Pasta Madre Maintenance - starter turns into soup
Hi everyone,
I'm new to the Fresh Loaf, so apologies if this has been asked before! I tried to find an answer here and elsewhere but the internet doesn't seem to have many english resources on pasta madre.
I have not had any problems maintaining a stiff starter (40-50% hydration) before but this time, when I tried to maintain a pasta madre (40% hydration), it's not working. When I keep it in water, the PM is mostly dissolved within 6 hours or so, and what is left is too soft to work with (squeeze out water, shape back into a log). When I tried the bound method, by 12 hours it had turned into soup (texturally like a 80% hydration starter). If anyone has any ideas on what might have gone wrong, or how I could improve, I would appreciate the insight!
For context, with the waterbath, the PM is kept at 27-30C. Unfortunately, this is as cool as it gets in Singapore. With the bound method, I keep it at 23C at night, and around 27-30C in the day. I figured this might be the issue - overfermentation?
If your temp is too high, maybe a cooler or styrofoam box could be used along with a cooling agent like frozen "ice packs" and maybe a thermometer.
If it gets too cold you can leave the lid open or just crack it a bit
how much are you feeding it now?
when i first convert a sourdough starter into a madre i find it breaks down quickly so i have to feed it less. so i start with 100g flour, 20g refeed, and 40g water, twice a day. after a day or two of this, i feel like i can inch up to 40g refeed, then 60g, 80g, etc.
i use the bound method. i find the water method excessively messy.
good luck.