Starter problems
My starter is not working right at all. I maintain it at 100% hydration and feed it rye flour. When I feed it it doubles in less than 12 hrs. When I try to make bread with it the dough goes slack during rising and then is absolutely DISGUSTING!!!!! I mean the bread is terrible. Is is gummy, wet and doesn't taste good. I used the San Francisco sourdough bread recipe on sourdough.com twice. I think the bread turned too acidic and hence the gluten collapsed or whatever you want to call it. It had no crust color and no oven spring. I think I let the dough rise too long since the guidelines are like 12-15 hrs. So after 2 terrible outcomes with that recipe- don't get me wrong, I don't think it is the recipe, I think it is my starter- I went on to Hamelman's Vermont Sourdough with increase whole grain. I used wheat instead of rye. This dough is not as slack after rising but it still is not doing well. I was about to scrape the whole dough and say to hell with it. But I will let it do its final proof and bake it and see. But I know it will not be what I want. It will be a door stop. So now I am trying to decide what to do. When I normally bake with my sourdough starter I spike the dough with yeast because I want guarenteed success. But at this point I think I may need to capture a new starter. Or just go with yeast and preferments because I have never made good sourdough. What do you think? Should I scrape the starter and try again? How do I get it so that the starter doesn't turn the flour and water into gum? If I feed the starter white flour I get a stringy, gummy paste. But if I feed it rye it doesn't turn to gum. HELP?