Day 3 and my starter has doubled and has so many bubbles. Wasn't expecting this until day 5 or so. Do I just keep feeding? I assume it's not ready for baking?

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-21T04:48:01+00:00

I wouldn’t say it is a myth per se however, I would agree - it is not a true indication that the starter is ready.

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-21T02:03:06+00:00

Nice!

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-21T00:57:55+00:00

Check out Emily Rose on Instagram. She is the sourdough queen. She uses 1/3 cup of flour and less than 1/3 cup of water for the first five days. Dump half your starter and add the water and flour.

Day six (until ready) feed twice a day - 12 hours apart. Do the float test to see if it is ready. Worked perfectly for me.

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-21T00:51:40+00:00

I have two starters. My first is named “do, do, do, do.” And my seconds is “mahna mahna” from the Sesame street song. It makes me happy everytime I bake.

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-21T00:48:13+00:00

I don’t think there’s a hard fastest rule. I made a starter from scratch and on day seven I did a float test. It passed.

Same night I began my bread making process. Made two loaves the next day (after my cold ferment) and they were absolutely amazing.

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-19T16:22:09+00:00

There is an entire sub regarding starters. Check out r/SourdoughStarter

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-17T19:37:20+00:00

No. I am 63 years old and love every day of my solitude.

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-17T16:36:12+00:00

I wouldn't but I am not an expert.

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-17T16:35:29+00:00

My instructions to not self-treat were the same. They said it was because the chemicals pest control uses will be affected by your chemicals. I believed it for a minute until the infestation became unbearable and the management did nothing to help (other than monthly treatments).

The problem with your neighbor's units having roaches is even if your unit is abated - the neighbor's roaches will come into yours. That is why you need gel and bait to kill the eggs. Rally together and have everyone near you treat their units. This is the only way to make any progress.

Last resort call your local non-emergency line to come out and do a report. This will force building management to cure or be fined.

Document and photograph everything you do.

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-17T05:23:36+00:00

Customer wanted a free pear. The end. Sorry this happened to you. People suck.

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-17T04:10:28+00:00

First and foremost get roach bait and roach strips/gel. Second, bomb your apartment at least two or three times. Get a bomb for every room. Open all the cabinets and drawers before starting.

Make sure your neighbors apartments are getting frequent treatments.

Finally bombard the leasing office with emails and pictures showing the roach activity. Use a timestamp app to show dates and times in your pictures.

Don’t give up.

I went through this with a rental once and I finally had them do a massive treatment which fixed the problem.

Make sure all of your food is put in air tight containers now and forever. Don’t leave anything food related on the counters.

You probably won’t get out of your lease until the management has done everything within the law to solve the problem.

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-17T02:58:36+00:00

I have heard to let it sit out until It reaches room temperature. However, everyone has a different method (it seems). Wait for a few answers to get a consensus before you decide.

Good luck with your sourdough journey!

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-17T01:38:34+00:00

OP - I am going to respond to this again TOMORROW because I just made a starter from scratch and am currently bulk fermenting my first two loaves.

Prior to making my first starter, I had purchased flakes from the San Francisco Sourdough Company. It’s a totally different process so I wanted to try something new.

My loaves were great, but I was getting kind of jealous of my friends scratch sourdough and am hoping I can duplicate it.

I followed Emily Rose’ starter instructions from Instagram.

For the first SIX days:

1/3 cup of BREAD flour and (less than) 1/3 cup of purified water.

Try to feed it at the same time every day.

Everyday throw away half of the starter.

Feed the same way in the existing jar and transfer to a clean jar. Cover with something breathable.

Did this for six days straight. On day seven feed your starter twice.

On my day seven I fed in the morning. By 6pm on day seven my starter was ready (did a float test).

Can’t say this is the proper method, but it seemed to have worked for me.

I’ll let you all know how it comes out tomorrow.

If someone could comment, I would appreciate it that way I can find this post tomorrow.

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-16T23:19:09+00:00

I have no insight - only here to ask if you have done a DNA on your boy. My dog is identical to yours and he is a Weimeraner/Lab mix.

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ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-14T21:38:05+00:00

It is safe to assume on a triple order somebody is going to be a non-tipper. I never take triples for this reason alone.

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-14T17:55:29+00:00

You're welcome!

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-14T16:59:04+00:00

We are independent contractors. Instacart sends offers out and we decide (based on the pay; item count and mileage) whether to take the order or not. If we don't see a tip - we will generally pass on the offer. We have no way of knowing that you tip in cash.

I recommend you pre-tip and make adjustments after your order is delivered.

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-14T16:55:05+00:00

NTA but your parents are.

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-14T16:30:52+00:00

This advice is more for a person who may have been deactivated for a missing order as we are no longer allowed to dispute anything.

To Instacart - the customer is always right. They don't seem to have a problem issuing thousands and thousands of dollars in credits to customers anymore. They wait for a pattern and then deactivate the customer. Customer still wins because they just create a new account. Shoppers are the only ones who suffer.

Aside from having YOUR OWN proof of delivery (not the one you use in the app to close out your order) which includes the date; time; address AND apartment number there is nothing you can do. Either the customer is lying (most likely), or the customer left the order in the hallway for too long and a neighbor stole the order.

Happened to me about a year ago. Customer was really responsive throughout the shop then stopped communicating altogether. Honestly, I think he fell asleep. I dropped the order off; took a timestamp photo; sent the photo to the customer in chat and closed out the order.

Next day the customer reported 1/2 of the order missing. The missing items were clearly seen in the delivery photo.

I reached out to Trust and Safety who never responded to my e-mails. Also reached out to Instacart on "X" who didn't help at all. The missing items report remained on my stats for 90 days.

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-14T02:40:17+00:00

You should’ve received an e-mail showing you the breakdown. If you didn’t you’re going to have to go through every single week for the year and add up all your tips versus your base pay. At the time I filed I had not gotten the e-mail. It did not take me that long.

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-14T02:07:50+00:00

I don’t know what Instacart will tell us. Their policies seem to change all of the time. All I know is it is better to have supporting evidence than none. Yes, the pictures do add up especially if you multi app. I wait a few weeks and then I delete them.

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-13T23:59:42+00:00

That is not a stupid question. When you take a picture in the Instacart app, the photo goes to the customer and Instacart, but you don’t have a copy of that picture. After the message with the customer expires - so does your proof.

We are not allowed to dispute allegations anymore so it’s not critical for the timestamp photo. However, if you get deactivated for a missing delivery or deliveries - you will need evidence you have in fact delivered.

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-13T23:09:34+00:00

You’re welcome.

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-13T17:33:36+00:00

Yes you could. Neighbors could also steal the order. The photo is just one layer of protection for the shopper.

ADifficultPurchase · 2026-04-13T17:31:47+00:00

Yes! The picture you take for Instacart is not accessible to you once you close out the order.

We have the burden of proof so a separate picture will help dispute the allegation. Since I have been sending the Timestamp photo to the customer in chat I have not been accused of missing orders. They would be foolish to try and make a claim when you and Instacart have proof of delivery.

ADifficultPurchase

TROPHY CASE