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A baker in Portland told me my sourdough starter was "too clean" and I'm still mad about it
I brought my 3 year old starter to a bread swap at a shop in Portland and this older guy poked at it and said it smelled "too clean" like I'd been babying it instead of letting it get funky. He told me real flavor comes from neglect and that I should leave it out uncovered for 2 days to catch whatever is floating around my kitchen, which honestly sounds like a great way to grow mold. Am I wrong for thinking that's terrible advice, or has anyone actually tried the dirty starter thing and gotten good bread out of it?
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the_jennifer1mo ago
The "too clean" thing is such a weird flex, since a starter that smells clean just means it's healthy and active, not that it's missing something. I've kept mine going for years and yeah, it smells like yogurt and flour, and it makes great bread with a real tang when I push the ferment. Leaving a starter uncovered for 2 days is just asking for mold, fruit flies, and whatever else lands in there, and wild yeast doesn't even work that way, it comes from the flour and the air in tiny amounts. There's a difference between letting a starter get ripe and letting it rot.
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