tylerj22•1mo agoMost Upvoted

My sourdough starter went moldy after a week in the fridge

I left town for a week and put my starter in the back of the fridge. When I got back there was a fuzzy green layer on top. I tried scraping it off but the smell was off so I tossed the whole thing. Had to start from scratch with just flour and water. Took me 10 days to get it bubbly again. Anyone else had a starter go bad in the cold like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

drew_reed621mo ago

Nah wait, actually putting a starter in the fridge is supposed to keep it from going bad, not make it moldy. The cold slows down the yeast and bacteria so they don't eat through all the food fast. Something else had to be going on there. Maybe you didn't seal the lid tight enough or there was already mold spores in the jar before you put it away. I'd bet the starter was too wet or you left flour residue on the rim that got funky. Either way, ten days to get a new one going is way too long. A healthy starter should be bubbling by day five or six at most if you're feeding it right with warm water. Double check your flour and water ratio next time - keep it thick like a stiff dough, not soupy, and it'll hold up way better in the cold.

milaw141mo ago

Wait, isn't day five or six a little early unless you're keeping it pretty warm? I've had starters take a full week or more to really get going, especially if your house is on the cooler side.

king.robin1mo ago

Wait I used to totally disagree with that but honestly seeing it work for people has made me rethink my whole approach.