crossing the sourdough threshold!
OK I have been doing pretty well with my sourdough and home prepared starters. I have really cracked it and am making fine sourdough bread, BUT...
Last night my starter was super stinky. I can deal with that, sometimes it is like old socks and swamp water. I made a loaf, maybe with a little too much starter, and it was a bit runny... and I had to stir the brown, scummy liquid into it. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but the stink as the bread was cooking was intense like the starter was. Stunk out the whole house and the bread stinks too. On the bright side it has excellent crumb, texture and elasticity. Also tastes good, but smells rank.
Is this bread healthy or unhealthy? Will it kill me? Is it full of toxins from the over ebulient starter?
Has anyone had their own bread turn on them like this before?
Is it because I added extra stuff (salt, sugar, linseed/almond/soybean olive oil). Or can this just happen if too much starter is used.
Did I just let the starter get out of hand over the two weeks it was brewing?
Any Ideas?
I wish you could smell and taste this loaf, it's like a whole new category.
Jaq.
Hi Jaq,
How often do you feed your starter, and how much do you feed it?
If you're feeding it regularly, and it's healthy, it should not be stinky at all.
If you have a lot of "hooch" (alcohol waste produced by yeast), it means your starter is starving for food! Some people stir the hooch back in, I never do. And yes, if you had a lot of it, and stirred it back in, and then used a large amount in your bread, your bread could taste of it.
If/when my starter gets stinky (after sitting unfed in the fridge for a couple of weeks), I save a few tablespoons, set it out at room temp and start feeding it regularly again, that is, 2x per day.
--c
maybe leuconostoc. That's a fairly stinky group that are often prevalent in the first 2-4 days of a new starter's development. Lots of bubbles and froth, lots of bad odors, but the action is all bacteria-driven, not yeast-driven.
An established, healthy starter should not smell like old socks and swamp water. Instead, the odor should be yeasty/fruity/winey. An acetone odor would indicate that the starter is seriously underfed.
Some more information about your starter would be helpful. You mention that it has been "brewing" for a couple of weeks. How much and how often do you feed it? Is it at room temperature, or refrigerated? If room temperature, what is the temperature range? What consistency do you keep your starter? A batter? A dough? Has it ever had a stage where it was not stinky?
Additional details will make it easier to arrive at a diagnosis.
Paul
The starter was a batter. On the fridge probably from 15 - 22 celcius. not fed for about two weeks. When I made the last loaf it was not stinky and the bread was mild... almost too mild. I stirred the brown liquid into the flour which was at the bottom of the dish.
But I have already learnt from your post.
The recipe I have been using describes a fresh starter. I see I will have to look into culturing and maintaining a healthy starter.
I have been rising/proving the loaf floating overnight in a covered Japanese bath full of 38 degree water and having amazing loaves. Good in this cold Melbourne climate.
Comments on the random starter appreciated.
Jaq.
Hope that helps a little bit. I'm sure others can provide more help. Good luck.
It sounds like you could use some basic direction about how to start a starter and feed a new culture. There are lots of ways to do this but I suggest you take a look at Debra Winks tutorial on the subject HERE. This is the second part of a technical paper that might be more information than you wanted. Scroll down near the end and start with PHASE ONE. The pineapple helps prevent that nasty smelling bacteria from taking hold.
This is going to take 10-14 days to get your starter stable tending to it twice a day at room temperature. Hope this helps.
Eric
All very helpful. I naively thought it was good to use whatever bacteria or fungus decided to colonize the sourdough. This has been working fine until this species from the Dark side arrived to conquer the top of my fridge.
I really appreciate all the advice. if any of you are ever in Melbourne, come over for a slice of (Non stinky) bread wit Vegemite... or perhaps Jam.
Jaq.