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My sourdough starter died at the state fair demo and I'll never bake in public again
I was doing a 30 minute sourdough demo at the county fair in Des Moines last month, 200 people watching, my starter was perfect that morning, doubled in 4 hours. Then I opened the jar on stage and it just sat there like a wet brick. Someone in the front row yelled 'is it supposed to look like that?' and I almost packed up right then. Turns out the AC vent was blowing straight down on my table, dropped the temp by about 15 degrees. I checked the thermometer after and it was 58 degrees on the counter. Now I always bring a proofing box to any event, even if it's indoors. Has anyone else had a starter crash from room temp swings at a demo or class?
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carr.abby12d ago
Did you catch that episode of Milk Street where they talked about how sourdough basically goes dormant below 70 degrees? It's wild how sensitive it is. I had a similar thing happen at a library workshop, the room was way colder than I thought and my dough just would not budge. Now I take a little instant read thermometer everywhere and check the table surface before I even lay out my tools. That proofing box is a smart move though, I might have to steal that idea for my next class.
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