My sourdough starter looked dead for a week

I left my starter in the fridge for a month and it was a gray, watery mess. I fed it once a day for seven days straight and saw nothing. On day eight, I saw a single bubble. By day ten, it had doubled in size and smelled like ripe fruit. I guess I just needed to be more patient. Has anyone else brought a starter back from looking that far gone?

3 comments

3 Comments

jaken232mo ago

That "single bubble" line is a good reminder. I used to toss starters at the first sign of gray water, but now I just keep feeding.

miles8342mo ago

Wait you used to throw them out just for gray water? @jaken23 that's wild to me, mine look like a sad little swamp for days sometimes before they come back. I mean the whole top layer can look off and it's usually fine underneath.

robin_wright1mo ago

Honestly how long do you let yours sit before you decide something's really wrong? I had a starter that looked like gray dishwater for almost a week once and I just stuck with my normal feeding. It finally perked up after like the fifth day. I guess some of them just take their sweet time.