Old timer at the county fair gave me a sourdough tip that saved my starter

I was at the county fair 3 weeks ago manning my booth and this guy walks up maybe 70 years old. He watches me work for a minute then says your starter looks tired feed it with wheat flour instead of white. I shrugged it off but tried it that night. My starter doubled in size for the first time in months. Guess the old ways still work. Any of you ever get advice from a stranger that actually made sense?

2 comments

2 Comments

perez.christopher11d ago

Wait, so I've been starving my starter this whole time and some random guy at a corn dog stand figured it out in five seconds? Man, I tried wheat flour on a whim a few years back and my starter went from looking like watery paste to a bread volcano erupting all over my counter. Now I just feed it whatever cheap wheat flour I find, and it's the most dramatic starter on the block. Funny how we spend hours online reading complicated guides and the real answer is just "hey, use the brown stuff, kid.

barbararamirez11d ago

Feel you on this one @perez.christopher. I had the same thing happen except the old guy told me to add a tiny pinch of cinnamon to my feedings. I laughed it off for a week then tried it out of desperation. My starter went from sluggish and sad to bubbling like crazy within 24 hours. Still do it every other feeding and it's never looked back. Sometimes the weirdest tips end up being the real game changers.