Tried making a sourdough starter from scratch and my kitchen smells like a barnyard

So I got this crazy idea last week to make my own sourdough starter. I mixed flour and water in a mason jar and left it on the counter. Day 3 it started bubbling which was cool. But by day 5 the smell was so bad my wife thought something died in the vent. I threw it out and bought a freeze dried starter packet online instead. Has anyone else had that weird chemical smell from a homemade starter or did I just mess up the ratios bad?

2 comments

2 Comments

dylan2659d ago

Day 3 the yeast is active and smells like bread but day 5 that vinegary chemical smell hit me too from my first batch. I think it just needs more time to balance out before it gets that sourdough smell.

wilson.jesse9d ago

Is it really that big of a deal though? I mean, so it smells a little weird for a day or two. You're gonna eat it anyway. People act like their starter is some super sensitive science experiment that's gonna die if you look at it wrong. Just stir it and keep feeding it, it'll figure itself out. Half the time those funky smells just mean it's hungry or the temp changed a bit. Honestly I think people overthink this whole sourdough thing.