That first week of June nearly wrecked my sourdough starter for good

I came back from a 5 day trip to find my starter had molded over on the counter, totally my fault for leaving the lid loose. I had to toss it and start fresh from scratch, which set me back on my weekly delivery schedule by 2 batches. Has anyone else had a starter go bad on them while away, and what's your backup plan for keeping it alive?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_piper1mo ago

Oh man, that sucks. I've been there. My starter molded after just three days on the counter once. Now I just keep a backup dried starter in a ziplock bag in the freezer. It's basically a failsafe. Takes a couple days to wake up again but it always works. Way less fuss than trying to keep a liquid starter going when you're not around.

hart.ryan1mo ago

3 tablespoons of starter in a jar with a tight lid in the fridge kept mine alive for two weeks while I was gone. I came back, fed it twice at room temp, and it bounced right back to being bubbly and ready to bake. That fridge method is my go to now, never had mold again.