The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Another Starter Question...

oldguy00's picture
oldguy00

Another Starter Question...

Hi all, my first post here.  I'm having trouble getting my starter to stay active.

I'm using organic whole wheat flour and warm tap water.

Day 1 - used 60g of flour, 60g of water.  Within about 6 hours it was -very- active, over doubling in size, was very happy.

Day 2 - Using a random online guide, I didn't do anything day 2 and it seemed to settle.

Day 3 - Discarded half and did a 1:1:1 feeding.  But this time it did not seem to activate.  Almost no size increase at all.

Day 3+ - Day 6 - I've tried discarding at least half and feeding 1:1:1, twice a day, and it has just never gotten active again, doesn't rise at all.

Nothing has changed since first day, same water used, same flour, same temp. 

Any help much appreciated!!  :(

BaniJP's picture
BaniJP

It's normal that in the first days it bubbles, then settles. First the initial yeasts do their thing, but since the whole bacteria colony is still unorganized and imbalanced, it takes some time for lactic acid bacteria to thrive, usually about 10-14 days until your starter is stable.

Just keep going. Every 24 hours, discard everything but a tablespoon, then add 50 g flour and 50 g water. And stir, stir, stir, you want as many naturally occuring yeasts and lactic acid bacteria as you can get!

Also make sure your water isn't chlorinated.

oldguy00's picture
oldguy00

Thanks for the reply!

I'm not sure how much chlorine is in my tap water, but I assumed it was fine since the starter was so active the first day.  Should I buy a couple jugs of spring water to use instead?

Cheers

oldguy00's picture
oldguy00

Or, rather than buying water, what about boiling the tap water, then letting cool?

BaniJP's picture
BaniJP

I'm not sure how to deal with chlorinated water because we don't have it here in Germany. I believe you can just put it into a jug and let it hang out for a day or so, so the chlorine can evaporate. Maybe boiling works too, you have to look that up.
Buying and using spring water may seem like a solution, but you would always have running costs, especially if you feed every day and bake a lot. Unless spring water in your town is dirt cheap, use tape water and find a way to dechlorinate it.

phaz's picture
phaz

First, let's look at the usual stages of a stater.

And how long a stage lasts all this depends on the flour used (bleached white longer, ww faster, rye fastest - organic doesn't mean much to the bugs so it doesn't really change anything much, processing method will)

1. Some time after first mixing there's a burst of activity (usually 1-3 days)

2. A period of inactivity - a few days to a few weeks)

3. An increase in activity, sometimes slowly, sometimes sudden

With the flour you're using things should be on the quicker side of things.

What to do now - wait. Thicken it up (just add flour) to a wet soft dough like consistency and stir often. Don't discard and don't feed till you see signs of life (rising and bubbling).

Note - if the smell of the starter right after that initial burst of activity was foul - ie, cheesy, rotten, just plain old foul, that was stage 1 and you may not see anything happen for a week or so. If it wasn't keep an eye on it as it may suddenly grow like crazy. At week into it with this flour, you may be close. Enjoy!

 

the first ashley's picture
the first ashley

Mine took 3 weeks, so just listen to these nice folks and they'll help you right along :-)

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

just make sure the starter is between 75°F and 80°F. And the warm tap water is not too warm.  If it feels hot, its too hot.