January 24, 2007 - 9:34pm
Starter not rising?
Hi - I just found your site today and it has inspired me to try this whole sourdough business again. I tried Maggie Glazer's sourdough starter back in November and thought it was working, but it never did "rise". When she says the starter should "quadruple in 8 hours"...well, mine just wasn't doing that. It would have a nice sour smell and had a definite fermentation going on (lots of bubbles under the surface), but was a sticky, gluey consistency and wasn't rising. Now, hers is a "firm starter", so I don't know if that makes a difference. I'm anxious to try some of the trickier breads in her Artisan Baking book, but they all require a starter!
Any thoughts? Am I doing this right? Was my starter OK after all?
Thanks.