Question about using honey instead of sugar in sourdough

I swapped the sugar for an equal weight of local clover honey in my starter feeding last week, and the activity went crazy for a day then completely stalled. I think the high acidity messed with the yeast balance. Has anyone else had a starter react badly to honey?

3 comments

3 Comments

anna4913d ago

My buddy tried that and his starter died, which makes sense since @sean_green44 is right about honey being antimicrobial.

sean_green443d ago

Honey's antimicrobial. It probably killed the good stuff along with the bad.

ryanm603d agoMost Upvoted

Actually had the opposite happen, my starter loved a bit of honey. The key is not doing a straight swap, you gotta use way less honey than sugar because it's so much sweeter. A tiny spoonful mixed into the regular water and flour feed gets it bubbling like crazy for me.