In our first sourdough starter troubleshooting post we tackled sourdough starter viability, and what will and won't cause your starter's demise. We also found out what a spoiled starter looks like, and how to know when it's time to throw it out and start over.
Today we'll take on the thorny question of whether it's worthwhile to try to revive an old but struggling starter — or if it's best to start over.
Sourdough starter: A miracle in the making
Creating your own starter from scratch is exciting and even a little magical; for details, see our step-by-step guide to creating a sourdough starter.
Simply mixing flour and water allows friendly bacteria and wild yeast to join forces and establish a balanced ecosystem that is able to impart great flavor and rise to your sourdough baking.
During the 6 to 10 days that it takes to get your starter up and running, it's a little more vulnerable to bacterial intruders and mold because it hasn't yet developed the defenses of a mature starter. But once fully developed, a well-maintained starter will readily fend off unwanted invaders and is very unlikely to spoil.
Reviving a neglected starter vs starting a new one
What if you inherited an old starter from your grandma and it's looking a little like it might be at death's door?
Sourdough authorities argue that there's nothing sacred about an old starter; a freshly developed "mature" starter will impart just as much flavor and rise to your bread.
Starting over with a new starter will get you back to baking great sourdough bread in a little over a week. So why take on the unpredictable task of trying to resurrect a sickly starter?
And is it even possible to thoroughly revive a starter that's sorely neglected?
Let's find out.
I start with two very neglected starters. Both starters (one all-purpose, one whole wheat) had been well-maintained until they were left at room temperature for a full month without being fed.
Why test both a white and a whole wheat starter? Starters can be maintained with all different types of flour, so I wanted to see if a whole wheat starter responded in the same way as a starter fed with all-purpose flour.
I pour the dark hooch off the neglected starters, and feed them following the feeding schedule called for in our sourdough starter recipe.
The revived starters smell a little "off" at first, but not awful; think vinegary sour, with a slightly unpleasant edge. Within four days they're rising well and have a nice, mildly tangy aroma. My theory is that both the acidity and the maturity of the neglected starters helps them fight off unwanted bacteria at the beginning of the process, which might allow for a faster return to a healthy and balanced starter.
By way of comparison, I also begin a starter from scratch. My brand-new starter is able to keep up in terms of rise. However, after four days it still smells a little funky and doesn't seem quite ready for baking bread.
Putting the starters to the test: Test bake #1
On Day 4 (after only four feedings) I bake Naturally Leavened Sourdough Bread using my revived starters (which I mix together for the test), and my regularly well-maintained starters.
The results are a little shocking: two beautiful and delicious loaves. Both loaves taste mildly sour, although taste testers agree that the revived-starter loaf is slightly tangier.
Test bake #2
On Day 5, after a total of six feedings, I try another test bake—this time including the brand-new starter; the revived starters, and my well-maintained regular starter.
Again, the results are surprising: three nice loaves, each with a similar rise and crumb structure. The only real difference is in the flavor of the breads. Each has mildly sour flavor, but the brand-new starter yields a slightly blander loaf.
Sourdough starter troubleshooting: the takeaway
It's definitely worth trying to revive a neglected starter (so long as it shows no signs of contamination). Pour off any discolored hooch, and start feeding it twice a day at room temperature. If it rises well and has a good aroma after three to four days, you're back in business!
We'd love to hear your own sourdough starter stories and questions below. Did you revive your starter from the brink of death? How long did it take? Is it thriving now?
For more information, please check out our first sourdough starter troubleshooting post.
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April 14, 2020 at 9:04pm
Yikes! I’ve been babysitting and feeding my starter for four days. It’s doing great but now I have to leave town tomorrow and I won’t be able to feed it tomorrow night. Do I give it its feeding before I leave tomorrow or feed it when I return, which will be the following day?
April 20, 2020 at 11:32am
In reply to Yikes! I’ve been… by TeresaE (not verified)
Hi Teresae, I apologize for leaving you hanging on this one, and hope that your starter did fine, whatever route you chose. I suspect it would survive either way, but my choice probably would have been to feed it before you left, assuming at least 12 hours had elasped since its last feeding, and then feed it again when you returned. You didn't mention if you were on a once-a-day or twice-a-day feeding routine, but as long as it wasn't neglected for several days at room temperature, it likely survived just fine. The other option would be to stick your starter in the refrigerator at whatever stage it was in the process, and resume feeding at room temperature when you return. This might delay the progress of your starter a bit, but could protect it from spoiling at room temperature. In any case, I hope your starter is now thriving! Let us know how it's going.
Barb
April 13, 2020 at 11:19pm
Hi from New Zealand 🇳🇿!
I had been a user of sourdough starter provided by a baker friend, and kept it going quite happily for a good couple of years before having to give it up.
As we are all in the midst of the pandemic, and the ensuing craziness around food security (yes, supermarkets here are under serious strain too - who knew when the chips were down that our nation would become flour obsessed?!), i procured what flour I could and, as the awesome King Arthur Flour was a favourite recipe site when I did have a sourdough starter, I decided to try out the starter ‘creation’ recipe after using my friends recipe resulted in disaster.
So. I am about two weeks in, and toughing it out. What I am confident I have right, is the weight and temperature conversions, and feeding routines. What I am having issues with are similar to the posts I’ve read around lack of rise, no overt sour smell, and very little in terms of bubbles. After reading through several posts that addressed my particular problems, I’m guessing that a change in feeding routine, back to once a day and re-injecting the ‘whole’ flour to increase acidity, is what I need to do. My questions are really around two things: 1) Are the flour types I have okay, and 2) What can I do to fix my problems with tempurature?
I have a stock of Rye flour, and Spelt flour, from my local organic store bulk bins, and also a good stock of a premium while bakers flour (that I have added wheat gluten to so it has a 15% protein content for bead making). I have been using the bakers flour since the move to twice a day feedings, and I started out with the Rue flour. So...is the Rye a good flour to use for the feeding routine you’ve described for injecting that needed yeast/acidity, or would the Spelt be better, and is the bakers flour okay to use when I revert back to 2x daily feedings?
Lastly, my biggest issue...weather. Temperature. More specifically, lack of it - and lack of particular devices that could help. As we are in the lowest part of the Southern Hemisphere (my family and I live in the Otago region of the South Island which is really cold in winter. And, as luck would have it, we are having unseasonably cold winter weather in our ‘autumn’ season. With two kids in lockdown at home, hubby working from home, a small house, and grotty weather...yep, we are living the life, hahaha 😉🙄) it is not possible to have a constant internal temperature of ~70 (which I’ve worked out is about our 20/21c) without having our heat pump on 24/7. The top of my freezer is about 20c/70, and the first two days I have stored it there, but think overnight it is getting cold even up there. The bulb in our oven had blown, lolz...and that’s not an essential service so we can’t get it replaced yet. So. My only options, other than let it fight it out with the ambient freezer top temp, is a hot water bottle and I chilly bin/esky (not sure what you call them in the US). What would you do or suggest, in that situation?
If I go to the trouble to change feeding routine and so on, which I want to do...I don’t want the temperature issue to be the hurdle that causes my efforts to be fruitless.
Thank you in advance for your advice and help...and thank you so much in general, for you excellent website. It is a bit of a gem in my books ☺️
P.S. Just so you all don’t get the wrong idea...no, we don’t all live in mud huts, or barbarically basic conditions - it’s just us, hahahahaha. Single income household, and an aversion to microwave ovens. I PROMISE we are a normal nation of totally cool people, with first world heating and housing 😜
April 20, 2020 at 9:48am
In reply to Hi from New Zealand 🇳🇿! I… by Tracy (not verified)
Hi Tracy, I'm sorry it has taken me so long to get to your question! I hope by now your starter is doubling like a champ, but if this isn't the case, then I would definitely recommend switching up your feeding routine: go with your rye flour, 2:1:1 ratio, and once a day feedings. Don't fret too much about your 20-21ºC temperatures, which should still get the job done, although perhaps a bit slower. You can use 27-33ºC water to feed your starter, which will warm it up a bit, and the top of your freezer will likely work just fine. If you still find your starter is moving too slowly, you could try placing the starter in a picnic cooler (rather than a microwave) with the cup of boiling water set on a towel nearby. A warm water bottle doesn't sound like a bad idea either.
Once your starter is rising reliably with this routine, then you might want to switch to a mixture of the rye and white flour for the twice a day feedings and 1:1:1 ratio. I'm concerned that adding the vital wheat gluten may have made your white flour a bit too heavy on the protein content for feedings. Protein and starch are inversely proportionate in wheat flour, and since starch is what your starter needs to consume and ferment, choosing a slightly lower protein flour might be more beneficial. Our unbleached all-purpose flour has a protein content of 11.7%, so something in that range is ideal for the AP flour. If you do an half and half mixture of rye and your white flour blend, this should work fine and may make the transition a bit easier for the starter.
I hope this helps! Let us know how it goes.
Barb
April 13, 2020 at 10:19pm
Hi! I am making this sourdough starter for the first time. I am about 6 days into it, and I am unsure if it’s wrong or if I killed it! I have been following the starter guide recipe. Initially used whole wheat, then AP to feed. It doesn't look like it grows at all between feedings, and it is pourable. It does bubble though. The smell was sour in the first 2-3 days but now is not sour. It smelled like flour the last two days, And now smells like alcohol? I did use a copper measuring cup a few times.
April 20, 2020 at 9:09am
In reply to Hi! I am making this… by Kaley (not verified)
Hi Kaley, it sounds like your starter is just going through a lull in rising, which frequently happens around day 4 and can go on for several days. Since it took me so long to get back to you, it may well be that your patience and persistence have prevailed and your starter is now rising and doubling predictably. I hope this is the case, but if your starter is still not rising then you might want to consider the alternative feeding plan that I've suggested to many who have experienced a similar lull. This method was recommended to us by microbiologist and sourdough baker, Debra Wink, and is meant to increase the acidity of the starter, which helps pave the way for more yeast activity. Here's the plan:
1. Feed once a day.
2. Feed with whole wheat or whole rye flour. If you don't have these flours available, you can use AP flour.
3. Feed with a ratio by weight of 2 parts starter : 1 part water : 1 part flour. For example, save 1/2 cup starter (4 ounces, 113g) and feed 1/4 cup (2 ounces, 57g) water + 1/2 cup (2 ounces, 57g) flour.
Once your starter is rising predictably you can switch to feeding according to our regular sourdough starter recipe with the twice a day feedings and equal parts by weight of starter, water and AP flour. Don't be surprised if your starter lags a bit each time you switch up its feeding routine, as the organisms need time to adjust, but once the starter is rising predictably with this routine, then you should be good to go!
I hope this helps!
Barb
April 13, 2020 at 9:42am
Our stores are out of unbleached flour, (C-virus issues), and I so did use bleached flour for two feedings on day 3. Then I switched to unbleached bread flour on day 4, which I had a lot of. I am still getting the bubbles and no rise, as a lot of people have written about. So I'm going to use the once-a-day WW method you've mentioned. My question is, once I do get the rise going -- and if I still can't get any unbleached all-purpose flour -- what should I feed it with until I get the proper rise going? The "white" bread flour? Thanks so much for all of this great advice.
April 18, 2020 at 8:37am
In reply to Our stores are out of… by Beverly Gyllenhaal (not verified)
Hi Beverly, once your starter is rising predictably with the whole wheat flour, you might want to switch to a 75/25 combination of unbleached bread flour and whole wheat flour until you can find unbleached all-purpose flour. If the starter seems a little too thick with this mixture of flours, it's fine to add just a little extra water to bring the consistency to a thick, but stirrable paste right after feeding. I hope this helps! Let us know how it goes.
Barb
April 13, 2020 at 8:10am
Hi Barb,
Thank you for your expertise and information. I am new to the starter world, but successfully managed to gather wild yeast in the house. I believe I am on feeding day 8 of an AP flour starter. It's been a once-a-day feed by keeping 50g of starter and adding 100g of flour and 100g of water at room temp (64-64F). I am not sure why I messed with a good thing, but in an effort to make my starter more cozy/comfortable I decided to keep it in the prover (approx. 80F) one day instead of on the counter. Now I am looking at less than lively jar of paste, that lacks the lovely sour smell it had previously (it has a faint, weird, almost sweet, alcohol-like odor).
Did I kill it? Or can I save it by adjusting the feeding? It's my little quarantine buddy, so I'd like to make it happy if possible!
Thank you again!
April 18, 2020 at 8:28am
In reply to Hi Barb, Thank you for your… by Liz (not verified)
Hi Liz, I'm quite surprised that your quarantine buddy responded so negatively to a warmer environment! If you happened to have it covered loosely, it's possible it dried out a little more in the proofer. I would recommend covering the starter securely with plastic wrap or a lid. The reason we say to "cover loosely" isn't because the starter needs airflow in order to ferment properly (it doesn't). Most of the wild yeast in your starter actually comes from the flour you feed it, rather than the air. The warning to cover loosely actually has more to do with the chance that fermentation gases can build up in a tightly lidded container and cause the lid to pop off. However, if you have adequate headroom in your container for the gases to collect, and you open your jar now and then, this shouldn't be an issue.
It's also true that significant changes to your starter feeding routine will cause a certain amount of lag time as the organisms in your starter work to adjust to the new conditions. I doubt you did any permanent harm to your starter, and a little warmer conditions (low to mid-70's) shouldn't be at all harmful, but I encourage you to do what works best for you and your starter. Look for your starter to rise predictably and to have a pleasant aroma. Our sourdough starter recipe is a little different in terms of ratio of ingredients and frequency of feedings, but there are lots of ways to create and maintain a starter, so if you've found a method that is working for you—by all means stick with it!
Barb