I have been trying to raise a starter for three weeks and have got something which bubbles but never 'explodes out of the jar', and produces bread that tastes like cardboard. I have just remembered that here in Birmingham in the Good Ol' UK the mains water is fluoridated. I checked and sure enough fluoride kills lactobacilli. Looking on the bright side, at least the yeast has got a good start. It will be a nuisance buying bottled water or collecting the condensate from my dehumidifier, but at least the fluoride has preserved my teeth.
Perhaps this may explain some of the other accounts of non-sour 'sourdough'.
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Try using one of those carbon filter jugs, or a ceramic filter. It might reduce the amount of fluoride.
Andrew
I use Isklar "glacier" water which isn't too costly if you buy it as 6 x 1.5l and you use it simply for your starter(s), as I do. No added flourine and it is also low in chlorine. I allow (Shropshire/Staffordshire) tap water to stand for a while before I use it to make dough (and usually - at this time of year - heat it in the microwave prior to use.
Just returned home at 11.30pm after a day out to find my starter HAS now exploded... all down the wall. Took 30 minutes to scrape it off the wall and paint over the track with emulsion. Be careful what you wish for. The remains are foamy and smell strongly sour after only one day of non-fluoridated water.
No I am NOT going to start baking bread at midnight.