I think my sourdough starter finally died after 8 years

I was mixing up dough last Saturday in my tiny Chicago kitchen and noticed my starter had a weird orange film on top and smelled like acetone. Tried feeding it twice but it never bubbled back, so I think I killed it dead. Anybody had a starter just give out like that after years of being fine?

2 comments

2 Comments

riley_coleman85d ago

Hey, have you tried giving it a good stir and using slightly warmer water? That exact thing happened to mine last winter and it came back after a few days once I warmed it up.

patking5d ago

The orange film and acetone smell sound like it needed oxygen, not just food. Might not be dead yet, just stressed out from being too cold or wet. Give it a good stir and try a feeding at room temp with warmer water.