Does changing the hydration level "upset" the WW starter?
Hello all,
I finally got a scale! So I started measuring my feedings instead of just eyeballing it, and the starters have gone all wonky, one smells very acidic, like vinegar, burns my nose, the other is musky unpleasant smelling.
After receiving the scale I started measuring 100% hydration, this is much drier than what I was eyeballing, after some fiddling I think my eyeball method was about 135% hydration, I would use about 1/8c starter, 1/4c water and add flour till it seemed thick enough.
They are both very slow to show activity now, after 2 hrs they look the same as at feeding time, by the 12 hr mark they are maybe near doubled, but smelling strange, this is about day 3 with the scale, I'm about ready to go back to eyeball method!
Both are 100% whole wheat. Are they upset over a change in their environment? Do whole wheat starters like it wetter?