Last Tuesday my sourdough starter turned on me after 3 years of perfect behavior

I woke up to my starter having gone completely dormant even though I fed it like always and kept it at 78 degrees. Turns out my kitchen tap water had too much chlorine that day because the city was flushing hydrants up the street. Has anyone else had their starter suddenly act weird for no obvious reason and what did you do to fix it?

2 comments

2 Comments

beth_green26d ago

but here's the thing about water and starter, you don't actually need to use tap water at all for it to be fine. i stopped using tap water years ago because of exactly this issue, the chlorine levels can spike randomly and mess everything up. just switch to bottled spring water or let your tap water sit out uncovered for 24 hours to let the chlorine evaporate off. also, if your starter really went totally dormant from one bad feeding, it was probably already struggling a little bit, a healthy starter can usually handle a chlorine hit.

charles_kim26d ago

Read a guide from a baker once who said city water changes can hit starters harder than most people realize. She recommended keeping a gallon of spring water specifically for starter feedings since tap water composition is unpredictable. Might be worth trying bottled water for a few days to see if your starter bounces back.