Showerthought: My sourdough starter went from a sad puddle to a bubbly beast in just two weeks

For the first five days, my starter was just a flat, grayish paste that smelled like old gym socks. I was using tap water from my kitchen in Austin, which I later found out is heavily chlorinated. I switched to bottled spring water on day six, and within 48 hours, I saw the first real bubbles. By day ten, it was doubling in size every eight hours and had that nice, sweet, yeasty smell. The before and after was night and day, and it was all because of the water. I almost gave up on it. Has anyone else had a simple switch, like water or flour type, completely turn a starter around?

2 comments

2 Comments

riley_coleman1mo ago

Doubt it was just the water. Starters are tough and often just need more time.

thompson.brian1mo ago

But sometimes they just fail, right?