My sourdough starter died after I left it out in 90 degree heat

I came home from a 48 hour shift and my starter was straight up bubbling over and smelled like acetone. Had to toss the whole jar and start a new batch from scratch in the fridge. Forgot that my apartment in Phoenix hits 85 inside when the AC is struggling. Anybody else had a starter go bad from heat exposure?

2 comments

2 Comments

henryr4513d ago

Read somewhere the acetone smell means it's actually starving.

paige_bell8113d ago

Oh yeah that's a real thing. Your body goes into ketosis when there's no carbs left to burn, so it starts breaking down fat for fuel instead. That acetone smell is actually a byproduct of that process, basically your body is running on backup power. It's the same thing with keto diets, people get that weird fruity chemical breath. So yeah if you're smelling acetone that's a pretty clear sign your body has switched over and is literally eating its own fat stores.