Found out my sourdough starter was actually wild yeast from my kitchen floor

I read this article from King Arthur Flour last week and learned that most of the bacteria in a starter comes from the flour itself, not the air around your house. It made me feel better about all those hours I spent obsessing over sterilizing my countertops for nothing. Has anyone else gotten different results using tap water vs filtered water in their feeding schedule?

2 comments

2 Comments

emerycarr1mo ago

Rinsing the floor yeast out of your starter is basically the sourdough equivalent of finding out your expensive craft beer was brewed in a gas station bathroom. I use tap water here because our city water isn't heavily chlorinated, but I've heard horror stories about people's starters turning into weird slime monsters from chemical treatments. Maybe just go wild with the floor yeast and call it "terroir.

wyatt_shah851mo ago

See, I kind of disagree. Tap water has worked fine for me for years and my starter is healthy. I think people overthink what goes into sourdough. A little chlorine isn't going to kill your starter unless you're dumping straight bleach in there. Plus, if you let the water sit out for a few hours before using it, most of the chlorine evaporates anyway. The real problem is usually people not feeding their starter enough or letting it get too cold, not the water.