The Fresh Loaf

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Starter too active! Eats up food in <4hrs!

SLanney's picture
SLanney

Starter too active! Eats up food in <4hrs!

Hey everyone,

So my 100% hydration starter has finally awoken after a long lull (thanks to Lechem!) and has been pretty active - almost a bit too active unfortunately(?). Currently I feed it 50% WW/Whole Rye and this bugger is a beast. First when I feed it at 9am, it's already peaked by 12-1pm in a 78F room. I can't manage the thermostat since I'm in an apartment unfortunately... The original plan was to do two feedings, one at 9am and one at 10pm but this isn't working out. 

For example I fed it at 9am this morning, and I just checked on it (6pm) and it has already collapsed from peak with a sharp nose-burning smell (felt like sniffing HCl, not really, but almost). Currently I'm doing a 1:2:2 feed (through reducing carryover) since I figured 1:1:1 isn't enough for this guy. Should I reduce starter carryover even more? Not sure how to proceed at this point. I really want to keep it outta the fridge till this weekend so that I can bake my first sourdough while it's super active but it seems to be a bit uncontrollable at this point... 

Not sure how to proceed in reigning in this monster, sending SOS to TFL. Also super excited to bake my first sourdough this weekend!

Thanks!

 

Lechem's picture
Lechem (not verified)

Congrats on getting over that quiet stage. You win! Sounds as if all is very well indeed but that strong smell, which is often acrylic, means it's hungry. A starter which is fed everyday and is always active will peak quickly depending on feed amount and temperature of course. But say you keep your starter in the fridge and then after a week or two take it out and feed it then it may but take 12 hours to peak. But then when mature you feed it again it'll peak quicker! Yours is kept at room temperature (or warmer) and fed constantly then no wonder it's a hungry bugger. It'll eat you out of house and home. 

My first question is does it always smell like this or does it go through changes? Say, sweet when first fed, nice and yeasty when peaked but strong and acrylic when fallen? Or... Does it always have this strong smell? 

What happens if you try the float test when peaked? 

What you can do is feed 1:5:5 and use cold water from the fridge. Your starter will benefit from this healthier feed and it'll take longer to peak. So to will the cold water help. 

Sounds as if you're ready for a bake this coming weekend. Any ideas? 

P.s. another idea would be to lower the hydration. A stiff starter will take longer to peak then a liquid one. You could do 1:3:5 as your feed. Turing it into a 60% hydration starter after a feed or two. I keep my starter like a piece of dough. 

 P.P.S. I've just seen your flour mix as 50:50 whole wheat and rye. So if you do go down that route then perhaps a feed of 1:4:5 would be better taking into consideration the wholegrain flour you're using. 

SLanney's picture
SLanney

Thanks! You could only imagine my excitement at seeing it bubbles then blow up after being fed! 

This is the first time is smelled this strong but i kinda just opened the lid and took a huge whiff, I was at work so I'm not sure how long it's been collapsed for (probably 4hrs after collapse). Other than that the smell is has always been quite pleasant and yeasty a few hours after feeding. Just as a precaution, if the acrylic smell keeps coming back should I be concerned? 

I'll give the float test a try tomorrow or tonight (just fed it 10g:55g:55g prior to seeing your post), I think it'll pass seeing the level of expansion (more than doubles) but we'll see I guess! Cold water is a great idea, should slow down the fermentation considerably. 

Ahaha not entirely sure but I'm feeling like a 5-10% rye with AP with a levain+autolyse; first time working with non-AP and sourdough so it'll definitely be an experience. I binged on some amazing videos on the YouTubes from Trevor J. Wilson; his technique is pretty interesting and his bread looks gorgeous so I want to try something similar... 

By 1:4:5 do you mean 5 parts water or flour? I plan on switching to unbleached AP after my WW runs out, this is just temporary since I've run out of AP weirdly enough.  

Thanks again, I'd give you an MVP award if I could :) 

 

 

Modern Jess's picture
Modern Jess

- i kinda just opened the lid and took a huge whiff

Yeah, I've made that mistake a few times. It's pretty sharp when you first take the lid off. Give it a moment. 

Lechem's picture
Lechem (not verified)

First whiff after a closed lid can be very strong. Good point. 

SLanney's picture
SLanney

Hahaha yup, you'll never see me doing that again... 

Lechem's picture
Lechem (not verified)

By 1:4:5 I mean, for example, 10g starter + 40g water + 50g flour.

Pleasant when fed and peaked sounds good. Strong smell means hungry and don't be concerned. Young starters can be unpredictable, go wild and have this hungry smell. It'll mature and become more predictable over the next few weeks. Hard part is over though.

If you do switch to AP then make sure you keep 20% whole Rye (wholegrain is beneficial) and if you do wish to lower the hydration then you can go down to as low as 50%. Not necessary but an option. 

Trevor's videos are great. Most are quite high hydration but you can alter that if you wish. Another option is the Vermont Sourdough by Hamelman. 

Seeing you succeed is my reward. Others helped me on this site. I'm just passing the knowledge on. And so will you :)

SLanney's picture
SLanney

Should've mentioned 50/50 rye/AP! I'll check out Vermont Sourdough and probably binge that too... 

Lazy Loafer's picture
Lazy Loafer

Firstly, now that it's a mature and active starter, there's no reason not to keep it in the fridge. I keep my mother culture in the fridge all the time. When I want to bake I take a little bit out, feed it 1:2:2 and then bake with it six to 12 hours later. So if I want to make dough in the morning I'll make the levain for the dough (from the mother culture) before I go to bed. If I want to make the dough in the evening (so it can ferment overnight), I make the levain in the morning. Refresh the mother when it's getting low (say, down to 50 grams of it), or once a week. Let it peak then put it back in the fridge.

Second, cut back on the rye flour. Rye will ferment a lot more quickly than wheat, so it's no wonder it's rising and collapsing so fast, especially when you are constantly feeding it.