I had a sourdough starter rebellion in my kitchen last Tuesday

I was feeding my 3-year-old starter, 'Frank', before bed. I misjudged the flour and added 200 grams of rye instead of my usual 100. By morning, it had climbed out of its jar, oozed over the counter, and dripped onto the floor. I spent 45 minutes cleaning sticky goop. I saved about half of it, fed it plain white flour, and it's back to normal now. Has anyone else had a starter try to escape, and what's the weirdest place you've found it?

3 comments

3 Comments

joseph_coleman20d ago

Happened to me with a starter named 'Lazarus' back in 2019... thing climbed out of a half-gallon jar and somehow made it across the kitchen island to drip into my coffee mug that was sitting there. Had to throw the whole mug away because I couldn't get the fermented goop out of the ceramic... on a long shot you might want to check behind your toaster or under your microwave for dried patches. I found some behind my fridge a month later that looked like ancient fossilized leather.

gavin_kim33mo ago

Heard about a friend who left her starter, "Bubbles," in a too-small container in a warm laundry room. It pushed the lid right off and made a sticky river down the side of the dryer. She found dried starter flakes on a basket of clean clothes a week later. Honestly, these things have a mind of their own sometimes.

kim_nelson3mo ago

That starter sounds more dramatic than my students.