the_olivia•3mo agoTop Commenter

My sourdough starter completely died during a heatwave and I had to start over

I was in my kitchen in Phoenix last July when I realized my starter, which I'd kept alive for 2 years, had a layer of orange liquid on top and smelled like nail polish. The house had hit 85 degrees while I was at work. I panicked, but I saved a tiny 5 gram scrap from the very bottom of the jar and fed it with 50 grams of cool water and whole wheat flour. It took 4 days of twice-daily feedings in a cooler spot before it finally bubbled again. Has anyone else had to rescue a starter from a near-death experience like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_mia3mo ago

Man, that nail polish smell is the worst. When you scraped from the bottom, was the stuff down there a totally different texture? Like, was it still normal paste or had it turned weird and slimy too? I've heard some people say the good yeast can sink.

jessicaw5425d ago

So did you keep the cooler spot going all the time after that, or just while it was recovering? I always wonder if people permanently move their starters after a scare like that or just go back to business as usual.

irisw733mo ago

That orange liquid is just hooch, it means your starter was hungry. The nail polish smell is the real problem, but scraping from the bottom was the right move.