I put a whole orange in my sourdough starter and my kitchen smelled like a brewery

Emery Wood · 2026-03-26T07:30:14.372946+00:00

I saw a video from a baker in Seattle who swore that adding a whole, unpeeled organic orange to your starter gave it a complex flavor. So I shoved one into my week old starter, fed it like normal, and left it overnight. Woke up to a bubbling mess that smelled like strong beer and the orange skin had turned a weird gray color. I baked a loaf anyway and it tasted like someone mixed cheap wine with my good bread. Learned that some tips are just plain weird, not clever. Has anyone else tried a fruit addition that actually worked without ruining everything?

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I put a whole orange in my sourdough starter and my kitchen smelled like a brewery | Bakers - Discusd