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Private Digital Access · Starter Rescue Guide
Unlock your Sourdough Starter Rescue Guide.
This is the private guide room for customers who purchased the Eat Well ABQ Sourdough Starter Rescue Guide. Enter your access password to open the videos, symptom charts, feeding help, rescue routine, and next steps.
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Need a clean starter?
If your starter is moldy, unsafe, or too far gone, Dehydrated Cora is the clean starter reset option from Eat Well ABQ.
View Cora
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Digital guides are for at-home help. The in-person sourdough class is for bakers who want Chef Evangalene to walk them through it.
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What this guide room is for.
The Starter Rescue Guide is built for home bakers whose sourdough starter is not rising, separating, smelling sharp, looking weak, or feeling confusing. It gives you a clean path: check the symptoms, understand what may be happening, follow the rescue rhythm, and know when to restart.
Buy the Starter Rescue Guide
Unlock this private guide room with starter troubleshooting, video support, charts, rescue steps, and downloadable guide content.
$20 Digital AccessGet Dehydrated Cora
If your starter is moldy, unsafe, or you want a clean reset, start again with dehydrated Cora from Eat Well ABQ.
Fresh start optionTake the Sourdough Class
Want Chef Evangalene to walk you through starter care, dough feel, shaping, scoring, and baking in person?
Hands-on helpWelcome inside the Starter Rescue Guide.
Your starter is not automatically dead. Most sourdough starter problems come from feeding rhythm, temperature, flour, water ratio, timing, acidity, or routine. Start here, follow the steps, and work toward a healthy, active starter again.
Video walkthroughs
Watch Chef Evangalene walk through the rescue.
These are ready for your videos. Replace each placeholder with a YouTube embed after filming. The layout is already built so the content can grow without rebuilding the page.
Video placeholder: Welcome to the Starter Rescue Guide
Welcome from Chef Evangalene
How to use the guide, what to check first, and why most starter problems are fixable with rhythm and patience.
Video placeholder: Is my starter dead?
Is my starter dead?
What to check before throwing it away: smell, bubbles, mold, color, texture, and feeding response.
Video placeholder: Why is my starter not rising?
Why it may not be rising
Temperature, feeding ratio, flour strength, timing, and routine can all affect starter activity.
Video placeholder: The 3-day rescue routine
The 3-day rescue routine
A simple rhythm for feeding, watching, and understanding what your starter is telling you.
Start here
What is actually going on with your starter?
A starter is a living culture. When it gets weak, acidic, cold, underfed, over-diluted, or ignored too long, it can act dead even when it is still recoverable. This guide helps you sort symptoms instead of guessing.
Most starter problems are routine problems.
Before you panic, check feeding timing, temperature, flour, water ratio, jar cleanliness, and whether your starter is getting enough fresh food to rebuild strength.
The goal is a healthy rhythm.
A healthy starter should show signs of life after feeding: bubbles, rise, aroma, and structure. The rescue plan helps you get back to a repeatable rhythm.
Symptom checker
Find the problem before you fix the wrong thing.
Use this quick chart to decide what to check first. The PDF can later expand each issue with deeper notes, examples, photos, and next steps.
1
Not rising:
Check kitchen temperature, feeding ratio, flour strength, timing, and whether the starter is too acidic from repeated underfeeding.
2
Liquid on top:
Often a hunger sign or separation. Feed consistently and watch how it responds after a fresh feeding.
3
Strong alcohol or acetone smell:
Your starter may be hungry, acidic, or sitting too long between feedings. Refresh it with a cleaner routine.
4
Too runny:
Review water ratio, flour type, and timing. A runny starter may need a thicker feeding and more structure.
5
Too thick or dry:
Check hydration and mixing. A stiff starter can still be active, but it may ferment differently and show fewer surface bubbles.
6
Mold, fuzz, or unsafe colors:
Do not use it. If you see fuzzy mold, pink/orange streaks, or rotten smells, restart safely with a clean jar.
Rescue rhythm
The 3-day starter rescue routine.
The biggest beginner mistake is changing everything every few hours. Give your starter a clean rhythm, then watch what changes.
Day 1
Reset the environment
Use a clean jar, keep a small amount of starter, feed with fresh flour and water, and place it somewhere warm but not hot. Watch for bubbles, smell, and texture.
Day 2
Feed on rhythm
Feed consistently instead of guessing. Look for rise, bubbles, and aroma. If it smells very sharp, reduce old starter and give it more fresh food.
Day 3
Read the response
If it begins rising and smelling balanced, keep building strength. If nothing improves and there are unsafe signs, restart with a clean starter source.
Feeding chart
Simple feeding ratio examples.
Ratios control how much fresh food your starter receives. The right ratio depends on temperature, starter strength, and how acidic it has become.
Ratio
What it means
When it may help
1:1:1
Equal parts starter, flour, and water.
Useful for a stable starter that is already active and just needs regular feeding.
1:2:2
One part starter, two parts flour, two parts water.
Helpful when a starter is hungry, sharp-smelling, or needs more fresh food.
1:3:3
One part starter, three parts flour, three parts water.
Helpful when acidity is high and you need to dilute old starter while rebuilding strength.
Thicker feed
Slightly less water for more structure.
Helpful when the starter is very runny or separating quickly.
Keep going or restart?
Know when to rescue and when to start fresh.
Keep going when...
There is no mold, no unsafe color, and the starter still shows some life after feeding. If it bubbles, smells acidic/alcohol-like, or changes texture, it may be recoverable.
Restart when...
You see fuzzy mold, pink or orange discoloration, rotten smells, or anything that feels unsafe. That is where dehydrated Cora gives you a clean reset.
Downloadable PDF goes here.
Once the Starter Rescue Guide PDF is made, upload it to Shopify files and replace this button link with the PDF file URL. The PDF should include the chart, rescue routine, feeding ratios, restart rules, and starter notes.
Want to restart with Cora?
If your starter is moldy, unsafe, or you just want a clean reset, dehydrated Cora gives you a fresh Eat Well ABQ starter source to rebuild from home.
Clean starter resetWant Chef to walk you through it?
Our hands-on sourdough class teaches starter care, mixing, shaping, scoring, baking, and troubleshooting with real guidance.
In-person classGift the starter help.
Know someone fighting their starter at home? Send an Eat Well ABQ gift card so they can use it toward classes, bakes, or future digital help.
Giftable supportYou are not just buying information. You are buying a way back to a healthy starter.
This guide is built to help you understand the signs, follow a rhythm, and make better decisions in your own kitchen. And when you need more help, Eat Well ABQ has Cora, classes, and Chef Evangalene ready for the next step.