in the jar but if I had some pre-cooked ham or chicken in the freezer, it was still a very easy meal.

I hope to give you some ideas for bean soup mixes to spark your own ideas. But this post is long enough so I'll share the specific soup recipes another day.



From left to right are Peasant  Bean Soup, Five-Bean Soup, Creamy Chicken Chili, and Southwestern Bean and Barley Soup.