My sourdough starter went from a sad pancake batter to doubling in 4 hours after I stopped using tap water.

Seriously, tap water is the worst for starters! I let a pitcher of water sit on my counter for a full day before I use it now. That lets all the chlorine gas just float away. If I'm in a hurry, I'll just use the cheap bottled water from the store. It feels like a silly extra step, but it totally changes the game. My starter went from lazy to crazy active almost overnight.

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kelly_patel5mo ago

Oh man, that tap water thing is such a classic trap. I went through the same exact panic with my first starter, it just would not wake up. Our city water has so much chlorine in it, it just kills all the good stuff. Switching to bottled or even just leaving a jug of tap water out overnight for the chlorine to evaporate made all the difference. It's crazy how one small change can turn a sad blob into a happy, bubbly monster.

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emmamason5mo ago

Wait, chloramine doesn't evaporate out at all?

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quinncoleman5mo ago

Yeah the "sad pancake batter" phase is so real. I read a whole article about how chlorine and chloramine in city water can just wreck the wild yeast. Some places use chloramine now which doesn't evaporate like chlorine, so leaving water out doesn't always fix it. That's when the cheap bottled water trick becomes a total lifesaver. It's wild how something so simple is the secret.

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