Just conquered my sourdough starter after 3 months of failure

I live near Portland, Oregon and started my sourdough journey back in February. For the first 8 weeks, my starter kept getting this weird pinkish layer on top and smelled like nail polish remover. I tried different flours, changed the water temperature, even bought a fancy scale for $35. Then last Thursday I accidentally left it on the counter for 48 hours instead of feeding it every 12. When I came back, it had doubled in size and smelled like actual yogurt instead of chemicals. I fed it again and it bubbled up like crazy within 4 hours. My first loaf came out lopsided but it had those nice air holes everyone talks about. Anyone else find their starter suddenly clicked after doing something totally wrong?

2 comments

2 Comments

dixon.amy1mo ago

Honestly, that's exactly what happened with mine too. It's like they need to hit rock bottom before they figure it out. The whole 48 hour neglect thing is wild but it makes sense when you think about it. You basically let all the bad bacteria starve off and the good ones had to fight for survival. Now they're tough and know how to work together. I bet your next loaf will look even better now that the starter is stable. It's weird how doing the "wrong" thing ends up being the right thing sometimes.

finley_bennett281mo ago

Oh man, that pink layer and nail polish smell drove me crazy too. Your starter just needed to hit that point where it figured things out on its own.