My old sourdough starter was a whole different beast

Back in the day, I kept my starter in a crock on the counter and fed it with whatever white flour I had, which made it pretty unpredictable (sometimes it would take 12 hours to rise). Now I keep a small jar in the fridge and feed it with a 50/50 whole wheat and bread flour mix, which gives me a much more reliable schedule. Anyone else switch up their starter routine and see a big difference in timing?

4 comments

4 Comments

reesej272mo ago

Totally get that. My starter was a total diva until I switched to rye flour. It went from being slow and moody to doubling in like four hours, no joke. The flour type makes a huge difference, way more than I expected. Kinda wild how one small change can fix everything.

xena_bailey182mo ago

That point about the flour type is so true! But I wonder if the water we use gets overlooked. My tap water is really hard, and once I started using filtered water for my feedings, the whole timing got way more consistent. It's not just about the food, it's about the environment you're giving the little yeast guys. Changed everything for me.

logan_wells2mo ago

Feel this so hard, my starter was a total sloth until I switched to bottled water.

jadej508d ago

reesej27 calling a starter a "diva" is a bit much, isn't it? It's a jar of flour and water, not a celebrity. I get that changing flours can speed things up, but mine was fine with plain white flour from the store and tap water. It doubled just fine, maybe took a bit longer but who's really in that much of a rush? Feels like people overthink this stuff and turn it into some big science experiment when it's really just bread.