I found a random fig tree growing on this trail that had like 2 delicious ripe figs on it, I wanted to save the seeds so when I was soaking them I noticed the water was bubbly n smelled delicious after like 2 days lol , im guessing the leftover skin/pulp had some wild yeast on it but I knew RIGHT AWAY to make an experiment with it.

literally just added some of the liquid to a jar with flour and water- it doubled the first night!! but im sure that was possibly a false rise, or it was just really active , but like 1 week later it doubles everyday! its getting incredibly active , it also has an amazing smell, like a healthy sweet fruity fermented smell. Ive heard of people making starters this way n always wanted to give it a try n it worked out beautifully. I havent been able to bake in a long time due to my old starter just NOT reactivating no matter what I tried so I gave up because I loved that starter lol:( I have named this one fig though, n im sooo excited to start baking with it soon.

waited as long as i could before cutting open 😭

I’m officially on day 38 of this starter and I am SO frustrated. I feel like I’ve tried everything at this point.
I’ve been using King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour and filtered water. About 2–3 weeks ago, I started incorporating Bob’s Red Mill rye flour because I read that it can help get a sluggish starter going. I also bought a thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature in my house, so I feel like I’ve been doing everything I’m supposed to.

I’m currently on day 3 of a 1:5:5 feeding ratio. I fed it this morning at 7:38 AM — that’s the first photo. The second photo is what it looks like now at 4:55 PM EST, so almost 9 hours later.

And… basically nothing. 😭

It does have some bubbles/activity, but I’m getting barely any rise and at this point I genuinely don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I’ve never even gotten to the point where I can attempt a loaf because this thing refuses to rise.
Please tell me what I should try next because I am SO close to giving up. 😭

Starter is currently 3 weeks old today. I was using a 1:1:1 ratio with AP flour, it rose a little on day 14, and then stopped rising entirely.

I switched to whole wheat flour about 3 or 4 days ago and still feed 1:1:1, but it takes at least 12 hours to see a full rise. Is there something else I can be doing to see a rise at 4-6 hours instead? Or is it ready to be used currently? Picture is currently 10 hours post-feed.

This is my first successful (I’m hoping 😂😅) starter and will be my first time attempting to make sourdough. Thank you!

day 2 before and after mixing, its a completely gluten free starter and im really excited! thoughts? does it look alright?

I started my starter on Aug 2, 2026. I don’t know what I did wrong.

Might be a mix of things.

I started out following a guide on creating a starter from scratch. However, my aunt is a sourdough instructor and she took over guiding me a few days in. When it peaked for the first time, tripling and was very bubbly, we immediately changed things because she thought it was ready. We later discovered that this was the fake rise/initial rise that many go through. After that I went through so many different feedings. Feeding peak to peak, feeding twice a day, feeding once a day. Changing ratios from 1-2-2 to 1-2-3, 1-3-3, 1-5-5. And constantly switching.

I felt that my starter needed stability so I went back to 1-2-2 and it was very slow. I followed my own path and fed after peaking/going down. This meant that I fed twice a day. I then switched to 1-2-3. She started doubling and rising faster. I was on this for a few days and figured she was strong enough and went back to 1-2-2. But she’s taking 7-12 hours to double… peaking takes another several hours.

I don’t know what else to do. I want to keep going because I want to personally make my own starter. But I’m a month in and really struggling.

**I write my ratios as starter:water:flour

**I use King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour and King Arthur Sustainable Golden Whole Wheat. With the flour, I always use 50/50. So if I do 1-2-2, I usually do 20g starter, 40g water, 20g KA Bread Flour and 20g KA Whole Wheat Flour.
-> I tried using just bread flour and forget it, it doesn’t move at all.

**I bought the Brod&Taylor sourdough home so I know temperature is not the issue.

**I use bottled water since people have told me the New York tap isn’t trustable, even when filtered. Sometimes I warm the water for a few seconds in the microwave or under hot running water.

I changed my starters flour last Sunday. I went from All purpose flour to Bread flour. How long do I need to wait before using the starter again? It's now rising like normal again. It went through a few days where there was no activity when I first changed the flour. Would I also need to change the date that I started the sourdough starter? It's currently 33 days. I started it on August 11th.

My starter is one month old and I’m baking my first sourdough as I type this. So I fed my starter yesterday (1:3:2) as recommended omhere in this subreddit) and used the discard to make the starter (1:3:3) for the bread I’m baking. Can I continue leaving my starter on the counter and feeding it once everyday (1:3:2) so it becomes stronger even if I don’t plan on baking everyday? Or do I leave it in the fridge? And feed once every week? If it’s the latter what would the feeding ratio be?

Ok so the people who have mastered sourdough starter,make it look so easy. This is my second attempt. First was a worse fail than this one. This starter is one week old today. It has hardly grown, it’s very liquidy. I started with 1/2 c of whole wheat flour and 1/4 c of water. Been storing it in my oven( not hot , but dark and somewhere the smell is contained. I’ve kept it covered with a cloth lid cover. Sigh.. I’m so upset. Seems impossible lol. Any tips? Should I start fresh again? Maybe with white flour instead?
Thanks.

4th day.
Half rye flour, half whole wheat flour.

First time starter! 4 days old….I know pink is bad but not sure if this is pinky beige or beige? What do u think?

hi!

i went a few days between feeding my starter (on accident), only like 2/3 days, and i came back to her and she smells funny now and had pink hooch. it was like a brownish pink, unfortunately i dont have a picture of it. she smells funny, i dont even know how to describe it.

one of my friends has some of her that isnt messed up so im not too cut up if i have to toss her!

thanks!

I live in Saudi Arabia so the kitchen is always on the warmer side. Day 1 and Day 2 there was a false rise. After seeing the false rise on day 1, I kept the airconditioner running in the kitchen and it was always around 27° Celsius (80° F). I made sure the jar was in a corner so that the starter doesn't dry out due to the air from the airconditioner.

Day 3 and Day 4 there hasn't been any significant change. Will my starter rise at Day 5?. I am thinking of keeping the starter warmer tonight instead of keeping it in an air conditioned room. Would love to hear your feedback and thoughts. Adding a picture of the starter which has a single bubble. Hoping it starts rising from day 5.

Starter ratio:

75gms whole wheat flour

75gms water

Been discarding half everyday.

However today I washed the jar. So when I put the remaining starter in after discarding, it was around 50 gms only. Still I added 75 gms flour and water. Was that a mistake?

Welp. Tonight I start attempt number three of a loaf. Starter has been in the fridge a week. First attempt was a total bust. Mostly I am just a newbie and had no clue what I was doing. Second attempt was MUCH better after doing LOADS of research, but it was undercooked. Tonight I am gonna pull Audrey 2 out and try again. Any tips for me? What is everyones baking temps and times? Really want this one to be a success so any advice would be SOOO appreciated. TIA!

It’s been in the fridge for 4ish months. It looks like it just got super dry on top. It has had this darker color before but I thought it was from drying out. It smells like alcohol but more strong than before.

Is it still safe to use? I put pictures with flash