My sourdough starter went from smelling like gym socks to fresh bread in 9 days and I have no clue what I did right

Victor Scott · 2026-10-09T08:50:02.45294+00:00

Back on March 3rd I fed my starter with tap water from my kitchen in Boise and it smelled like straight up dirty feet for a week, so I almost tossed the whole jar. Then I switched to bottled water and moved it away from the coffee maker, and by day 9 it smelled like actual bread and doubled in 4 hours. Was it the water, the spot on the counter, or did the yeast just need time to sort itself out? I need someone who knows more than me to explain this.

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My sourdough starter went from smelling like gym socks to fresh bread in 9 days and I have no clue what I did right | Ask Anything - Thought Shares