My first sourdough starter took 11 days to wake up and I almost tossed it on day 6 | Bread Baking Basics

Karen Shah · 2026-10-29T16:15:04.605193+00:00

I started a starter back in April and it just sat there doing nothing for what felt like forever. On day 6 I was ready to dump it in the trash, but my neighbor who bakes a lot said to give it one more week and just keep feeding it. Turns out my kitchen in the morning was too cold, so I moved the jar to the top of the fridge and by day 11 it finally doubled. Now I'm wondering if I was just impatient or if the cold was really the whole problem. Some folks say it should bubble in 3 to 5 days, but mine took way longer. Did yours take longer than you expected, and what finally got it going?

The Community Guide

Loading…

My first sourdough starter took 11 days to wake up and I almost tossed it on day 6 | Bread Baking Basics - The Community Guide