My sourdough starter from a friend versus my own from scratch

I tried two ways to get a sourdough starter going. A friend gave me a bit of his mature starter, which was about 6 months old. At the same time, I tried making my own from just flour and water. The one from my friend was ready to bake with in just 2 days. My own took over a week and a half to get strong, and my first loaf with it was flat and dense. The friend's starter made a loaf that rose high and had big holes. I think the key was that his starter had a strong, balanced mix of yeast and bacteria already. My new one took time to build that up. It was a clear win for using an established starter. Has anyone else had a big difference in results like this?

3 comments

3 Comments

harper_wells1mo ago

Yeah, that's totally normal. A mature starter is a whole ecosystem that just needs food. Starting from scratch is like trying to grow a forest from a single seed. The friend's starter had all the right microbes already working together. Your new one had to fight off bad stuff and find a balance, which is why it took so long and gave you a flat loaf. I always tell people to get a starter from someone if they can. It saves a ton of time and frustration.

logan_white5921d ago

Wait... she got a starter from a bakery and it still made a brick? That's wild... I've never heard of a bakery starter failing like that. Usually those places have been feeding the same culture for years, it should be bulletproof by now. Was she maybe using bleached flour or tap water with too much chlorine? Or maybe she left it in a drafty spot? I've had a few dud loaves myself but never from a proper bakery starter, that just sounds off to me.

verar631mo ago

Watched my neighbor try the same thing last spring. She got a bit of starter from a bakery and her own jar of flour and water mix. The bakery starter made a good loaf in three days, but her from-scratch one just sat there like glue for over a week, and even then it made a brick.