PSA: My sourdough starter was a pet rock for a solid year

I only realized my mistake when a friend asked to see my 'bubbly' starter and I showed her a jar of silent, booze-smelling paste. Turns out I'd been using chlorinated tap water from the start, which was killing the wild yeast. Anyone else have a basic step they completely missed for ages?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_anthony3mo ago

My starter was basically a science experiment gone wrong for like eight months. I mean, I was using this fancy whole wheat flour but it was the super cheap kind, probably bleached to death. The whole thing just sat there like a sad, wet pancake. I feel you, susan_adams, because I also almost baked mine when I tried to use the microwave as a proofing box and then reheated some leftovers. It's a miracle any of us get bread at all.

susan_adams3mo ago

Oh man, that's the saddest pet rock story I've ever heard... At least a real rock wouldn't smell like a bad brewery. I used bottled water from day one, but I definitely killed my first batch by keeping it in the oven with the light on... then preheating the oven for pizza without looking. We all have our own special way of ruining it.

the_terry3mo ago

That "silent, booze-smelling paste" is a perfect description. It makes me wonder how many other simple things we get wrong. Did you ever try to feed it with bleached flour by accident, or was it purely the water? I'm trying to think of what else could be that basic.

ray_williams2mo ago

But seriously, how do you even know if your water is the problem? Like, do you just assume your tap is fine until your starter turns into that weird boozy mud? I used to think my city water was okay, but after reading about susan_adams using bottled from the start, I got paranoid. Do you test it somehow, or is it just a guessing game of switching to filtered and hoping for bubbles?

-1