The Fresh Loaf

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Starter a la Tartine

Julius's picture
Julius

Starter a la Tartine

I followed the recipe in the Tartine book #2 for making a starter. By day 3 I saw some activity but by day 4 a crust had formed as well as some mold and a foul smell - not the nice foul smell of a bubbling starter but a really foul smell of a rotten starter. I threw everything out and tried again, only to have the same thing happen.

Could someone tell me what I did wrong??

Julius

timbit1985's picture
timbit1985

Start with pure rye flour, and pineapple juice. An enzyme in pineapple juice (as well as the acidity) inhibits certain types of non desirable growth. I've had much success with Peter Reinharts method. 

lepainSamidien's picture
lepainSamidien

Hey Julius,

Welcome to an adventure that is as beautiful as it is frustrating: the pursuit of your very own sourdough starter !

It is quite possible that you did NOTHING wrong, but rather, that the starter was simply progressing through a very normal course of fermentation, during which different bacteria are vying for limited resources and often producing some very off smells and flavors. Often, the first few days of feeding will yield an unpleasant funky odor, which will pass after the environment becomes more acidic and the not-so delicious bacteria find survival quite impossible.

Tartine's method of producing a viable starter is hit-or-miss, in my experience. I believe tidbit's suggestion is more fail-safe, though I would argue that the pineapple juice is more of an insurance policy than a necessary amendment. I have made many starters just from rye flour and water, starting with 100% whole grain rye flour for two days, then slowly adding increasing amounts of wheat flour (white or whole) as the starter begins to stabilize.

Good luck !

timbit1985's picture
timbit1985

I should also mention that I keep my starter as a 60-66% hydration pure rye lump in my fridge. I find the 100% starters to be a bit high-maintenance for my liking. The less wet the dough, the slower the beasties eat the food. Thus I can be lazy and not feed my starter as often.

 

 The pineapple juice isn't required, but it really helps prevent infections. I like to keep my starter as a lump of rye for 2 reasons. I feel like the starter makes a tastier more sour bread when fed rye as a starter (personal opinion, from my experience. YMMV)  and that when it comes time to make a levain or preferment, it's much easier to break up a lump of rye than a lump of whole-wheat. If you keep your starter at 100%, breaking up the starter is a non-issue. 

 

 

Good luck, keep trying! You'll get there.  

mariana's picture
mariana

Hi Julius,

The only thing that you did wrong is to throw it away : ) Another, possibly, to allow the mold to grow. To prevent it, dust the surface of the starter generously with dry flour. Mold only grows on wet surfaces. 

When it smells rotten, putrid, that is the time when it is ready to be fed for the first time. Try it. You'd be rewarded with a gorgeous smelling starter after feeding this rotten mass. 

Mine (when I make Tartine starter from scratch) always smells like the most rotten, stinkiest moldy cheese ever. Horrendous, revolting odor. I always welcome it. Without it I cannot get the Tartine starter going . This smell is the smell of non-sourdough lactic acid bacteria producing lactic acid and sterilizing starter dough from bad bacteria. 

So, next time cover the freshly mixed batter with a thick blanket of flour, to prevent mold and rot forming on the surface of the dough. When the time comes, on the third or fourth day, lift up the crust and take a teaspoon of liquid underneath and add to a cup of fresh wheat flour batter. And wait for a miracle of the cleanest milky fragrance develop as starter will begin to ferment and rise happily. 

mariana

mc_janine's picture
mc_janine

The crust is normal. Just stir it in and it will dissolve. The mold...not so much.

Wild-Yeast's picture
Wild-Yeast

Obtain organic stone ground whole wheat flour and organic stone ground dark rye. Mix 3 parts pure water (bottled) with 2 parts whole wheat and 1 part rye (approximately 120 grams total). Cover and place in a place that comes close to 77 dF (but below 85 dF) and allow the mixture to begin fermentation. Stir the mixture once a day till activity becomes evident (under 3 days, generally 2 days).  Once the mixture exhibits the right characteristics (smell, bubbling and taste) switch over to a 1:2:2 (starter:flour:water) regimen using regular bread flour to strengthen and stabilize the starter (bump the total to 300 grams total). The starter will be ready for bread making by the second or third iteration. 

Find a container that you'll be using long term to mix and store the starter. I find that containers with transparent sides with volume gradations are ideal for this purpose (Cambro brand highly recommended).

Regenerate the starter at each build with approximately 20-25 grams of starter mixing it with 100 grams water and 100 grams bread flour. Always allow the new starter to ferment for 4-7 hours to insure a complete inoculation of the new starter (length of time is temperature dependent).

I've made and remade lost starters using this method (also without the organic dark rye flour) many times without fail. It assumes that an unadulterated, minimally processed flour incorporates all the necessary ingredients to establish a sourdough fermentation - just add pure water, keep at 77 dF and wait...,

Wild-Yeast