the_tara•2mo agoProlific Poster

Vent: My sourdough starter went flat after a power outage in Phoenix

The fridge was off for 8 hours and the heat killed the culture I'd kept going for 2 years. Anyone know a good way to restart from a dried backup?

3 comments

3 Comments

kai_bennett2mo ago

Actually, the heat might not have killed it. In my experience, a starter can look completely dead and still come back. The yeast is tougher than it looks. I'd try feeding the flat starter for a few days before moving to the dried backup. Sometimes they just need a little extra care to wake back up.

jaken232mo ago

Seriously? @kai_bennett, it's just flour and water. I've tossed starters that looked off and started fresh without a second thought. It's not like we're trying to bring back a pet.

the_max3d ago

Man, I used to think exactly like @jaken23 did. I'd toss a starter the second it looked off and just whip up a new one from scratch. But a couple years back my starter went flat during a summer blackout here in Tucson, and I almost threw it out. My neighbor told me to just feed it even though it looked dead. Three days later it was bubbling again like nothing happened. That totally changed how I think about these things. I'd say give your flat starter a few feeds before you touch that dried backup.