TIL sourdough starter care is nothing like my grandma's simple jar

I was baking a loaf last weekend and my starter went bad after a few days. My grandma just had a jar of flour and water on her counter that lasted for years. Now every blog post says to feed it with exact times and types of water. It's confusing me because her bread always tasted great without all that. Did something shift with how flour is processed now? I miss when baking felt more about feel than rules. Maybe I need to stop worrying and just let it sit like she did.

2 comments

2 Comments

thomas.parker22h ago

Actually my friend killed his starter by following one of those strict feeding schedules to the letter. He was using bottled water and weighing grams like a chemist, but the thing just gave up after two weeks. Meanwhile his Italian nonna keeps hers in a ceramic crock, feeds it whenever she remembers, and it's basically immortal. Kinda lines up with what @gavin_hill27 said about trust. I mean maybe all the rules just make us nervous and we mess with it too much. His grandma's bread is amazing, so it's not like the old way was wrong. Feels like we're trying to solve a problem that wasn't really there.

gavin_hill271d ago

My mom’s starter in Ohio lived in the fridge for months between bakes. We’d just pull it out, feed it once, and it was ready. I see all these guides now telling people to feed it daily with filtered water and weigh everything. Feels like they’re trying to kill it with kindness, right? Grandma knew to just let it get hungry and be fine. Maybe we just trust the process less now.