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My sourdough starter turned into a science experiment gone wrong
I was trying a new rye flour mix for my starter, feeding it twice a day like clockwork. After about 5 days, it stopped bubbling and developed a thin, pink film on top. I thought it was just hooch at first, but it smelled like old gym socks. Turns out I had the jar too close to a warm radiator, which let some weird bacteria take over. I had to toss the whole thing and start fresh with a clean jar from the back of the cupboard. Has anyone else had a starter go bad from getting too warm?
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nathan_barnes6d ago
My old apartment had a radiator that would absolutely murder starters... I lost two last winter. What finally worked for me was keeping it on the bottom shelf of a kitchen cabinet, away from any heat vents. I also switched to feeding it with cooler water, straight from the tap, to bring the temp down a bit more. It seemed to slow the fermentation just enough to stay stable. Now I keep a cheap thermometer in that cabinet to check it.
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