Sourdough Starter Day #2

26 minutes ago
3 min read

That's not pink mold! It's a marker line.

Well. If you're trying to figure out why my sourdough starter looks like one of the shepherds that met baby Jesus, I'll tell you. The recipe I'm using says to cover my starter with a cloth and tie it with a string.

The closest things I had were a clean tea towel and a new shoelace. I didn't want to cut my towel to size because I don't want to start chopping up my towels for such a precarious project.

The recipe also said to mark where your starter is. That's the pink you see. It isn't mold. I'm saying this because I've been stalking sourdough groups for awhile and know pink mold means you have to throw out the whole thing, jar included.

Pink mold is an eviction notice for sourdough starters. It's all gotta go and fast. If you see pink in your starter, you literally have to burn the whole project in your backyard. Everything. Your spatulas and all. In fact, you have to move. Pink means you need to change cities, assume a new identity, and never bake again.

I have to be honest, I don't have high hopes for my starter for one reason: I cleaned with bleach on my counters yesterday. Bleach spray. I know, I know, we're supposed to be using natural cleaners in 2026, but vinegar with orange and lemon peels doesn't hit the clean spot for me. I like things to be sanitized every so often. We have cats and one of them does not listen.

So sometimes a girl likes old fashioned bleach.

But as I was releasing a fine mist of bleach spray on my counter, I realized it was only a couple of feet away from the delicate bread ecosystem I was trying to cultivate.

Did bleach get in and kill everything that was trying to grow?

I don't know. I'm not a scientist. I moved my starter and fed it flour and water today, but Selena (that's my sourdough baby starter's name) might be dead already.

Because I'm a proactive person who faces her issues head on, I'm going to keep feeding her like nothing happened.

I stirred her up, put her headpiece on, made a line, and set her away from where I cleaned the counters.

I realized I wasn't thinking very positively about my poor infant starter so I tried some affirmations. I don't know if you've heard of Dr. Masaru Emoto's famous experiments with water, but he proved that words and emotions can affect the structure of water molecules.

Like if you speak negatively to water or play sad music, the crystals look misshapen and wild, but when they hear Vivaldi's Spring and you say "you're doing great, liquid friend," the molecules look beautiful and orderly under a microscope.

Proverbs 18:21 says "life and death are in the power of the tongue." I love it when science and faith dance together like that.

Between the Clorox and my general attitude toward my totally optional sourdough starter, I knew it needed some love so I took off the head gear for a minute and whispered. "I love you, God loves you, Jesus loves you."

Afterward, I wondered if those last two were a lie. Does Jesus love my sourdough starter? Well He invented bread so why wouldn't He.

Selena, I hope you make it. If not, we can hold Clorox at least partially responsible.

Hope you're doing well in your corner of the world!

xo Bunmi

Psalm of the Day:

For You will light my lamp

The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.

For by You I can run against a troop,

By my God I can leap over a wall.

As for God, His way is perfect.

The word of the Lord is proven.

He is a shield to all who trust in Him.