I finally figured out that I was keeping my sourdough starter too warm for months

For about 6 months I kept my starter on top of the fridge, thinking the warmth would make it active faster. It always smelled like nail polish remover and never rose right. Then a neighbor who bakes at the farmers market told me her starter sits in the basement around 65 degrees. I moved mine down there and within a week it started doubling in size and smelling like yogurt instead. Anyone else have their starter in a spot that's too warm and just assumed it was normal?

2 comments

2 Comments

joelsanchez19d ago

Am I the only one who thought the fridge was the worst place but the top of it was fine? I used to keep mine right above the stove, thinking the heat would kickstart everything. Your story honestly changed my mind though. After reading this, I moved mine to the basement too and it went from smelling like acetone to actually having that nice tangy smell. It's crazy how a simple temp change makes that big of a difference.

valwest19d agoMost Upvoted

Wait, @joelsanchez, you had yours above the stove? That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen with all that heat and steam. My buddy tried that once and said his whole batch tasted like burnt plastic. Glad the basement fix worked out for you though, temperature really does make or break this whole thing.