Rant: My sourdough starter was just okay until I switched from tap water to filtered

I used my city's tap water for years and my bread was fine, but never great. Switched to a basic Brita filter and the starter got way more active, and my loaves finally had that open crumb I wanted. Is water quality really that big a deal, or did I just get lucky?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_zara1mo ago

Oh my gosh, YES. I had the exact same thing happen. My starter was always sluggish and my bread was just dense. I switched to bottled spring water on a whim, and it was like night and day. The starter doubled in half the time, and my last loaf had those big, beautiful holes I see in pictures. Our tap water must have something in it that the yeast just hates.

piper_burns1mo ago

Chlorine in tap water is basically yeast poison.

abbyg141mo ago

Our tap water must be the reason my starter never really took off, huh?