Made a sourdough starter in 2020 and finally got a perfect loaf yesterday

I started a sourdough starter during the lockdown like everyone else, fed it for 2 weeks, then gave up and stuck it in the back of the fridge. Pulled it out on a whim last week, fed it for 3 days straight, and baked a loaf that actually had a nice open crumb and crispy crust. Turns out ignoring it for 4 years was the secret, not all that fussy daily feeding. Has anyone else had a starter come back to life way better than when you first made it?

3 comments

3 Comments

ellioth371mo ago

My starter sat in the back of the fridge for like 8 months once and it came back stronger than ever. I dunno if it's that deep though, it's just bread at the end of the day. You actually think the neglect made it better or did you just get lucky with the bake?

wren6381mo ago

@ellioth37 brings up a good point, but I think there's a less obvious factor at work here. A neglected starter develops a more resilient yeast and bacteria balance because it has to survive long periods without food, not unlike a fermented pickle getting better with age. The long dormancy likely killed off the weaker microbes while the strong ones hung around, so your starter came back leaner and meaner for that perfect bake.

joel_clark371mo ago

Huh, I never really thought about it that way. I always figured a neglected starter was just a gamble, like you're rolling the dice on whether it'll come back at all. But the whole survival of the fittest thing actually makes a lot of sense when you put it like that, especially with the pickle comparison. I had a starter that I forgot about for like 4 months and it came out of the fridge with this crazy sour tang I could never get before, maybe it was the weak ones dying off.