My sourdough starter took a full month to actually work

I followed the classic recipe, feeding it every day for two weeks and it just stayed flat. I thought my kitchen in Phoenix was too hot. I tried different flours, bottled water, even moving it to a cooler spot. Nothing. Finally, after a month of this, I realized the lid was on too tight and it wasn't getting enough air. Loosened it up and it doubled in size in two days. Anyone else have a starter that just refused to get going for way too long?

3 comments

3 Comments

terryw6727d ago

Mine did the same thing until I switched to rye flour lol

claire_hart5327d ago

Switching to rye flour might help, but it's not the only fix. The real issue is usually hydration levels, not the type of flour. Your dough might just be too dry, @terryw67. Rye absorbs water differently than regular wheat flour. So when you switched, you probably added more water without realizing it. That extra water is what fixed the texture, not the rye itself.

faith_thomas27d ago

Yeah my buddy had that exact problem with his sourdough. He was convinced he needed fancy flour, bought like three different kinds. Turns out he was just scared to add enough water, his dough was a brick. Watched him make a loaf last week, he finally listened and just went for it with the water. The difference was crazy, perfect open crumb with his regular bread flour. Totally changed his whole baking game.