My sourdough starter died on day 4 and I almost quit baking forever

I tried making a sourdough starter from scratch last fall using just flour and water. Day 1 it bubbled like crazy and I thought I was a genius. By day 4 it stopped bubbling completely and smelled like old gym socks. I almost threw the jar in the trash but my neighbor said to try feeding it twice a day with rye flour instead of all-purpose. After 3 more days it finally came back to life and now I've kept it going for 8 months. Has anyone else had a starter go dormant and then revive with a different flour type?

2 comments

2 Comments

markm2721d ago

Yeah rye is a beast. That stuff wakes up even the most stubborn starter.

tessacarter21d ago

Bet it was all the natural yeast in the rye thats just more resilient than plain white flour.