Rant: My sourdough starter died after I left it in the car for 2 hours

Honestly, I was running errands in Portland last Tuesday and forgot my starter bag in the passenger seat. It was 92 degrees that day and by the time I got back, it smelled like vinegar and had a gray liquid on top. I tried to revive it with a few feedings but it never bubbled again after that. My neighbor who bakes at the farmer's market said heat over 85 kills the yeast permanently. Now I'm starting from scratch with a new batch and it's gonna take two weeks to get it active again. Has anyone else lost a starter to a dumb mistake like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

jessica_hall4921d agoMost Upvoted

92 degrees in Portland? That's brutal, I can't believe how quickly it just gave up on you like that. Two hours is all it took to kill something you probably spent weeks building up. I left my starter on the counter once with the window cracked and it got a little sunburnt, but it bounced back after a couple feedings. Never seen gray liquid on top of mine before, that sounds like it went straight to rot. What kind of flour were you feeding it?

john_cooper21d ago

Right, rye flour seems to go south way faster in heat, @jessica_hall49.