Just realized my sourdough starter was actually ready after 4 weeks, not the 7 days I kept reading online

Spent 3 extra weeks feeding a dead starter because I thought it needed to double in 4 hours, when really it just needed another 10 days of patience before it finally took off, has anyone else dealt with a starter that tricked them into thinking it was done?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamienguyen1mo ago

tricked me into thinking it was done" - that's the part that gets me. Most people don't realize temperature changes your timeline by days or weeks depending on the season. Your kitchen might just be colder than whatever blogger wrote that 7 day guide.

clairer791mo ago

My friend Sarah had a batch of pickles she was so proud of, thought they were perfect after 10 days. She put them in her pantry which is basically an icebox in winter and they just sat there looking sad. After three weeks she finally brought them into the kitchen where it was warmer and they finished in about 4 days. @jamienguyen is totally right about that temperature thing, it's wild how much it changes everything. She was about to toss the whole batch thinking she messed up the brine or something. Learned that lesson the hard way now she keeps a little thermometer in her fermentation corner.