Picked fresh yeast over dry for my sourdough starter and regret it

I tried fresh yeast from a bakery in Portland last week instead of my usual dry stuff because the baker swore it would make my starter more active. Three days later my dough is bubbling like crazy but it smells like old socks and I'm not sure if I ruined the whole batch or if this is just normal fresh yeast behavior. Anyone else had fresh yeast turn their kitchen into a science experiment gone wrong?

2 comments

2 Comments

gray_schmidt84d ago

Whoa, hold up. That sock smell is actually from sulfur compounds which means the yeast is stressed from the temperature change between the bakery and your kitchen. Let it sit at room temp for another day without feeding it and see if the smell shifts to something more like beer. If it still stinks after that, toss it and go back to dry yeast because fresh stuff is just too unpredictable for home bakers.

sean_park84d ago

Did you try the beer smell test or just toss it right away?