Loading…
21
Sourdough starter finally clicked after a baker's offhand comment
I've been fighting my sourdough starter for like 3 months, dumping half of it every week because it smelled like nail polish remover. Then a lady at the farmer's market in Portland told me she feeds hers with pineapple juice when it gets too acidic, just once to reset it. Tried that last Tuesday and the next loaf actually rose, no joke. Anyone else use a fruit juice trick to calm a cranky starter, or am I late to this?
1 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In1 Comment
abby_scott6d ago
Pineapple juice is a solid reset but the reason it works is the acidity, not some magic in the fruit. That nail polish smell means your starter went way too far into the boozy/acetone zone because the yeast burned through the flour and had nothing left but its own waste. A splash of juice drops the pH fast and knocks the bad stuff back so the good wild yeast can get a foothold again. You can get the same effect with a little bit of lemon juice or even just a pinch of citric acid if you have it in the pantry. The real fix long term is feeding it more often and keeping it a bit thicker so it doesn't get that hungry. But yeah, using juice as a one time rescue is a legit old trick, you're just not late.
6