The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

hooch turned white and solid?

Spikes's picture
Spikes

hooch turned white and solid?

Dear all,

I stored my starter in the fridge after a fresh feed 6 weeks ago. I checked in passing about 4 weeks ago and it had hooch on it, dark liquid, which I've seen and dealt with before so I wasn't concerned and moved on. However when I went back to feed it this morning, about 6 weeks, there was no more hooch and instead I found some sort of white guy layer on top.

I panicked and spooned it off so I don't have a pic to show unfortunately, but I'm still hoping people will be able to give me a clue.

The closest thing I can think of is the sort of white fat that curdles at the top of broth if you know what I mean. Or maybe chickpeas liquid if you put it in the fridge for a while.

I'm concerned that it was mold, but I don't get how it was possible... jar had nothing suspicious after 4 weeks, was sealed in the fridge so what happened? also wondering where the hooch went.

Anybody seen this kind of thing before?

thank you very much for your help,

ciabatta's picture
ciabatta

But don’t be too concerned. It happens. Just scoop it off and use something from the bottom to feed a new starter. Mold can definitely grow at fridge temperatures. And it can develop quickly. 
6 weeks is a long time unfed. I usually feed refrigerated starter once a week. Anything over two weeks is in rescue mode. Where I scrape from the bottom to rebuild. I won’t use one that’s more than a week or so old to build a levain. 
James