My sourdough starter actually thrived with tap water instead of filtered

Everyone online says chlorine in tap water kills natural yeast, but my starter was sluggish for weeks with expensive bottled water. I tried straight tap water out of desperation last Tuesday and it finally doubled in size overnight. Has anyone else found their starter prefers regular city water over filtered?

3 comments

3 Comments

beth_park10d ago

Wait, is your tap water like super hard or soft? I had a buddy who tried the same thing with his starter and it went crazy too. He lives in a different city though, so I bet @the_eric is onto something about the local supply differences. His place has old pipes and the water tastes kinda metallic, so maybe there's extra mineral content that some starters love.

the_eric10d ago

Have you checked if your water treatment plant uses chloramine or straight chlorine? Chlorine evaporates if you let tap water sit out for a few hours, but chloramine sticks around way longer. That might be why your starter took off with fresh tap water, the microbe balance in your local supply is probably just right for your particular starter.

the_viola10d ago

Microbe balance in your local supply is just right for your particular starter" sounds like the tagline for a very unappealing craft beer. But seriously, I tried the whole "let it sit out" trick with chloramine water and my starter just got sad and sulky. It was like it was holding a grudge. I ended up just buying a cheap jug of spring water from the store, and now my starter acts like it won the lottery. Fresh tap water being the secret ingredient is a little too specific, you know? Makes me wonder what else is in our pipes that we don't know about.