sourdough starters
Since the unfortunate demise of my starter and the jar of leftovers I have been busy making new ones. SourdoLady's pineapple juice one and the yogurt one I started out with originally. SourdoLady, the pineapple one started out well but hasn't done much of anything since I changed to ap flour and water. I have stirred like crazy, added a spoonful of rye, even tried the apple cider vinegar. I am now to day 11 and there are bubbles on the surface but no sign of rising. What do you think - should I keep on repeating day 4 or toss it and start again? I really want it to work. On the other hand, the yogurt one is pounding his chest and pawing the ground and today I made some of the best sourdough bread so far, using Susan's recipe with the overnight sponge. Could it be sibling rivalry? Should I sit them side by side to encourage the timid one? If you think I should continue I will, but I still have more pineapple juice so I could try again. Thanks in advance for any suggestions, A
Comments
You say it was doing fine at first--was it actively bubbling and rising? Are you using bottled water? I have never had that recipe fail me. Are you keeping it in a warmish place? I'd switch back to the wholegrain flour and pineapple juice for feeding and see if it wakes up. Do that for a few days and see what happens.
SourdoLady, I used your procedure and got a great starter. I used orange juice instead of pineapple juice. There were a few early days when it smelled like spoiled orange juice, though this stage didn't last long. I'm just curious if you also have a spoiled fruit aroma using pineapple juice.
SourdoLady, good news, or at least I think so. I used ww flour this morning and when I got home a few minutes ago (8.45pm) it had risen 3/4" above the marking tape! Yay! I have to say my house hasn't been warm these last few days so it could have been chilled, and my other thought was that my ww flour could have been old, even though I store it in the freezer. So I'm sorry I whined, and I'm hoping for great things. Oh, and yes, I use bottled water. Many thanks yet again, A