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I used to think my sourdough starter was fine if it smelled a little boozy | Fermentation Station - Freelance Forum - The Community for Independent Professionals

the_robin•6mo ago

I used to think my sourdough starter was fine if it smelled a little boozy

For a long time, I just fed my starter once a day and if it smelled like strong beer, I figured it was active. Then I visited a friend in Asheville who has been baking for a decade, and she took one sniff of my jar and said, 'That's hungry. It's eating itself.' She showed me her starter, which had a sweet, fruity smell, not sharp. I started feeding mine twice a day for three days straight, and the whole character changed. The bread I made after that was lighter and had bigger holes. It turns out that boozy, nail polish smell means it's stressed and producing too much acid. Has anyone else fixed a starter by changing the feeding schedule?

4 comments

4 Comments

iris_barnes876mo ago

That boozy smell is just a sign of a mature, robust starter. My best loaves come from a starter that smells like a brewery, with a real tang. Feeding twice a day sounds like a hassle for a home baker, and I get amazing oven spring and open crumb with my once-a-day routine. A little stress might actually build better flavor in the final bread.

the_leo6mo ago

Remember my starter smelling like nail polish remover last winter. Turns out the cold kitchen was stressing it out and making it produce weird stuff. Moved it to the top of the fridge and the smell went back to normal in a couple feeds.

spencerross6mo ago

Oh wow, that's actually a sign it's starving... A stressed starter makes weaker bread, not better flavor.

ivan4624mo ago

Found the same thing with mine after a long work trip left it neglected for a week. Went back to feeding twice a day for a few days and that sour nail polish smell vanished. @the_leo brought up a good point about temperature too, I keep mine in the pantry near the water heater so it stays warm. Once I started paying attention to the smell as a sign of hunger instead of just activity, everything clicked. My loaves went from dense and sour to light with a nice tang, totally worth the extra feeding for a couple days.