January 12, 2017 - 9:54am
Gummy starter
I am a total novice trying to start my own sourdough starter. It is about 3 weeks old and through lots of research and trial and error I feel like I might be getting somewhere. I started it with organic AP flour and switched to organic WW flour 2 days ago. it is doubling in size within 10 hours or so and really looks the part in the jar. My question is, however, when I feed it it deflates and becomes very very gooey. Its super sticky and stringy....one might even say "snotty"......is this normal? I did try to make some English muffins with it yesterday and the results where not good! Very doughy and hard as rocks. I hate to give up but I'm almost there. Help!
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It should deflate when you feed it, as you need to stir it quite vigorously to get everything blended in well. You should of course be letting it rise (sit at room temperature) for several hours after you feed it, right? Does it bubble and double in size then? Is it light and puffy? Does it float in water? The 'sticky and stringy' description sounds to me like it is strong and has good gluten development. Was the English muffin recipe made for sourdough? Try a simple sourdough bread recipe and see how it goes.