September 24, 2016 - 3:44pm
sourdough 101 help!
Thanks all for your help on my question on the sourdough 101 post.
Ok so like I said, by day 3 I had a nice bubbly starter (which I've now been told is bad bacteria) I added day 4 ingredients and am yet to get a doubled rise. As per suggestions, I added 2 tbsp whole wheat flour and 1 tbsp water on day 5 and have since added nothing but have been stirring every 12 hours. It's is bubbly but nowhere near rising double- maybe 1/4... if that? The house is not cold so it should be at the right temperature.
What do I do now? Feed it? Just keep stirring?
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So its been a few days since all went quiet. Since then you have stirred it every 12 hours and gave it a teaspoon or two of fresh flour to offset the bad bacteria. It is now bubbling (which is promising) but not doubling. Sounds as if it is over the bad bacteria stage but because it hasn't had a big feed in a while it won't double. What does it smell like?
Should it smell okay and it's come back to life now is the time to go back to your normal feeds. Take off 2/3rds and top back up with 1/3rd water and 1/3rd flour by weight.
E.g. say you are left with 30g starter then top it up with 30g water + 30g fresh flour.
A nice healthy feed of 1:1:1. Should your starter be maturing nicely it'll now double. Don't know what you're feeding it but include some wholegrain. Rye is a good option.
Things should start to speed up now and when it rises on cue every time it is fed and smells good then it's ready. If it slows down at all then just skip a feed till it begins to bubble then carry on.
Sounds promising and should be ready soon if all goes fine.
P.s. A good healthy feed is 1:1:1 or higher. I have given you a 1:1:1 feed as an example. The bigger the amount of fresh flour fed to your starter the more it'll rise. Also one has to take into account how high the hydration is and what flour you are using. Doubling is a guide often used when making a starter or dough. You could feed your starter 1:2:2 or with a different hydration and/or flour. How you maintain it will produce different results. For now stick to 1:1:1 and see how it goes. Once your starter is strong and viable then you think about how you will maintain it but rest assured the difficult part will be over. Should your starter bubble up nicely and on cue but begins to take on an acrylic smell do not worry. It can happen and is perfectly normal. All you'd do is give it better feeds till it out grows it. But it might not even happen. Carry on as normal for now.
Thank you so much Lechem.
So, it doesn't smell bad per-say... kind of like paint?!
Ok, I did as you suggested and it's definitely moving! We've got about a 1/3 rise and some bubbles on top.
If it doesn't completely double do I keep waiting or still feed?
Sorry for the million questions... I'm desperate to finally succeed at this!
You've got a young starter. With some good feeds it'll be ready to bake with soon. What flour are you feeding it with at the moment? How much starter do you have about and at what hydration?
Thank you for the encouragement... I was really losing heart.
I started with whole wheat than white and today fed half ww half white. I couldn't find rye in the supermarket but can look elsewhere. I have white spelt if that's better?
So here's the plan for the next day or two...
With each feed keep 25g starter and feed it 40g warm water and 50g flour (25g whole wheat + 25g white)
This will be a feed of 1:2 (1 part starter to 2 parts flour by weight) which will be a nice healthy feed to encourage a healthy starter and will soon outgrow that smell. Plus we have thickened it up a tad which will encourage a better growth so you can have a better visual. Not all starters double as there are a few factors to take into account. Doesn't mean its not healthy. A lower hydration starter will encourage more flavour and it'll grow more. Starters don't have to be 100% hydration. Mine is 80%.
Keep this feed every 12 hours. Once in the morning and once in the evening but only if it bubbles. I think from here on it will do but should it not then skip a feed and stir. Once it does bubble then feed again. You should find the smell getting more pleasant and it bubbles up everytime it is fed plus at this lower hydration and with a better feed you'll see it'll bubble up more so.
Once your starter smells nice and is predictable (perhaps in a day or two) then its ready to bake with. Find a nice simple recipe for the first bake where you'll put it through its paces.
The "paint" smell means that it is starving. Try feeding more like Lechem says. The key is to feed it closer to when it starts to collapse. So you need to feed it enough to last the 12 hours. But don't feed it if it hasn't started to collapse (or deflate). You will see basically a "high rise" point if it has already collapsed. Feel free to stir it as often as you want. That only helps things along. Keep us updated.