Found out the hard way my starter doesn't like tap water

I was wondering why my sourdough was sluggish for three weeks straight until I tested bottled spring water instead... turns out the chlorine in my tap was killing the bacteria. Now it doubles in size in four hours. Anyone else have a fussy starter that hates your local water?

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the_hannah3mo ago

Have you tried just boiling your tap water and letting it cool before using it? I've heard that gets rid of the chlorine but keeps the minerals that starters like. My buddy in Austin had the exact same problem with his starter being stubborn, and now he just pre-boils big batches and stores them in mason jars. Do you think it's a chlorine thing specifically, or might your water have something else going on like chloramine?

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avery_foster313mo ago

Man, that's rough, @the_hannah, I feel for you with that stubborn starter struggle.

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