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Thought I nailed a sourdough starter after 14 days... it was just yeast from the air
I kept feeding this jar for two weeks straight, getting big bubbles and a nice tangy smell. Turned out my starter was never actually colonizing - it was just wild yeast floating around my kitchen doing all the work. Mixed up a loaf and it came out flat as a pancake with zero oven spring. Had to toss the whole thing and start over with a different flour brand. Anyone else get fooled by a fake starter that looked active but was basically a lie?
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emma_clark5mo ago
Used to think wild yeast was some mysterious thing that took months to show up lol. But nah, my starter was doing the exact same thing - big bubbles, great smell, thought I was a pro. Turns out the flour I was using was just old and couldn't sustain anything. Swapped to a fresher bag and it was a totally different story. Your post actually made me realize I was probably just lucky the first time with the air yeast faking me out too.
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paige865mo ago
Two weeks? That's insane. I've never heard of faking it that long. My starter was like a three day wonder and then it went dead. I could see maybe a week if the flour was really old and had some weird stuff in it. But two weeks of consistent bubbles? That sounds like the yeast was actually alive and just needed a better food source or something. I'd be questioning everything if my starter fooled me for 14 days straight.
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