Tried making sourdough from scratch and ended up with a science experiment that smelled like a locker room

I followed this TikTok recipe that said "just mix flour and water and wait" so I did that for like 10 days. Kept feeding it and everything. On baking day I was so excited but the dough came out like a wet pancake. Baked it anyway and it turned into a brick that smelled like feet. My neighbor came over and asked if something died in my kitchen lol. Learned that not all starter guides are created equal. You got any tips for getting a real sourdough starter going?

2 comments

2 Comments

fiona_reed21h ago

10 days of feeding probably let the wrong bacteria take over. @skylerw87's tip about whole wheat flour and spacing out feedings is exactly what turned my starter around. Just let it settle down and the good stuff will eventually win.

skylerw871d ago

The "just mix flour and water and wait" advice is honestly the worst thing to go viral. The part that got me though is you kept feeding it for 10 days - that might actually be part of the problem. Most people don't realize that new starters go through a bacteria war zone for the first week, and feeding it too often can actually keep the bad bacteria alive longer. I had the same foot smell issue until I switched to a 12 hour feeding schedule with half whole wheat flour. The whole wheat has more of the natural yeasts and bacteria that actually want to be there, and giving it time to breathe helped kill off the stinky stuff. Your neighbor asking if something died is rough but honestly that's just the sourdough initiation, we've all been there.