If you’ve got a jar of starter sitting in your fridge and you’re not sure if it’s alive, fed enough, or ready to bake with… you are not the only one. On Tuesday, June 2nd, 2026 from 1:00–2:30 pm CT, I’m hosting a 90‑minute live Zoom workshop where we’ll look at your actual starter together. You’ll walk away knowing: - Whether your starter is ready, needs a little rehab, or needs a restart - Exactly how to feed it over the next 3 days - What “normal” looks like (so you stop second‑guessing every bubble) - When it’s a good time to mix dough for your first loaf You just need: - Your sourdough starter (even if it’s been ignored in the fridge) - Some flour and water - 90 minutes where you can be near your kitchen This first workshop is $27 as a beta. Crash course in starter care, maintenance, feeding ratios + more! 👉Is My Starter Ready? – Live Workshop

Help a lady…I searched the message boards and this didn’t come up yet. At day 3 acclimating with Big Mama’s baby starter, it had a strong hootch alcohol smell. So I refrigerated overnight. Day 4 I fed it again instead of baking. Better, more of a wine smell. Day 5 I divided it into 2 quart jars and fed again…now it’s stronger wine smell. I’ll refrigerate overnight but then what? The interwebs say alcohol smell means you need to feed more…so do I do that again?

I just took Sandra’s class earlier this week and the three day assimilation went great. Today, I got a larger jar and moved the starter to that so I could add to it and make a loaf soon. I added flour and water and drew a new line 1/3 of the way up the jar. It’s been about 6 hours and it hasn’t risen and the starter now feels super light and fluffy. What have I done wrong?

How is your sourdough starter? A healthy starter should be doubling in size after feeding, have a domed top, smell tangy (not nail-polish-remover sharp), and be bubbly (big & small) all the way through. If yours isn't doing all of that yet — that's okay. Most starter problems come down to three things: temperature, feeding ratio, or flour type. Drop a photo of your starter below and tell me: - How old is it? - What flour are you using? - Where are you keeping it? Let's troubleshoot together. 👇

What kind of organic bread flour should I use?