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FWSY levain starter stops rising after day two

rosh's picture
rosh

FWSY levain starter stops rising after day two

Hello all, I've been trying to make Forkish's levain starter. I've scaled quantity back to 150g flour/water.  Days 1 and 2 go great, the starter doubles in size.   However, day's 3 and 4 there is little to no starter growth.  This is the second starter I've tried that has had this happen and I'm at a loss.  I've been using whole wheat flour, filtered water and a water bath to maintain temperatures.  Any ideas of why this may be happening?

phaz's picture
phaz

Don't know that method, but what your seeing is in most cases normal early in the creation phase as unwanted bugs get established. Keep going and things will balance out on their own. Search for leucs for more details.

jimbtv's picture
jimbtv

Most formulas I have seen for starters spell out that a new starter will go through a lull, usually around the 3rd or 4th day.

When the starter is first created many types of bacteria and mold spores join in the feast. Shortly thereafter a battle for superiority takes place and, if everything goes right, the stronger lactobacillus (bacteria) and a smaller portion of candida "xxx" (yeast) will become dominant.

If I understand things correctly you are witnessing the slaughter of the inferior bacteria and yeast spores in favor of the dominant  strains. Survival for the fittest, you know.

 

Jim

Lechem's picture
Lechem (not verified)

Keep warm and stir often for the time being. Very normal for things to go quiet at this stage. When you begin to see activity then start feeding again.  

Southbay's picture
Southbay

Skipping any more than a day of feeding makes my starters slow and funky. One of the best things for my established starters to get rising fast is to toss out all but a tablespoon or two and give them a good feeding. 

BreadBabies's picture
BreadBabies

Debra Wink has a post on this very phenomenon. Basically, after the first two days, you think you're seeing yeast, but you're seeing other critters that expel gas, not yeast.  Keep going with it.  It will probably take at least 10 days for you to establish a reliable starter.  It's totally normal and real yeast will eventually be established. Search her posts for more info.

rosh's picture
rosh

Thanks, everyone is so helpful!  This method had you leave the container open for two hours during the first three days.  Should I continue doing that or just dump, refeed and seal it up?

phaz's picture
phaz

You probably don't want to seal tightly a container with starter in it. I have cracked glass jars from the pressure that will build up. Fwiw - I would feed after that initial burst of activity dies out, then I usually feed every couple days for maybe a week (stirring often) until some signs of activity show. I've always felt discarding and feeding too much early on tended to dilute what we are trying to achieve. I'm sure it will work, just may take longer to get things going full tilt.