My sourdough starter actually failed for two straight weeks and it was a good thing

I kept trying to force my starter to double in 4 hours like everyone online says it should. Day after day it just sat there with a few tiny bubbles. Finally on day 14 I stopped feeding it every 12 hours and just left it on the counter for a full day. When I came back it had this big dome on top and smelled like ripe fruit instead of sour feet. I think the rush to make super active starter actually hurt my progress. Has anyone else had a starter finally take off after you just left it alone?

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the_phoenix4d ago

Totally get this. I had a similar thing happen with my first starter - kept feeding it twice a day like clockwork and it just sat there sad and bubbly. Gave up around day 10, left it in the back of the fridge for a week. When I pulled it out it was like a completely different beast, all puffy and smelling like bright green apples. Sometimes they just need to find their own rhythm without us hovering over them every few hours.