Hi Donna, it's hard to say if what you're seeing is mold, but I doubt it. Bubbly is usually a good sign, but I'm not so sure about "powdery." You didn't mention at what stage of development your starter is, so if it's still in the creation phase, it will be more prone to unfriendly invasion from mold and bacteria. If it's a fully developed mature starter and hasn't been left out of the refrigerator for an extended time without being fed, it's probably fine. Hooch isn't really a desirable outcome, but more a sign that your starter is hungry and needs to be fed, so I would recommend feeding it twice daily at room temperature for a few days and see if it recovers. You may want to discard the powdery top portion of the starter as a precaution, and place the starter in a clean container before you begin these recovery feedings. Barb

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