Made a sourdough starter from scratch and day 5 it smelled like vomit

I followed that King Arthur guide everyone swears by. Day 1-4 it was fine, kind of fruity even. Then day 5 hit and it smelled like something died in a gym locker. Looked online and apparently that's normal during the 'bad bacteria' phase? I almost threw it out. Did anyone else's starter go through a gross phase like that or did I just mess up the feeding ratio?

2 comments

2 Comments

rosebarnes10d ago

Yeah, I used to think any weird smell meant I should just toss it and start over. Like, if it didn't smell like bread right away I figured something went wrong. But then I let one of my starters ride out that day 5 vomit phase and it really did turn around by day 8 or 9. That gym locker comparison is spot on, it's foul. The "bad bacteria" phase is real and it's just the starter working through the initial fermentation chaos before the good bacteria take over. So you didn't mess up the feeding ratio, your starter is just being a grumpy teenager for a couple days. Stick with it and keep feeding it on schedule, it'll settle down.

-1

lopez.jana10d ago

Right? @rosebarnes nailed it, that gym locker phase is just the starter being dramatic before it gets its act together.