Costco flour... did I make a mistake?
Day one: Three days ago I was very eager to start my very first sourdough starter, but at the time all I had was Costco's Ardent Mills Harvest all-purpose flour. With that flour and some pineapple juice I made a hundred percent hydration starter.On this on this day the starter was very rubbery.
Day two: is when I first started noticing air bubbles, but not too many. Starter was still very rubbery. I did not feed on Day 2
Day three: today on day 3 I noticed the same amount of air bubbles but again not too many. Starter was not as rubbery and more like a batter consistency. Today I purchased King Arthur all purpose flour for my very first feeding. ( 56 grams of King Arthur flour in 56 grams of pineapple juice)
Did I screw things up by using a very cheap costco flour to start my starter?
King Arthur All Purpose Flour is a great option! I use their flour too! I might suggest adjusting your starter recipe a bit. Buy the following:
-an equal sized bag of King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour or your local chain supermarket's Whole Wheat flour
-buy a 24 oz. jar of pickles
-enjoy the entire jar of pickles immediately upon arriving home and thoroughly clean out the glass jar
-mix equal portions of the All Purpose Flour and the Whole Wheat Flour in a sealable container
-add 100 grams of the 1/2 all purpose, 1/2 whole wheat mix to the jar
-add 100 grams of spring water, 6.0 - 7.0 pH. You can use your tap water, just let it air out over night to let the chlorine dissipate
-stir your mix until it has the consistency of a thick pancake batter. Cover the jar with cheese cloth or paper towel. If paper towel, punch holes in the towel, so air and the yeast carried in the air can get to the mixture. Put your starter in a consistently warm location in your home.
-wait four or five days for the bacterias on the flours to react with the natural yeasts floating around your home. The bacterias are feeding on the yeast and the result of this is bubbles, hooch and possibly a crust on the surface. This is the beginning of your starter culture. It might begin to smell like a bad cheese, eventually it will improve in smell.
-stir the the whole mass together and then dump out 80 % of the mixture.
-add 100 grams of your 1/2 all purpose, 1/2 whole wheat flour mixture and 100 grams of water to your jar. In the next 24 - 36 hours you should begin to see the mixture rising in the jar and it becoming aerated with many bubbles. Keep up the same feedings ever 6 to 12 hours.
My house is at sea level and is 67 - 72 F most of the winter, so the above results were achieved in those time periods. It may be a shorter wait for you in a warmer climate or at a higher altitude.
The golden rules here are patience and observation...
Good luck!
As in, equal weights of flour and pineapple juice? I've used various flours from Costco (I don't recall if any were the Ardent Mills variety) and none of them would produce a "rubbery" dough at 100% hydration. At that hydration, most would be on the boundary between a very sloppy dough and a rather thick batter.
Be that as it may, add some whole rye or whole wheat flour to the mix. The yeasts and bacteria that you want will be present in the flour, not floating around in the air. And, since whole grain flours retain more of the outer layers of the kernels, they also bring more yeasts and bacteria with them than are present in a white flour.
Since you've begun with the Pineapple Juice Solution method for beginning a starter, stick with that instead going off in different directions. It is a simple and reliable method that works. The only thing I would suggest is that if the starter looks bubbly and active, feed it. If it is going through a quiet phase, wait until you see activity before feeding again. Above all, be patient. A starter is its own ecosystem and it takes a few days to sort itself out. The pineapple juice shortens that process by a couple of days but it isn't instantaneous.
Happy waiting!
Paul
As I recall, Costco's AP flour has got additives in it which is why I don't use it. Trader Joe's AP and Wheat flours are virtual clones of King Arthur flour at a fraction of the cost. For some reason, in my area, King Arthur flour prices fluctuate according to season ranging from $3 to $5 for five pound bags. Trader Joe's is ALWAYS $3 per five pound bags. I will buy KA when it is $3 and TJ when it's not. I keep 20 lb on hand. The starter doesn't seem to care if it's KA or TJ. It's been going strong for 10 years now. I only use AP flour and water for my starter.
I use whatever flour I have for my starter. So far I haven't been burned.
A comment on store brand flours: I was very surprised and quite happy to learn that the Club Pack flour from my local SuperStore was sourced from a nearby local grower. So in fact the ClubPack was both grown and milled less than 50 kms from home. I don't know how Costco sources but generally speaking in Canada the quality of their products is always dependable. One can always research the supplier since the information is provided on the bag. All Costco's will not have the same supplier. It will be divided up geographically.
I agree with Paul (@pmcool) but suggest in addition that the flour be organic whole wheat or rye.
A little while back I tried the Organic Ardent Mills flour. The discussion is here. The new flour did not meet my expectations though it was low in cost. I suggest adding a bit of diastatic malt to boost flavor, rise and oven spring. I didn't notice any "rubberiness" in the levain build - temperature was ~68dF.
Best, Wild-Yeast