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My sourdough starter finally doubled in 4 hours instead of 8

After 3 weeks of feeding it daily and getting pretty much nothing, I switched to bottled spring water instead of tap last Wednesday and boom - it doubled in size by lunch. Has anyone else had tap water mess with their starter like that?
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3 Comments
hall.charles
Man, I had a buddy who nearly threw his starter in the trash after two weeks of flat nothing. He switched to bottled water on a whim and it basically exploded overnight. Never would have guessed the tap water was the enemy but he swears by it now.
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the_tara
the_tara8d ago
That tap water betrayal is real. My starter basically went on strike for two weeks until I realized my city water had enough chlorine to clean a pool. Switched to filtered water and the thing finally woke up. Half the battle is keeping those yeasties from drowning in chemicals. Glad you figured it out before the whole jar turned into science experiment number two.
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the_sarah
the_sarah5d ago
Let the tap water sit out overnight in an open jar before using it. That lets the chlorine evaporate off and my starter stopped throwing tantrums. Also started keeping a gallon of distilled water around just for feedings... cheap insurance against the city messing with the supply. Works way better than trying to guess if the filter needs changing.
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