February 16, 2018 - 3:11pm
Baking in Boise
Hello from Idaho! I've baked many things for many years, but I'm relatively new to sourdough. I had a good starter that got lazy after a move, and now I can't seem to wake it up and get it out of bed. I've tried just about everything, and I'm thinking about scrapping it and starting again from scratch. I decided to search on the web for answers to my issue and I found this site. So glad I did! My wife thinks I'm obsessed with this, so it's nice to find fellow travelers on the same path.
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What have you done trying to resuscitate? Describe the way it looks and smells. Was it stored in the refrigerator?How long has it been since it was feed after being neglected? How about pictures? We’ll need more information, if you think it might be salvageable.
Would you rather save it or start a new one?
Lots of Question, but their answers will allow us to help you better.
We welcome you and look forward to helping you.
Dan
Hi Dan,
It's a long story. I used to live on the Oregon coast, but we moved to Boise, a higher altitude and dryer air. Ever since moving I continue to feed the starter as I always have (discard all but a small amount and then feed at a 1:2:2 ratio to maintain it. I kept using Bob's Red Mill flour, and I've used the same Brita water filter with regular filter changes. The only difference is that I started keeping the starter in plastic tubs (2-quart) over here.
Since then the starter slowly went into hibernation. It took months, but I haven't been able to revive it. It bubbles, and it doubles in about 20 hours, but it's oomph is gone. At the suggestion of others in another forum I began feeding it some rye flour a few days ago. Previously I was feeding a 50/50 mix of AP and whole wheat. I use water heated to between 85º to 90ºF.
This morning I put the starter back into a glass jar since it did so well before in one. It's now in a quart-sized Ball jar. Tonight I stirred the starter and it actually has its elasticity back. I'm seeing more bubbles and wondering if it's waking back up. I don't know if the rye is finally helping it along or if it wanted to be in a "tighter" glass container. I'm cautiously optimistic that it might wake back up, because it had slowly turned into a thick mush rather than showing any elasticity.
The plastic containers I'd been using had been used previously for doughs containing commercial yeasts. I'm also wondering whether enough commercial yeast had hidden away in those containers to give the starter some trouble. I don't know what the answer is, but tonight is the first time I've seen the texture the way I remember when it was healthy.
I'll keep tending to it, though I've started another backup from a different dried starter. I was afraid I would have to toss this one, but maybe I won't.
I went to Taiwan for an extended period and upon my return my starter needed serious help. I used this page for recovery. https://www.sourdoughhome.com/index.php?content=revivingastarter
Hope this can help you too.
but until you get back on track, you might want to consider keeping a smaller amount of starter. Less waste and less trouble. I keep mine in a half pint mason jar, with only about 1/4 cup of starter. I rarely have to discard at all, as I can feed a couple of times right into the jar. When it gets too full, I remove a small amount to build how ever much starter I need for my recipe. Works great, and the best part is no waste. marybeth