Sourdough early hooch (day 3 new starter)
Just a quick question with respect to caring for my first young starter (named him Timmy :) ). I currently have one going with 50/50 AP whole wheat at 100% hydration. So my starter began seemingly normal, with strong activity on the night of day 2 (tons of bubbling with the smell of slight acidity). I assume this is due to bacterial, rather than yeast activity. Anyway, this morning (Day 3, 9:00am) I noticed that the starter was floating on a bit of liquid with few bubbling. Didn't think much so I stirred and fed as usual (1:1:1) and left for work. I recently checked it (9:00pm) and noticed a slight layer of opaque liquid on top (hooch?). I stirred it a bit and some bubbles appeared but very little.
I know this lull is typical and usually people ignore it (skip feedings) and let acid build up until ready to feed. I would do this, except hooch to me seems like it's hungry. Should I feed it in response to hooch tonight or wait it out (feed tomorrow, or skip it due to lull)? Also I'd describe the smell as not overwhelmingly pungent or acidic but slightly tangy, like warm buttermilk.
Cheers! Looking forward to that sourdough :)!