Suddenly Sluggish Starter
Hello,
(First time poster!)
My 100% hydration starter is 2 months old and suddenly sluggish. I’ve used it to bake several loaves and have had more than satisfactory results. It is typically very active and doubles within 6-8 hours. I normally bake once a week and take out my starter from the fridge several days before baking and feed once a day. (1:1:1)
However, this week, I baked twice and left the starter on the countertop and continued to feed it once a day as per usual. In the last two days, my starter has become unhappy. It is bubbling, albeit much less than normal, and rising only a minuscule amount. I have no idea what could have changed!
I have remained precise with my measurements, continued to use clean water, same flour, and have not changed any other factors. (No sudden drop in temperature.)
Any thoughts? Could there be a kind contamination? Does my starter not like being on the countertop for a longer period of time? (Seems counterintuitive...)
I really appreciate any input or thoughts!
what flour do you use to feed it?
I believe it’s equivalent to unbleached AP. (The packaging is in Czech, since it was the only flour available in confinement, and I didn’t want to risk switching it to another.)
I’ve suddenly experienced something very similar. The things I would consider are these: is the temperature cooler suddenly? Not in my case since it is getting warmer here, is there suddenly a change in the water chlorination, are they using chloramine in the tap water so eventhough I am filtering it and leaving it out it may be killing the LAB and yeast, finally is the flour bleached?
Benny
I'd give it a feed of rye for a day or two until it recovers and then go back to white.
Cheers,
Gavin
I had the same problem. Turns out it was my water. The city probably added more chlorine into the water or something. I just use filtered water, let a cup of water sit out for a day, or boil water and let it cool and everything is back to normal again.
"However, this week, I baked twice and left the starter on the countertop and continued to feed it once a day as per usual. In the last two days, my starter has become unhappy. It is bubbling, albeit much less than normal, and rising only a minuscule amount. I have no idea what could have changed!"
Fermentation is directly influenced by temperatures. The higher the temp, the more food required for the little beasties. A 1:1:1 feeding does not last long in a culture as food especially if temps are rising above 20°C. (You would need to feed at least 3 to 6 times in 24 hrs.) Simple. The starter is starving. It needs more food if you want the yeast numbers to increase enough to raise bread. Feed it more flour and let it rise to peak. Try first a 1:2:3 feeding and wait for the starter to peak, then split the starter thickening up half with more flour to make a thick paste and with the other half reduce and feed 1:5:5. Compare them. Use small amounts of starter but not under 5g to save on flour.