Sourdough Starter Flour to Water Ratio
I thought I would share this bit of info in hopes to help other people that encounter the same problem I did when trying to develop a strong, consistent sourdough starter.
When I first tried making a sourdough starter, I followed the plethora of simple recipes/instructions there are out there. Most of the instructions state to combine equal parts, by weight, of flour and water. This ratio would be valid for both beginning stages, and eventual regular feedings.
I had to throw out the first 4 attempts due to no doubling (just slight rise) and eventual dying. After a promising first week, they all turned into a very thin, non bubbling gloop. Yes, I did follow all the other instruction exactly. Temperature, timeline between feedings, etc. This issue finally disappeared completely, when I accidentally one day overweighed the flour. I saw a doubling for the first time. I decided to try it again in the next feeding and sure enough it doubled again. I started a whole new starter, by using 1/2 cup flour to 1/4 cup water measurements instead. I saw instant doubling (sometimes more) and they have all gone on to live strong and healthy till today.
So how can all these pros be wrong, and simple 'ol me use a different method, and get it to work a different way??
For anyone who has problems developing a proper starter, try this. It totally helped me. And for those experts, any comments as to why this could be? Should't the weighing method work across the board??
John