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PSA: My sourdough starter was a brick for years because I was using tap water.
I finally got a water report from my city and the chlorine level is over 2 ppm. I switched to filtered water last week and it's like a different organism. Does anyone else have to deal with bad tap water for their starter?
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terryb111mo ago
Wow, that explains so much. I always thought the chlorine thing was overblown. My starter was just sluggish and never really doubled. Used filtered water from a pitcher on a whim and it finally took off. Your post makes total sense now.
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Yeah, the "sluggish and never really doubled" thing hits home. My starter was basically a sad, flat pancake for months. I felt so dumb, like I was trying to raise a pet rock. I was convinced I had the wrong flour or my kitchen was too cold. @terryb11 is right, switching to filtered water was a total game changer. Now it actually bubbles up like the pictures online. I should have just tried that years ago.
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abby_robinson584d ago
Honestly, the "sad, flat pancake" description is exactly what mine looked like, and I think people overlook that it's not just about the water. The temperature of your kitchen can mess with fermentation way more than people realize, even if it feels normal to you. Mine finally took off when I moved it to the top of the fridge where it's consistently warmer, and that combined with filtered water made all the difference.
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