I finally tried making sourdough starter from scratch

Used some organic whole wheat flour from a local mill in Portland and followed this one blogger's method to the letter. After 10 days mine smelled like acetone instead of that sweet yeasty smell people talk about... apparently I was feeding it wrong. Any tips on how to fix a starter that's gone too acidic?

2 comments

2 Comments

coleman.jade2d ago

Smelled like acetone" - bet your water's too hard, try filtered or distilled.

wade_hall1d ago

lol is it really that deep though? I've had coffee smell like straight up nail polish remover before and it still tasted fine to me. Maybe I just have a garbage palate but I feel like people overthink water chemistry for simple home brewing. Unless you're trying to win some competition or something it's probably fine. Like yeah sure distilled water might be technically better but who's actually going to do that for their morning cup. I bet most people couldn't tell the difference in a blind taste test anyway.