whoah got my starter back
All of a sudden my starter was getting VERY active, reminding me of like day 2-3 when the bacteria are creating the gas. But I made an alright loaf, it rose fine. The next day the starter was again almost foamy, and I smelled it, not the usual smell, a bit more alcoholy or something, didn't taste the same sweet/sour as before.
Then I realized the other day I fed it with tap water instead of filtered water. Then I read something here about 1:1:1 ratios for feeding and it occurred to me that I was underfeeding (and only once a day), whereas for a few days there I was feeding twice a day so I was probably feeding about the right amount (was leaving a bit much starter in, instead of discarding).
So after one feeding with filtered water and full 1:1:1 proportions, Eugene got back to himself! Yay. It happened so quickly, I had some hope recovery would be quick, but whew, I was trying to get ready for prime time @ holiday get-togethers. Culture is really a living thing!
I’ve been testing starters quite a bit in the last week. I think I’ve learned a few things.
I’m surprised to hear that your starter made such a quick recovery. Have you baked with the newly active starter yet?
Test are showing that starters, at least in my test do better with mostly store bought flour. I used to use home ground whole grain (rye and wheat) exclusively but I’m thinking differently now. I’m finding that a small amount of ground grain does wonders but too much quickens the rise too much. Gluten seems to be the key.
I tested starters with the goal of extending the feeding to 24 hr instead of 12. All of my test are showing the starters peaking around 8 hours or so. I’ve tried ratios (s:f:w) 1:1:1, 1:10:10, 1:50:25 etc. with various combos of flour; whole wheat, rye, bread flour. I’ve also added as much as 2% salt. At this time 90/10 or 95/5 (bread flour to whole grain) seem best. I think I’ll leave the salt out as I fear it will hurt the yeast population.
Well I'm not sure what exactly was going on, but I know I didn't totally kill the starter yet -- it was still active, just different and I started to get concerned. Maybe that's just normal for a somewhat underfed, over-mature, slightly chlorinated starter?