Tried making bread from scratch and my starter went bad after day 4

I decided to get into sourdough last Tuesday after seeing a friend's loaf online. Followed a recipe for a starter using flour and water, but by day 4 it smelled like nail polish remover and had a weird orange liquid on top. I think I left it too warm in my kitchen near the oven. Anyone else killed a starter in the first week?

2 comments

2 Comments

patricialee3d ago

That orange liquid is just the hooch, basically the starter telling you it's hungover from being too warm. I killed three starters in a row before I realized my kitchen was basically a sauna for yeast. Honestly, I consider it a right of passage, like burning your first batch of cookies.

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joel_martinez2d ago

...and it's funny because I've noticed that same pattern pops up everywhere, not just in baking. Like when I tried to learn guitar and everyone said practice every day, but nobody mentioned my apartment was so dry the strings kept snapping. Or when I started running and followed every plan to the letter, then realized I was just overtraining because I ignored how my body actually felt. It's like we all want the checklist version of everything, but the real trick is learning to read the room, or in this case, read the starter. Your kitchen being too warm is just your specific variable, and until you figure out what yours are, you're gonna keep getting that sour liquid teaching you the hard way.