Its alive!!..i think - Yikes, now what do i do?
Hi TFL Followers,
After a rocky start i think my starter is off and running! Its taken about 10 days but since taking your great advice, special thanks to Keith, i think things are looking up. I did initially start by following a'what should be happening by what day ' approach, which was very unsuccessful and almost lead me to ditching it but by referring to Debra Winks approach i've persisted and i think patientce has paid off (fingers crossed!). Unfortunately i've found attaching a photo a bit tricky and haven't been able to , but just so you know whats been happening, a quick summary:
First couple of days very little,,
Third day not smelling very good and not looking too good either
Fourth and fifth day placed starter in a warm spot, decided to following the phase approach, just kept feeding same amount in 24 hour installments.
Since the fifth day i've been feeding, 2tbls of bottled water with 2 tbls WW flour every 24 hours and been giving it a really good stir to get oxygen into it. Within the past 24 hours we have lots of wonderful bubbles, its increased in size, looks and smells great, a lovely yeasty/beer smell.
Please note this has taken about 10 days now to get to this stage, the weather has been cold here so i think that may have delayed it a little.
As i'm still waiting for my bread books to arrive from overseas i feel a little lost. Do i now get rid of some and continue feeds or do i just keep going for a few more days. Obviously the exciting question is when can i start to use it!
Thank you
t