I disagree that old sourdough starter is always better

I used a 10 year old starter from a friend for 6 months and my bread was okay but never great. Switched to a new starter I made from scratch 3 weeks ago and the flavor is way more complex and lively. Has anyone else had better luck with a young starter over an ancient one?

4 comments

4 Comments

gray31413d ago

Heard a baker on a podcast say the bacteria in older starters can get too stable and lose the wild yeast that gives bread its lift and tang. @cora_west5 might agree that young starters just hit different.

cora_west513d ago

Same thing happened to me, the young starter was way better.

faith2710d ago

Oh man, totally! I had the same thing with a 70 year old starter I got from my aunt, it was so mellow and boring. I started fresh with some rye flour and that young one was bubbling and giving me the best, tangiest loaves I've ever made.

henryr4513d ago

My buddy Dave had a similar situation. He got a 50 year old starter from some old baker and babied it for like 8 months. His loaves were dense and kind of flat. Then he accidentally killed it and started a new one from scratch with whole wheat flour. His first bake with that 2 week old starter was the best bread he ever made. He swears the young one just had way more zing.