Finally got my sourdough starter to work after 6 months of failed attempts near Fairbanks

I used to just wing it with store-bought yeast for my bread, but nothing beat the taste of real Alaskan sourdough. After my 12th dead starter, I realized the cold cabin was killing the bacteria - I was keeping it by the window at 55 degrees. Switched to using a heating pad set to 70F from Amazon back in January, and now I get a bubbly rise every time. The trick was feeding it every 12 hours with equal parts flour and water, not guessing. Has anyone else in northern towns had trouble keeping starters alive in the winter?

2 comments

2 Comments

tara70016d ago

The heating pad trick is smart. It's funny how much of life is just figuring out the right temperature for things, whether it's bread starter or trying to keep your car from freezing solid overnight up here.

bettyk5316d ago

Hate that frozen car struggle, nothing worse than scraping ice off your windshield at 6 AM. The heating pad trick works real well for keeping the battery warm enough to turn over on those bitter cold mornings. It's amazing how much of winter is just fighting the cold one small win at a time.