My sourdough starter straight up died on me after a cross country move

I had a starter named 'Bubbles' that was going strong for almost three years, but it completely failed when I moved from Austin to Seattle last month. I think the change in tap water (or maybe the plane cabin pressure?) just wrecked it, because it never came back to life after feeding for a week. Everyone says starters are resilient, but mine wasn't. Has anyone successfully revived a starter after a big climate shift, or did I just have to start over from scratch?

3 comments

3 Comments

reesesullivan1mo ago

You named your starter Bubbles? That's the real tragedy here. I've heard of starters getting moody with new water, but a full on death is rough. Maybe try bottled water next time, just to rule that out.

rosebennett1mo ago

Wasn't there a whole thing about chlorine levels in tap water killing the good bacteria? I read that some cities change their water treatment at certain times of the year. Letting the water sit out overnight supposedly lets the chlorine evaporate, but that never worked for me. I switched to the cheap store brand spring water and my starter stopped having those dramatic mood swings.

stellas561mo ago

Did you keep a small backup dried on parchment paper? I've always dried a spoonful of my starter before any big trip, just in case. It feels like overkill until your main jar has a bad day. You can scrape the dried bits into some bottled water and flour to wake it back up. That way you don't lose Bubbles' whole history.