HI All,

I am new to Sourdough and have been looking at this site for the last couple days.  I made a starter about 9 days ago. The starter is very active and I can not wait to start making bread. I would just like some clarification on a couple things.  The hydration % of my starters, feeding, and a couple others.  I have read SO many threads and my head is ready to explode!  The following is the recipe for my "Mother" starter:

DAY 1-3

2tbs. ww flour

2tbs water

mix and let sit 24hours

Day 4-6:

Take 1/4c starter(throwing out the rest)

1/4c flour(half ap and ww)

1/4c water

mix and let sit.

Day 7 use.

From what I have read on this site, the starter is at 200% hyd.  Am I correct?  I then took 100gr of starter, water, and flour to make a 100% starter.  Is this correct?  To make the 50% hyd starter would I  take 100gr starter, water, and 200 gr. flour?

Now feeding the starter. If I take out 50gr of 100% starter I should replace it with 50gr. water and flour?   For the 50% starter if I removed 50 gr. starter I would replace 50gr. water and 100gr flour.  (The numbers are just for example other than the recipe for the Mother starter.)

I am looking for a sour Sourdough.  I read JMonkey thread on  getting more sour out of your Sourdough.  One of the tips is using a firm (50%hyd.)starter.  I made a firm starter yesterday and left it on my counter.  I fed it this morning and left it to sit.  How long can I leave it on the counter feeding it once a day?  I plan on making bread with this starter on Tuesday.  I am having a hard time finding recipes using firm starter.  Could anybody suggest a recipe for a white Sourdough using a firm starter?

I am sure I will have a lot more questions not too far down the road. 

Thank you very much for any and all help.

The most common question I hear about sourdough starters is how to create one. There are a lot of good threads on that here, and many people have reported success with one or another of the methods described in these pages.

The question I hear next most often is, "Did I kill my starter?" This usually happens because the starter has turned a funky color, and maybe started to smell funny, after being either underfed or neglected.

The answer I give, and one you'll read over and over in these pages, is that it's nearly impossible to kill a healthy starter, and that a starter can suffer a lot of abuse and neglect and still bounce back.

As if to prove this theory, I recently neglected my starter for about a month. Check out this post to read about my experience and see before and after pictures of my neglected starter.

And to answer your question, no, chances are you didn't kill your starter.

I am brand new to this forum and haven't had much time to peruse the site, but do like what I see thus far and am hoping to gain much information as I have time to read and learn.  Hopefully someone is online now and can give me some feedback ASAP.  Previously, I baked the Sourdough Banana Bread someone posted and it was the best banana bread we've ever eaten!  It rose good and had such great flavor!  I'm getting ready to bake more of it, which brings me to this post!   I'm new to using and maintaining Sourdough Starter so there is much I do not know regarding taking care of it.  How do I know my starter is okay to use if I have not fed it recently?  I've "heard" it is important to feed Sourdough Starter at least once or twice the day or night before you are to use it.  I haven't fed my starter for about 3 or 4 days.  Does that mean I shouldn't bake with it today and should instead feed it today and bake tomorrow, or is there a way to tell it is healthy and okay to use today?  I would prefer not to waste ingredients if the starter is not okay to use, thus my question.  Thanks in advance for feedback.

Janedo currently has a nice entry on her blog about sourdough starter feeding and sourdough baking during the heat of Summer. (It's in French, and I haven't checked the English version.)

Anyway, Jane offers some good things to think about as the weather heats up. (It's 106F where I am today.)

Here is a link:

http://aulevain.canalblog.com/archives/2009/06/22/14168757.html

Enjoy!

David

Hi everyone!  This is my first post. 

I've had a starter, named "Les," going for about three weeks now.  I started Les out by following the Sourdough Lady's 'Wild Yeast Sourdough Starter' blog instructions to the letter.  Everything went flawlessly, and I made it through one loaf that was pretty good - nice and sour and pretty much what I was looking for. Following this loaf, however, Les has gone downhill.  He's lost all his sour smell and seems to spend most of his time just making a translucent hooch and not much else - very low volume of growth and bubbles.  I've added a little cidar vinegar to see if he'll perk back up, but so far not much luck. 

I followed the directions to the letter UNTIL after that last loaf, when I put Les into the Fridge.  At that point I started feeding him only every couple of days, when he seemed like he was slowing down.

What happened?  Did I kill him by putting him in the fridge, or am I maybe not feeding him enough?  Or is it maybe something else entirely?  Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Can somebody shed some light on this for me? Why is it so important to use "unbleached" bread or "unbleached" regular flour when baking and feeding your sourdough. Does the bleaching have an adverse effect on the yeasts? Thanks,

Jim