Appreciation post: my grandma's sourdough starter from 1978 finally gave out last month

I've kept it alive for 15 years since she gave it to me. Last month in my Portland kitchen, it just stopped bubbling after a regular feeding. I tried warmer water, different flour, nothing worked. Some bakers say a starter is just a tool and a new one is fine. Others feel it's a living piece of history. Has anyone else lost a really old starter and felt that way?

2 comments

2 Comments

nathanbennett4d ago

Portland's damp weather probably didn't help, but starters are just wild yeast. The one I use now works the same as the one I killed five years ago. It's a bit sad to lose that link to your grandma, but the bread doesn't know the difference. The memory of baking with her is the real thing you got to keep.

hugo_jones24d ago

Yeah, the part about the memory being the real thing to keep is so true. I lost my mom's starter too, felt awful about it. But I still use her old metal mixing bowl, the one with the little dent in the side. My hands look like hers when I'm kneading in it. The new starter makes great bread, but that bowl is what brings her right back into the kitchen with me.