Stinky rye starter?
Hello, I have a problem (maybe?) with a new rye starter I've... started; It smells proper vile. Like, I took a little sniff last night and it made me gag.
So what fixes do people recommend? From what I can gather it isn't dead, but has been over run with the wrong kind of bacteria. But you ask 3 people and get 5 answers. I've heard lemon juice can help regulate the acidity? But also just powering through and feeding it more? Some people have said this is normal and will wear off if you stay the course. Beating the ever living love out of it is apparently another way to try and fix it too? I'm feeding it every 12 hours (ish) with about a 1/3 of a cup rye flour and equal amount water. 1:1. 100%?
EDIT: I should add that it's only a 2 days old as of 24th June.
My rye starter has 10 raisins in it to. My brother made a starter with raisins in it, which I pinched some of and is now my main starter and seems to be very healthy. Is raisin and rye starter a bad combination?
So, I also have a buckwheat starter going (gf is gf) and that also had a bit of a whiff to it, but I fed it again last night and it seems to have calmed down a bit.
Has anyone else had this problem? How did you overcome it?
Ps, their names are Brødrick, Rebuckah and Ryean. Crucial information that could help.
Hi, Jacob!
If your starter is only just a couple days old, it sounds like you are on the right track, although you may wish to reconsider the 12 hour feeding schedule at this point. You are correct in assuming that it has been over-run by undesirable bacteria, but that’s a feature, not a bug. Those undesirable bacteria are consuming nutrients and creating by-products (waste). Those by-products are changing the acidity of the starter. As the acidity of the starter increases, it will bring other, less undesirable bacteria out of stasis. These new bacteria love an acidic environment, and continue to produce even more acidity in the starter. Eventually, the starter becomes acidic enough that the original stinky bacteria die off, and desirable bacteria and wild yeasts start to become active. So the original stinky bacteria are not spoiling your starter, they are paving the way for your yeasts to thrive.
As for the 12 hour feeding schedule, in the beginning you want the bacteria to have time to do their thing, without being diluted too much by feedings, and this is accomplished by slightly starving the mix. It’s not until you are at the point where yeasts are beginning to be active and strong that you want to encourage reproductive growth by providing a large constant food source.
Thanks for the help! Glad to know it’s still on track. I have since thrown a load of each away and given it a little feed (1:1, 1/4 cup) as I’ve heard you can rehabilitate it a bit by doing this.
So would 24 hours be a bit nearer the mark? It’s currently pretty hot in London (30c/86f) will this change how quickly the yeast develops too?
Can you make a starter in the fridge? Would this be too slow?
Sorry for all the questions, pretty green when it comes to starters. My first ever one was definitely green!
Lol. My first starter also went green. And fuzzy!
I wouldn’t try to create a starter in the fridge, for a couple reasons:
A) the room temperature that you mention is just about perfect, because the lactic acid producing bacteria and yeasts that we want to encourage grow very well in that temperature range,
B) the colder temperatures would make things go very slowly, if at all, and
C) the colder temperatures might even encourage less desirable bacteria and/or yeasts to outcompete the ones you want for food.
The 30c/86f temperature will indeed affect how quickly the bacteria and yeast will react. Keep in mind that what you are creating is a living ecosystem, and that ecosystem will tell you what it needs and when it needs it. In other words, the yeasts in your starter will set the schedule, and they don’t know how to read a clock. As your starter consumes It’s food source, it creates gasses as a byproduct, which is what makes it rise. When that food source becomes depleted, your starter will start to fall. This is when you will want to feed it. If you let it fall all the way before you feed it, the bacteria will increase the amount of lactic acid that is being produced, which can help in the very early stages, but can cause the ecosystem to become imbalanced if done too often.
Ultimately, with regular feedings you will start to notice the pattern of how quickly it reaches its peak, and you will be able to control this schedule by varying how much you feed it each time, or by varying the amount of starter that you are carrying over. Once your starter has become very strong and very active, you can control the schedule by varying the temperature, but you should not refrigerate it until you have a strong and active culture of desirable microorganisms.
define what proper vile is?
if it smells like nail polish remover its normal and that means it needs a feed. The temperature is perfect for growing the starter,
I think “proper vile” is British for “yucky”. ?
i know what it means being English...unfortunately its not very descriptive as starters can smell in all kind of ways.
Good translation!
Sort of like sick? Also maybe rancid meat? I don’t really know, but I think it smells like that packaged sliced ham when it goes off.
Jacob, if you have not already read them, check out Debra Wink’s excellent articles on The Pineapple Juice Solution. These articles go into great detail about the many stages a sourdough starter goes through on its way to maturity. It’s quite long, and in some spots very technical, but a fascinating and informative read nonetheless.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com//node/10856/pineapple-juice-solution-part-1
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/10901/pineapple-juice-solution-part-2
I did just see them, that’s tonight’s reading sorted!
Thanks for the help my man!
You are quite welcome, my good sir!
Definitely keep us posted on how it’s going. I can’t wait to see your first loaf!
(For that matter, I can’t wait to see my own! ?)