Can we talk about people who don't let their sourdough starter actually get mature before baking?

I swear, I see posts every day from folks who've had a starter for 3 days and are mad their loaf looks like a hockey puck. It takes weeks, sometimes a full month (or more) to get that yeast and bacteria balanced right. I run a truck out of Nashville and keep my starter in a little cooler on the passenger seat, feeding it at truck stops. It was a solid 4 weeks before my first loaf had any decent oven spring, and even then it was dense. You can't rush the biology, you know? Baking is a long game, not a microwave dinner. So are people just getting impatient from all those TikTok 24-hour sourdough videos, or am I being too picky about waiting for that mature tang?

2 comments

2 Comments

lilys812d ago

Man, I tried to start a batch with kefir whey once thinking it'd speed things up, just ended up with a slimy mess that smelled like feet. Some lessons you gotta learn the hard way I guess.

williamt442d ago

Oh man, that's rough. I tried something similar once with some leftover yogurt whey and it turned into this weird pinkish slime that smelled like a damp basement. Learned real quick that just because it's fermented doesn't mean it's good for everything. Hope the next batch goes better for you.