Had a customer tell me that my sourdough starter was 'too old' and I should just use store-bought yeast instead

I was at the farmer's market last Saturday selling some bread, and this lady starts going off about how my starter is probably full of bacteria and that commercial yeast is more sanitary. She said her grandmother always used Red Star and never had problems. I tried to explain that the bacteria is kinda the point, but she wasn't having it. Now I'm wondering if I'm being stubborn or if she's got a point for home bakers who just want a consistent loaf. What do you guys think - is keeping a starter worth the hassle over instant yeast?

3 comments

3 Comments

lily3602mo ago

Drove me crazy when someone told me my kombucha scoby was probably moldy.

the_dakota2mo agoMost Upvoted

Laugh every time someone confuses a perfectly good scoby with mold (it's like confusing sourdough starter with a science experiment gone wrong, you know?). People get so spooked by fermentation stuff, they'd probably call a nice cheese rind a biohazard too. Honestly, the biggest danger is just people who don't know what they're looking at telling you to throw out perfectly good booch.

jaken232mo ago

Had a buddy who grew this killer looking scoby, thick and healthy with those brown yeast strands hanging off it. He brought it to a brew club meetup and some guy kept insisting it was contaminated, told him to toss the whole batch. My buddy just packed up his jar, said "thanks for the concern," and walked out. That scoby made another eight gallons before he finally passed it on.