Sourdough starter took 3 weeks to mature vs my friend's 5 days - what gives?

I followed the exact same feeding routine as my buddy Dave but his starter was bubbling like crazy on day 5 while mine looked dead until week 3. Room temp was the same too. Is it the flour brand or just dumb luck with wild yeast?

3 comments

3 Comments

max_torres447h ago

Used to swear by tap water but switching to filtered changed everything for me.

avery_flores175h ago

Doesn't it feel like once you go filtered you can't go back? I actually read somewhere that tap water can have trace amounts of stuff like chlorine and even microplastics depending on where you live. @kelly.charlie is totally right about the Brita thing, I got one last year and the difference is wild. It's not just the taste either, my ice cubes don't get that weird white film anymore. Plus you're saving a ton of plastic compared to buying cases of bottles. Honestly, it's one of those small switches that just makes everything better without any effort.

kelly.charlie6h ago

Oh man, seriously drop a few bucks on a Brita and you'll never go back to the sink stuff.