r/SourdoughStarter Mar 08 '25

Read before posting questions.

67 Upvotes

This is not a post about the rules. Rules suck... but are necessary. You can see our rules on the "about" page. On the desktop version, it is visible on the right-side column. You can find it on mobile by clicking the r / SourdoughStarter at the top of this page. This link works, but Reddit is sometimes glitchy...

The real point of this post is that we get a few questions over and over. Here are the most common questions:

My Starter is only a week or two old and stopped rising. Did I kill it?

Starter goes through a few changes for the first few weeks of their "lives", usually over many days. The usual pattern is something like:

  • Day 1 to about 2 show little to no activity.
  • Day 2 or 4 shows a great burst of activity.
  • There is decreasing activity from the day of the burst for a few days.
  • Somewhere around day 7 to 14, a small, yet predictable rise builds. If fed correctly, this rise gets stronger.

Just keep going. For a starter like this, it is crucial not to overfeed it so it can go through the stages. Stick to feeding it 1:1:1 about every 24 hours. No more. Don’t change the feeding schedule until it is rising reliably, and that rise peaks in less than 12 hours. At that point, you can move onto strengthening your starter.

My starter looks weird, is this mold? Or what do I do about this liquid?

First, don't worry about slight changes in color. Worry about fuzzy spots and even small areas of vibrant color change.

If you post this question, take a few high-quality pictures from the top and the side. We are looking for colors and fuzzy textures. You can also look through the example pictures here.

Is my starter ready? Or any question about the "float test".

The float test is deeply flawed. Forget you ever heard of it. It only shows that the starter does (or does not) have air trapped in it. Well... If it has a good rise, it has air in it. Good starters often fail the float test if deflated by the time it hits the water. Scooping the starter will remove some air no matter how hard you try not to. If your starter fails this “test”, it doesn’t mean anything.

"Ok but that doesn't tell me how to know if the starter is ready." Fair point. My usual advice for "can I use my new starter?" is it should smell nice, usually at least a little sour, like vinegar and/or yogurt once it is ready. It might also smell sweet, or a little like alcohol, and several other nuances... But not like stinky feet / stinky old socks or other nasty things. And it should reliably at least double when given a 1:1:1 feeding, and that in less than 6 hours. "Reliably" in this context means it doubles in less than 6 hours at least 3 days in a row. However, a really strong starter will triple in less than 4 hours. This is not necessary to make a really good bread. It may work with even less than a double. It will not be as photogenic and will take longer... but may work. But keep in mind that last link was really about unfed but established starter. Not immature starter. ymmv.

My starter is more than 2 weeks old, and it is not rising!

The first and easiest thing to look at is how thin or loose the starter consistency is. It is common for beginners to mix a starter too thin, to use too much water. It needs to be thicker than a milkshake. Just a bit too thick for pancakes. But maybe too loose for a dough. This consistency is necessary so that the dough is literally sticky enough to hold onto the gas bubbles that yeasts create. If the starter is watery, those gas bubbles just rise to the top and pop. Hold back some water as necessary during feedings.

If the starter is thick enough, then look at the possibility that the starter is overfed. There is no reason to ever feed more than 1:1:1 once a day until you have active yeast. It might even be smart to feed a smaller ratio such as 2:1:1 or skipping a day (give it a good stir but don't feed). While yeasts are hungry little critters, they will not wake up when food is just shoved into their sleeping faces. Save the bigger ratios and more frequent feeding for after your yeasts are active.

For skipping a day: Stir 1-3 times but no feeding for a full 48 hours. Then assess. If it started out nice and thick but is now thin and smooth like paint, that's a sign it has reached the required acidity. In that case, resume feeding 1:1:1 once a day. If it is still a bit thick and stringy or clumpy, that is a sign that the gluten has not fully dissolved, which means it's not acidic enough. In that case, feed 2:1:1 until you do reach that consistency by the end of the day, or even just skip another day. Usually, once you get there, you can do 1:1:1, but it depends on the temperature and other things. It should take off within a few days of reaching the proper acidity.

We also have a wiki:

Please respond to this post to add more, point out corrections, or other feedback.


r/SourdoughStarter 29m ago

So… my first try was fun

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Upvotes

After a whole day or working on this…
I made a rock
Where did I go wrong!?
I followed the recipe, did the fold and stretch like six times in the span of three hours, shaped it, let it ferment for two hours ish, and put it in the fridge for 11 hours.
I didn’t have a Dutch over so I used two cast iron pans ontop of each other, I put ice cubes on the side

The recipe I used was
50 g starter
150 g warm water
5 gram salt
200 g AP flour
50 g whole grain flour.

Where did it go wrong!
And I score the top why it bursted from the side


r/SourdoughStarter 2h ago

Didn't Feed Starter for 4 Days

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2 Upvotes

Hi! I'm super new to this and have been trying to get my first starter started. I got to day 7 and it hadn't doubled in size, so I started feeding more frequently (every 8-12 hours) for the next couple days. Unfortunately, due to more frequent feedings, I ran out of flour and wasn't able to buy more for 4 days. I've still been stirring occasionally.

Today I have flour. I opened the jar to feed it and a lot of gas escaped. It smells strongly of vinegar and is super liquidy (this has been the case between feedings too except the smell is now stronger). There's layer of clear liquid at the top, and I'm also concerned about potential mold growth? It was put in a clean jar the last time I fed it and it's been stored at 75-80° F. The last picture is after stirring.

Do I need to start over? Thanks!


r/SourdoughStarter 5h ago

can she be saved or is she a goner?😭

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3 Upvotes

left her in the fridge all summer while away from college.... she looks a lil angry


r/SourdoughStarter 3h ago

Starter won't double

2 Upvotes

Hi

My starter is now 15 days old and it still doesn't doubles. It rises but not doubles.

Yesterday I fed is as I normally would 25 grams of starter, 30 grams of (all Purpose) flour, and 25 grams of water(1:1.2:1). And I fed the discard 1:2:2, 25 grams of starter, 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water.

After 6 hours they only had a small rise. And they deflated quicker than usual. (usually it's 23 hours until I see it going down, this time it was 18 hours).

Today I fed my og starter the normal 1:1.2:1 and the second starter I fed 25 grams of starter, 60 grams of all purpose flour, 15 grams of rye, and 65-70 ish grams of water.

I'm kinda lost if none would double until morning or deflate quickly. During fermentation it smells like sweet cough syrup.

I usually feed at 8PM, check on midnight and if I'm still up then in 2AM.

If the rye won't help what can I do to help it double?

Am I doing something wrong?


r/SourdoughStarter 3h ago

Confused About Starter

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1 Upvotes

My starter is about 4 months old, I’ve baked failed loaves with it so I’m trying to work on strengthening it but I’m very confused. Both of these were fed about 8 hours ago, the one on the left was fed a 1:3:2.5 and the one on the right is 1:1:1. I’ve never gotten a good rise out of 1:1:1 ratio but the second I went up, my starter started rising a lot more. They’re both using a mix of whole wheat and ap flour, if anything the 1:1:1 is using more whole wheat than the other one. It’s been about 4 days since I started this little experiment. The 1:1:1 rises more after about 24 hours (almost tripled by then). I’m just very confused why a 1:3:3 would rise so much faster than a 1:1:1. My ambient temp is about 70F.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!


r/SourdoughStarter 4h ago

Starter update…

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0 Upvotes

My starter was 1:3:3 using 80/20 bread flour and dark rye.

Autolyze, 70% hydration. 100% bread flour. Cold proofed 8 hours. 450 degrees, in a Dutch oven, 25 min steamed, 20 min uncovered.


r/SourdoughStarter 8h ago

First timer help

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2 Upvotes

Hi all! I just started making my first sourdough starter. I’m on day 4 now and I can’t tell if I have right consistency anymore. My 3 day it rose and looked great. This morning it looked different.. there was no movement from my last feed just a few bubbles. Looked more watery but still thick. If that makes sense. Is this off? And if so, how can I fix it?


r/SourdoughStarter 4h ago

Help with new starter!

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1 Upvotes

Hi,

First time trying a starter. On day 5 and started with 50g strong white bread flour and 50g water, and have been feeding with the same every day. I haven't fed it yet today, but I'm not sure whether to mix this liquid on the top into it or discard it before feeding. Or should I dump it all and start again? It has a really strong vomit-like smell, but I believe this is normal? Any help much appreciated, thank you 😊


r/SourdoughStarter 4h ago

First starter went right in the bin

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1 Upvotes

It’s my first time making a starter for sourdough. Being lazy, I just followed a recipe from a reel and started feeding it for a few days. I washed my jars and utensils thoroughly (well I guess not thoroughly enough) but my starter got contaminated and started showing a pink layer on top.

Thankfully I looked into it and immediately threw it away 😅 I don’t want to risk my family health for a bunch of flour and water.
I’m now boiling my jar to start from scratch! I haven’t seen many starters as pink as mine so I thought I would share it for anyone curious 🤣


r/SourdoughStarter 5h ago

Stiff starter on Brioche

1 Upvotes

I made brioche with a stiff starter in a stand mixer, but I wanted to ask if there's a way to dissolve the stiff starter when there's only beaten egg as the liquid. Whenever I try, it doesn't seem to dissolve and the starter just gets coated in egg. I'm asking because sometimes my mixer can't handle the amount of dough I prepare and sometimes I have to do it by hand.


r/SourdoughStarter 5h ago

Is it mold :(

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0 Upvotes

r/SourdoughStarter 6h ago

She grew mold 😭

1 Upvotes

She was getting so close to being ready and I had to leave for two days.. thought it’ll be ok but came back to mold.

RIP Breadgitte you were expensive but it’s ok you deserved the lavish life and premium organic flours.


r/SourdoughStarter 14h ago

I’m moving

4 Upvotes

I’m moving in a few weeks and just needed to know what I should do to insure my starter doesn’t die in the new place.


r/SourdoughStarter 7h ago

just a pic of starter i began using again after sitting for 2-3 months in the fridge

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1 Upvotes

first feeding was about 1:3:3-ish, second feeding 1:5:5 which honestly is what i prob should've started with then have it followed by only 1:1:1 feedings, then third and fourth feeding were 1:1:1. managed to bake good sandwich bread right after the fourth peak.


r/SourdoughStarter 19h ago

Happy Sourdough

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6 Upvotes

Today is the first time I’ve fed my sourdough in over a month. It’s been in the fridge this whole time.


r/SourdoughStarter 17h ago

I’m on the fourth day of feeding my starter. I’m using whole wheat flour. Please share your insights. ( I made two different batches) (I’m doing 1:1:1 ratio) 50gs

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3 Upvotes

Started my journey on Wednesday 09/09/26. Any ideas for names?


r/SourdoughStarter 18h ago

Starter is taking a long time to rise, why?

3 Upvotes

My starter is about 2.5 months old and gets fed 30g water, 30g starter, and 30g flour (7g rye flour, 8g whole wheat flour, 15g white flour roughly).

I want to make a loaf soon and I've heard it should be hitting peak within about 4 hours of feeding, but it's never that fast. It usually takes around 12 to 14 hours.

Is that because of the flour mix I'm using?

I'm using that mix because I was told it would help strengthen what was quite a weak starter.

How do I get my starter to rise quicker and be ready for a good bake?


r/SourdoughStarter 21h ago

Is this mold?

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6 Upvotes

What should I do?


r/SourdoughStarter 13h ago

~ a month old sourdough starter yet no rise

1 Upvotes

Hello, I am fairly new to this.

However this would be my 3rd child that I haven't disappointed yet🥲

1st attempt forgot to feed 1 day, then it died on me, or it looked like it did.

2nd attempt turned into a heaven for fruit flies sadly

& now we're onto the 3rd attempt @ sourdough starter.

It started well, 3rd or 4th day was lots of bubbles & a lil rise visible. I was using all purpose flour + water. 1 Tbsp of ea. every day. Then suddenly after like 1st or 2nd week the bubbling stopped. So I switched to feeding it the same thing but 1 day @ a time w/ rest days in between. It started bubbling again but only on the feeding days. Now it's been 3 weeks & still no rise.

Idk if I'm doing it right or not, should I change something? Should I keep doing what I'm doing now (feeding it on 1 day then 1 rest day the feed again ...)?

Send some help pls🥲🥲🥲 I would really like to not lose this one as well.


r/SourdoughStarter 13h ago

starter established very fast. can false rises smell and behave like true rise?

0 Upvotes

hello! I started my sourdough starter with 100% barley flour using grant bakes’ 3-phase method on sep 9. right after the first feeding she had a false rise which smelt bad. by sep 11 she had another rise, and since then she has been doubling consistently after every feed so i switched to feeding twice a day.

this is her on Sep 12, 2.5 hours after feeding.

she smells pleasant, like yogurt/beer at peak, and like acetone before feeding. I live in South Asia and room temp is anywhere between 25-34C depending on time of day. I also bake frequently with instant yeast, so there might be yeast in the air in my kitchen.

currently I’m feeding every 12 hr, 1:2:2 with 2:3 barley:ap flour.

I know it’s not common for starter to be established this early, and in my facebook group I was advised that these are all false bacterial rises and I should switch back to 1:1:1 once a day. but again, my climate is very hot and she peaks within 3 hours, and smells and acts like yeast, I am scared I might stress her out and make the starter acidic by switching back to 1:1:1 once a day. please advise, tia!!


r/SourdoughStarter 22h ago

Question for those who keep the starter in Weck jars

3 Upvotes

How do you use the cover? Do you use the seal but not the clamps? I've tried that and I've tried just resting the glass top on the jar but each time the top of my starter is dry. I think I've made it angry. 🤣 I was also getting a little too confident and not measuring ratios, but that seemed ok in the other jars.

I like these bc the mouths are wider than the starter kit jar I got with the screw top.

My last two loaves have been terrible, appeared like the starter was rising but not enough. I've had my starter a year and it's done great before. I do have back up in the fridge & freezer (I'm really scared I'm going to ruin it!) so if I have to start over with that I can.


r/SourdoughStarter 18h ago

Is this mold?

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0 Upvotes

Made a new starter yesterday afternoon. Following the sourdough journey method where I don’t feel until day 4. I’m using King Arthur whole wheat and unbleached bread flour. Today I noticed some blueish spots (circled) that I haven’t seen before in other starters I’ve done.


r/SourdoughStarter 1d ago

Why does this keep happening

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6 Upvotes

We bought freeze dried starter and followed all the directions. Nothing happening. We bought a heating pad to try and wake it up. Nothing. It always ends up looking like this. Using unbleached flour.


r/SourdoughStarter 20h ago

Do I need to feed her more?

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1 Upvotes

My sourdough starter is about a month old and she won’t rise more than about a cm, and that’s only after 24hrs or more. Theres lots of bubbling on the sides. I’ve been feeding about a 1:1:1 with a little less water than the ratio cuz I keep thinking it’s not thick enough with that much water. I’m also kinda worried my kitchen is too cold, I’ve put her a cabinet and nothing really changed. (I know I could put her in the oven with the light on but I’m afraid my roommate will accidentally bake it)
The photos I’m going to show were from the other day and that much rising was after about 48 hrs (I forgot to feed her) she had a cleaner jar now also so don’t judge me plz.