I finally figured out why my sourdough was so dense after 6 months of trying

Turns out I was using tap water with too much chlorine, lol. I read this random article from a baker in Portland that said even small amounts can kill the wild yeast activity. Switched to filtered water last week and my loaf actually had those big airy holes I've been chasing. Anyone else run into this with their starter?

2 comments

2 Comments

jordan_webb492d ago

Filtered water made a huge difference for mine too. I was about ready to give up on my starter until I switched to bottled water, and it perked up literally overnight. Sometimes it's the smallest thing you'd never think to change.

roses692d ago

Did your friend ever figure out why her starter kept dying? My neighbor Sarah had the same problem. She was so proud of her starter until it just stopped bubbling. She'd feed it religiously, kept it warm, the whole deal. Finally she left it at my place while she went on vacation. I used bottled water by accident and it went crazy. Came back like a whole different starter. She texted me so mad, said she'd been killing it with tap water for months.