Took me 4 hours to figure out my sourdough starter was too cold...

I started my sourdough journey about a month ago and kept getting flat, gummy loaves. I was sure I was doing everything right - feeding it daily, waiting for bubbles, the whole deal. But after like 3 weeks of total fails, I finally checked the actual temperature of my kitchen. Turns out my countertop was sitting around 62 degrees, way too cold for the starter to really get active. I moved the jar onto the fridge, right near the top where it's a bit warmer, and bam, it doubled in size in just 6 hours. Four weeks of frustration could've been solved by just reading a thermometer. Has anyone else had a simple temp change fix a baking problem that was driving them crazy?

2 comments

2 Comments

matthewp521mo ago

Haha, oh man I feel this so hard. I once spent a whole weekend convinced my oven was broken only to realize I'd set it to warm instead of bake. At least you figured it out before you started naming your starter and arguing with it like I did.

kim.emma1mo ago

Oh man, that's literally the worst. I had the same thing happen with my first batch of bagels. My kitchen was way too cold and I kept wondering why they were so dense. Moving the bowl to the top of the fridge was a game changer for me too.