Starting a starter... more questions....
Hi all. I am new to sourdough. So new that I am still working on growing the first one and have never baked with it. I've done some nice baguettes and ciabatta and plety of cakes (so not quite a newbie around the oven) and just for fun (or as a normal evolution?) I found myself with a starter. I bought online a super peel (which works magics!) and the shop was selling San Francisco Goldrush starter. So I though.. why not....
Foloowing the instructions provided, I managed to get it working (I think....). Now it's in his day 4... (3 days younger than my son !!). A very strong sour smell (almost with hints of acetone) hits everytime I open the jar. Lot's of activity going on in there...
Lots of questions rise now....
- is that smell "normal" ?
- how do I know if my starter is "happy". how do I know is it's "hungry" or overfed (can it be overfed)?
- does the frequency of feeding depends on the temperature ? (I live in Singapore which has a pretty hot climate - 25C/77F is considered a cold day, and 30C/86F is absolutly normal). Does air humidity matters ?
- how much starter should one have ? do I keep a large bowl or just a small cup ?
- I know there's a feeding ratio of 1:10:10... but does it work for any measuring unit? one cup, one spoon ?
- is the above ratio always suitable ? I've read that people store the started at differnt consistencies... why ?
- does it matter what flour do you feed it ?
- some reciepes call for 50% others for 70% .. other (most?) for 100%... I am pretty sure I dotn need to keep multiple jars... so... how do I get the variety ?
- when feeding the started do I really throw away a large quantaty of the starter ? (such a waste...)
I did try to find some answers on the forum, but I just found myself asking more questions.... If anyone is able to clarify the above, I would be very happy...
So many questions... So much fun to have...
Many thanks everyone and happy baking!!!