My sourdough starter finally doubled after 6 weeks of neglect

I've been baking sourdough off and on for about a year, and my starter always felt like a lost cause. It would bubble a little, but never really rise. Then last month we got hit with a busy stretch at work, and I basically forgot to feed it for almost 10 days. When I finally scooped off the gray liquid and gave it some fresh flour and water, it doubled in size within 5 hours. I guess all that starving actually forced the yeast to get aggressive. Now I'm wondering if I should keep it in the fridge and only feed it weekly, that seems to be what woke it up. Has anyone else had a starter that needed a near-death experience to finally get going? I'd love to hear if this is a known thing or just luck.

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averyc9418d agoMost Upvoted

Man, that's a wild story but I gotta gently push back on the "starving made it aggressive" thing. What probably happened is the yeast and bacteria finally hit a balance after months of you messing with it, and the long rest just gave them time to settle into a rhythm. The gray liquid on top is just hooch, it's not a death sentence, it's basically the starter's way of saying "feed me or I'm gonna go dormant." I've read that neglect can actually help a weak starter because the acid builds up and kills off the bad bacteria while the good yeasts get a chance to own the place. So it's not really luck, it's more like you accidentally gave it the perfect reset. Keeping it in the fridge and feeding weekly is totally fine, that's what I do with mine now, but just know it might take a couple of feeds to get it to that lively peak again before you bake with it.