My sourdough starter came back to life after 3 months in the back of the fridge

I forgot about my starter during a move last October and found it buried behind some pickles. Honestly I was just going to toss it but I fed it a 1:2:2 ratio of starter to flour to water on a whim. 4 days later it doubled in 6 hours and I made the best crusty loaf I've ever had. Has anyone else revived a starter that seemed totally dead?

3 comments

3 Comments

aaron8848d ago

Did you change the flour type or water when you revived it? I've heard switching from bleached to unbleached flour can wake up a sluggish starter because the good bacteria have more to feed on. That might also explain why yours bounced back so strong after all that time.

annas878d ago

I get what you're saying aaron884 but I really don't think it's about the flour type here. I mean if you think about it, that starter had been sitting in the back of a cold fridge for three months. That's not a bacteria problem that's a hibernation problem. The flour might help once it's already waking up but the real trick is just patience and consistent feeding. I've revived starters that were basically gray sludge before and switching flour brands never made a difference for me. What worked was just sticking with the same cheap unbleached all purpose and feeding it twice a day for a few days. It's like they just need to remember how to eat again.

sage_ramirez428d ago

I mean no shade @annas87 but I'm with aaron884 on this one, I've had starters that wouldn't budge on cheap AP flour and woke up in two days after switching to unbleached. lol sometimes bacteria really do need that specific food to get going again, not just time.

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