Extremely new to making starter. Need help!
Hey everyone. Very new to making starter. Even newer to the site. I started “Waldough” Saturday around 830am 18Feb using 50g King Arthur wheat flour and 50g filtered water. All by weight. My house stays pretty cool (65ish) so I got a heating mat and insulated the starter keeping it around mid 70s. I use a thermapen to check periodically. Waldough is fairly consistent between 74-77 Sunday morning Waldough had doubled in size so instead of discarding I just fed 100g flour and 100g water. Since then and to this post there has been no rise and no noticeable change in Waldough. I keep 100g starter daily and feed 100g flour and 100g filtered water. Feeding time is between 6-7am due to having to go to work. Back in my makeshift incubator til the next day. I do not notice any residue on the sides of the jar to suggest rise and fall. I have no hooch or mold and it still smells like it did day 1. Like a sweet wheat dough. The pics are from today 22Feb when I got home from work and it has looked this way everyday. Everything I have read and videos I have watched basically say something should be happening by now. And Waldough just sits there. Any tips or suggestions would be incredible. Thanks for reading and hopefully thanks for the help.Happy baking everyone!
-Bud
Keep Waldough warm and stir every 12 hours. Otherwise do not feed again till you see some activity. Might take a day or two or even three. What recipes never seem to tell you is that starters can go quiet but it's perfectly normal. Things are still happening but at this quiet stage you don't wish to be discarding too much and feeding fresh flour and water. Do this too much while all is quiet and you'll be left with plain flour and water after discarding all the good stuff. Most important for now is to keep it warm. Mid 75-78dF is just right.
Hey, thank you for the reply. I will give this a try. I checked it this morning and there was a little rise, maybe a quarter inch or so above my line so i just stirred it as you said and left for work. One other question.when i do see some activity...do i feed it immediately, or stir it again..or wait until it falls, and would it be the same 1:1:1 ratio I have been using? Thanks again for your help!
Then go back to some smaller feeds and slowly increase the feeds to match the activity of the starter. For example... once you see more bubbles then you can try a 2:1:1 feed once a day. If that goes well then increase it to twice a day. Then switch to 1:1:1 and then 1:2:2 etc. Once you can do a 1:2:2 feed and it bubbles up within 4-6 hours that will be a good sign your starter is strong enough to bake with.
I got home from work total and ol Waldough had almost doubled in size! I’ve got some plans tonight so when I get home I will see if it has grown anymore. Then I may feed before bed! Thanks so much!!
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Due for another feed. Start off with a smaller feed. If it reacts well then increase it. Allow your starter to dictate how much and how often it is fed. Work your way up to more healthy and more frequent feeds then once it is strong and predictable it's time to do a test bake.
I believe I have a good healthy starter going!! Last feed was at 615am. 1:1:1. This is current. Thanks again for all your help!
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Now increase the feed to 1:2:2 see how quickly it matures and bubbles up.