Ratios and Liquids question on starting sourdough

In answer to your questions:  there are many ways to get a starter going.  Pick the one you like.  But, to take your questions :

1) Pineapple juice will get you started faster, because it adjusts the pH of the liquid to one that that the lactobacteria and the yeast prefer.  Search the "pineapple solution" in the search box upper right of this page.

2) All ratios will work; I prefer 1:1 by weight.  That gives you 100% hydration.

3) Measuring by weight is more accurate, than measuring by volume.  I like to measure by weight.  Later, you will find that you can judge the amount of flour to add by the consistency of the dough, but still keep the weight as your starting point.

I have sent you an e-mail on the pineapple solution for making a starter.,

Ford

a handful of 50% whole wheat flour + 50% white AP and added roughly the same amount (in weight) of water. I mixed it well, making a smooth paste and then covered it with a cloth and let it sit in a corner until it got bubbly under the crust. It took about 5 days or so (temperatures in the house was about 65 - 68 degrees). Then I removed 80% of it, and fed it with 4 oz of water and 4 oz of the flour mixture. Once it was active and healthy (rising and falling), I started weaning it off of the whole wheat, only giving it white AP. I use King Arthur's methods which I believe is 4 oz of flour + 4 oz of water.

A tip... put a rubber band around the level of where the starter is so you can easily see how much it has risen. After the culture is going.

I've tried just about every method I've seen on TFL - quite a few.  Every one has worked but  some took a lot longer than others.

Least amount of work MinI Ovens make a golf ball size dough ball with WW at 66% hydration and bury in in a brown paper bag that has AP flour in it to cover, seal the bag and put it on the fridge for 7 days.  Crack open the hard hell and there will be a soft starter inside.

Fastest to make bread - 3-4 days Joe Ortiz's WW, Cumin and a bit of milk and the Rye Sour starter here that i am making today http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/42120/finally-dark-pumpernickel

Most used Debra Winks Pineapple Juice Starter

Happy starter making 

I've tried just about every method I've seen on TFL - quite a few.  Every one has worked but  some took a lot longer than others.

Least amount of work MinI Ovens make a golf ball size dough ball with WW at 66% hydration and bury in in a brown paper bag that has AP flour in it to cover, seal the bag and put it on the fridge for 7 days.  Crack open the hard hell and there will be a soft starter inside.

Fastest to make bread - 3-4 days Joe Ortiz's WW, Cumin and a bit of milk and the Rye Sour starter here that i am making today http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/42120/finally-dark-pumpernickel

Most used Debra Winks Pineapple Juice Starter

Happy starter making 

I went through starting a starter last month, so my memories of doing so are still fairly fresh. As Ford noted, you can do so in may ways - probably hundreds. I read or watched videos about at least 15-20, and while I don't think I got completely confused, I was hit by a degree of information overload. As a result, what I suggest is to pick a method that has worked reliably for others, and to stick with it. Resist the temptation you may well feel to start using bits of advice from here and there. Any decent method with a track record is basically certain to work. It may take a week or two before it's ready to bake with depending on your particular circumstances (temp, flour, water, etc.), and more time after that to mature enough to be predictable, so be prepared to show some patience. 

Fwiw, after some fiddling, I went completely basic - just AP and filtered tap water at 100% hydration.

One of the good things I like about bread, cooking etc. is that generally there are many ways to achieve the same thing - however this can also lead to massive confusion, so one way is to pick a well known author, read their books, blogs, etc. and follow their way - until you have more confidence to branch out.

So to add to the pot, here are a few suggestions from me.

Keep the starter at 100% hydration - that is equal quantities of flour and water by weight (get digital scales if you don't already have some!)

I've never used pineapple juice, fruits, etc. it just worked for me...

I started with stoneground organic wheat and water, then moved to organic bread flour after a couple of days. Day 1: 100g flour + 100g water, mix with fingers, cover, leave. Day 2, add 100g flour + 100g water, mix with fingers, cover and leave. Repeat on day 3. Day 4, take half out, use it to make crumpets, add 100+100 again.

You get the drift, but by now it ought to be bubbling and showing life. Mine always have at this point. Maybe I'm lucky.

At this stage, well, the world is your hexaploid. I keep mine in the fridge from this point onwards and use it directly (overnight ferment) if there is enough, or I bulk it up 6-8 hours prior to kneading (by taking X mother from fridge, adding 2X water and 2X flour, mix, leave 6-8 hours, use).

I've still absolutely not idea what people are going on about when they write 1:2:3, etc. doesn't stop me making soudough bread on a daily basis...

-Gordon

and I just posted my method in answer to another question copied here for convenience sake.

Get some rye flour and make your own starter.  The rye seems to work really well.  I did an experiment this week.  I had originally started my rye sour with some of my wheat mother.  This week I just took rye flour and water, mixed them together in a little half cut tuperware container and let them sit on the counter.  House temp hovers around 60 dF this time of year.

The next day it had separated so I discarded (something I rarely do) half and fed it with more rye flour and water...about 3 teaspoons flour and slightly more water. I did this two more times over three days and by the third day I saw pretty good activity....the starter had double and was fluffy but not really sour smelling.  I didn't go any further but if I continued with this for another 4-5 days, I'm sure I would have had a pretty good starter.  I actually just fed that to Rodney....my rye starter.

I keep my established starters in the fridge, taking out only what I need to create a levain build...using whatever flour will be predominant in that particular bread.  I feed them when they start to go low but at least once every one or two weeks.  They are healthy.  I also don't stress too much on amounts.....I mostly know what I want it to look like and put enough flour and water to reach that consistency.

I too am new at this.  I found what works for me.  Hope it does for you.

Try this...

50g bread flour

50g wheat flour...  all flour has yeast in it. 

100g water

Mix it together in a cereal bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. 

Leave it it on your kitchen counter for 48 hours.

After 48 hours dump half of it, 100g, and add 12.5g bread flour, 12.5 wheat flour and 50g water. Cover it with plastic wrap and leave it on your counter top for 24 hours. Do that daily. 

On day 3, 4 or 5 your starter will look fully bloomed. It will look like an active starter... But, it won't pass the float test.

Then in the next day or 2... It will go flat! It will look like it died. This is called the "Stall". The 2 bacteria in your starter are fighting for position and will quit producing Co2. That's why your fully bloomed starter goes flat, and looks like it has died. 

Pour half of it out and add what you dumped out... 12.5g bread flour, 12.5 wheat flour and 50g water. 

Do the same routine daily even though you think your starter is dead. 

On day 10, 11 or 12... Your starter will be in full bloom again and this time it will pass the float test, that you can bake a loaf of bread with. 

Most people mess up because they see no reason to keep feeding a dead horse. There is science going on inside your starter that is building its infrastructure. 

There is no need for fruit juices or anything but flour and water. There is wild yeast everywhere. 

Don't believe the myth that your starter needs to breath air... It doesn't! Keep your starter container covered/sealed at all times. The fruit flies will contaminate it. 

I have a 4 year old starter that has been completely sealed, except when I open the lid to use it or feed it.

So... Feed through the Stall and in 10 to 12 days you will have a healthy starter you can bake a loaf of bread with. 

People have made it seem like a real miracle that they can create an active sourdough starter. When in reality wild yeast is everywhere in the entire world and has been for 1000's of years.

Buying/selling a sourdough starter is the biggest hustle in the bread baking industry!!! If you buy a San Francisco starter to try to get that tangy flavor, your local yeast will take over your starter within 2 months. That tangy flavor can be created in every starter by controlling which of the 2 bacteria is dominating your starter. 1 likes warm temperatures but pretty much goes to sleep in cold temperatures. The other thrives in cold temps. Want tangy? Keep it in the refrigerator for a few days and don't feed it. Want a mellow, no tang flavor... Leave it on your counter top and feed it twice a day. 

Note... If you follow the system above, You've been maintaining a 200g, 100% hydration starter for 12 days. If you need 600 grams of starter for your next cook... Dump out half of it, 100g, and add 150g of bread flour, 150g of WW flour and 300g of water. Within 4 to 6 hours you will have 700g of active starter that will pass the float test. Use 600g and then feed the remaining 100g only the amount you need for your next cook. 

If you try this... I guarantee it will work. 

"2) I've seen methods using 1:1 ratio on flour and water, 2:1, and 3:1... Although the most frequent is 1:1. Is there "a best one"?"

The best one is 1:1... Because when you are trying to scale recipes up or down you can use the bakers percentage to use less starter and more flour and you can convert that in your head. If you use the 2:1 or 3:1 starters, you'll need a calculator.