Appreciation post: I finally figured out my sourdough starter after a year of flat loaves

For a whole year, I was feeding my starter with tap water straight from the cold faucet. My breads were always dense and barely rose, and I almost gave up. Then, about three months ago, I read a comment here saying to use filtered water at room temp. I switched to using a Brita filter and letting the water sit out for an hour, and my starter doubled in size overnight. My first loaf after that change was the best I've ever made, with a proper open crumb. Has anyone else had a simple switch make that big of a difference?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_logan1mo ago

Oh man, the water thing is huge, right? I had the same issue with my starter being sluggish until I switched from tap to bottled spring water. The chlorine in my city water was just killing it. The difference was crazy, like it went from a sad pancake batter to actually bubbling and growing in just a couple feeds.

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cameronschmidt1mo agoTop Commenter

Wait, did you try leaving tap water out overnight first or did you go straight to bottled? I've heard that can help the chlorine evaporate but I'm not sure if it works for all water treatments.

terry_thomas23d ago

Yeah I'm not totally convinced it's that dramatic, I mean @cameronschmidt I've used tap water straight from the sink for years and my starter turned out fine. Maybe it depends on where you live, but I feel like switching water is like wearing a tinfoil hat when a simple stir would've done the same thing.