My sourdough starter went flat for a whole month and I almost gave up

I moved to a new apartment in June and my starter, which I'd kept alive for three years, just stopped rising. It would bubble a little but never get that good lift. I thought it was the new water, so I tried bottled. Then I thought it was the flour, so I switched brands. I even tried keeping it in the oven with the light on for steady warmth. Nothing worked for four whole weeks. Turns out, the new kitchen is way more drafty and the temperature swings were killing it. I moved it to a high cabinet away from any windows and it came back to life in two days. Has anyone else had a starter act up after a move?

4 comments

4 Comments

michael6692mo ago

Oh man, that exact thing happened to me! My starter got super lazy after my last move. I finally figured out it was sitting in a cold spot on the counter from the AC vent. Wrapping the jar in a thick kitchen towel for some insulation was the trick that fixed it for me. It just needed that steady, cozy warmth to get going again.

linda1142mo ago

It's funny how the smallest things can throw a whole system off. I see that with my plants all the time, just a draft from a door and they stop growing.

parker_palmer442mo ago

Sounds like you just got lucky. Starters are tough, they bounce back on their own time.

wade87127d ago

Three years is a long time to keep a starter going, I'll give you that. But honestly, a month of flat bubbles doesn't sound like a crisis to me. Those things are basically just yeast and bacteria, they'll go dormant if you look at them wrong. I had mine go totally dead for two weeks once just because I forgot to feed it for a day and the temp dropped. Moved it to a warmer spot and it was fine. Are you sure you weren't just overthinking it?