Creating and maintaining a healthy sourdough starter is the key to baking delicious, tangy sourdough bread at home. However, your precious starter can cause you problems from time to time!
Luckily, sourdough starter is pretty resilient and with a little bit of work, you can get it back to its normal self.
How to know if your sourdough has gone bad
It can be hard to know if your sourdough has gone bad. Afterall, it is a living thing thats working its magic in your bread! While you should ultimately trust your intuition, here are some signs your starter has spoiled and should be tossed:
- Visible mold or discolored spots (pink, orange, green, black)
- Extremely foul or putrid smell, like vomit or rotten eggs
- Starter that was heated to a very high temperature and is a solid dough
However, most starters can be saved! Even if it looks lifeless or has a layer of dark liquid on top (called hooch), it can usually be revived with consistent feeding for a few days. Trust your nose and eyes – if it smells pleasantly sour and yeasty, it’s most likely fine. If it looks and smells weird and you’re deeply questioning it, its probably best to start it again.
Here are a few common sourdough starter problems bakers can run into:
Sourdough Starter Mold
If you notice fuzzy spots of any color on the surface of your starter, unfortunately that is mold and you’ll need to discard it and start over. Mold can occur due to:
- Using contaminated flour
- Not cleaning the starter jar and tools well enough.
- Neglecting the starter and not feeding it often enough.
- High humidity or warm temperatures.
To prevent mold, use quality unbleached flour, clean tools, feed regularly, and keep your starter in a cool spot if your kitchen is very warm. A mature, well-fed starter is quite resistant to mold and can last in the fridge unfed for months at a time.
Sourdough Starter Not Rising or Doubling
A healthy, active starter should at least double in volume within 4-8 hours of feeding. If yours is not rising well, it could be due to:
- Feeding with chlorinated or unfiltered tap water which can inhibit growth
- Letting the starter get too cold – the ideal temperature is 70-85°F
- Overfeeding (feeding too much too quickly) and not allowing the starter to fully metabolize the flour
- Using a very small amount of starter when feeding
To troubleshoot a sluggish starter, try feeding it with filtered water, keeping it consistently warm, feeding at a 1:2:2 or even 1:3:3 ratio, and allowing it to ferment until it at least doubles before feeding again.
Sourdough Too Sour
While this may not be a problem for some (who doesnt love a sour bread!) The sourness of sourdough bread can be adjusted by changing a few variables:
- Keep the dough temperature lower (mid 70s°F) to favor yeast over bacteria
- Use less starter in the dough
- Let the dough ferment for a shorter time
- Use more refined flours like all-purpose or bread flour
Liquid on Top of the Sourdough Starter (Hooch)
A layer of liquid on top of your starter is called hooch and is a normal byproduct of fermentation. It indicates that your starter is hungry and needs to be fed. Simply stir it back in or pour it off before feeding your starter.
Sourdough Smells Like Vinegar
A strong vinegar smell is a sign that your starter is very hungry and acidic. Don’t worry, it doesn’t mean it has gone bad. Feed it consistently for a few days to get it back on track.
The key to a healthy, vigorous sourdough starter is using quality ingredients, keeping it warm, and feeding it often enough. With some patience and TLC, you can troubleshoot most starter issues and get back to baking great sourdough bread! And if you end up with extra starter, try an easy sourdough discard recipe!