My sourdough starter finally worked after 8 months of trying in Austin

I've been baking bread for about 2 years now, but sourdough always kicked my butt. I tried 4 different starters last year and they all got moldy or just stayed flat. Finally last month I switched to using filtered water and kept it in my oven with the light on. It doubled in size in just 5 days and I made my first real loaf last Tuesday. The crust was crispy and the inside had those nice air pockets I always see online. Anyone else have a starter that took forever to get going?

2 comments

2 Comments

milam485d ago

The real trick people miss is the water chemistry. Austin has hard water with lots of chlorine and minerals that can kill the yeast before it gets going. Filtered water solved it for me too, and I had the same problem for almost a year living in a similar water area.

fiona_west215d ago

Man, water chemistry is one of those things I NEVER would have figured out on my own. I spent a whole batch making bread that tasted like I was chewing on a swimming pool. My wife kept asking why everything I baked had that faint "bleach aftertaste" and I just blamed the recipe, haha. Finally switched to a basic Brita filter and it was like night and day, my starter finally stopped acting like a grumpy teenager and actually rose properly. Now I keep a gallon of filtered water on my counter specifically for baking because apparently my tap water thinks it's doing me a favor by disinfecting my dough.