My sourdough starter was a total brick until my friend called it 'sad paste'

I've been trying to get a sourdough starter going for about a month now. Every time I baked with it, the loaf was dense and flat. I showed a picture to my friend who bakes a lot, and she just said, 'That looks like sad paste. You're killing it with kindness.' She meant I was feeding it too much and too often, basically drowning the yeast. I was doing two feeds a day with a full cup of flour each time. She told me to cut back to once every 24 hours with just a half cup, and to use whole wheat flour to give it a boost. I tried it her way, and after three days, it finally doubled in size and smelled right, not like vinegar. My last loaf actually had an ear and everything. Has anyone else had a starter that just wouldn't wake up until you basically ignored it?

2 comments

2 Comments

williamschmidt17d ago

Honestly feels like people overthink this stuff lol. I get what @jennifer358 is saying about strong cultures, but sometimes the yeast just needs a break. My starter was the same way, it only got happy when I stopped fussing over it every few hours.

jennifer35817d ago

Ignoring your starter sounds like a recipe for weak yeast to me. My best loaves always come from a starter that gets fed twice a day with good strong bread flour, it builds up a really active culture. Cutting back to once a day seems like it would starve it, not help it. Maybe your friend's method worked by accident, but consistent feeding has never failed me.