Noticed my sourdough starter changed after we moved from Portland to Phoenix back in 2017

The humidity difference hit hard... my starter that used to triple in 6 hours up there barely doubled in 10 down here. I ended up adjusting my feeding ratio to 1:3:3 with cooler water and it took about 3 weeks to fully adapt. Has anyone else had to totally rethink their hydration percentages after a big move?

2 comments

2 Comments

gray627d ago

Moved from Seattle to Tucson a few years back and went through the EXACT same struggle. My starter turned into a total slug overnight, barely bubbling at all. I had to bump my hydration way down to like 65% and add a splash of pineapple juice to the feedings to wake it up. Took a solid month before it started acting normal again in that dry air.

terry_lewis2127d ago

Ha, I feel this so much! @gray6, that pineapple juice trick is clever but I think the acidity might actually slow things down if you use too much since the dry air already makes starters more acidic on their own. I found that sticking with a 1:2:2 ratio and just using slightly warm water (around 78F) helped my starter bounce back without any additives. It's wild how much environment changes everything even with the same flour and routine.