September 9, 2010 - 8:02am
SOURDOUGH STARTER and the MONSOONS
I made sourdough starters with much success when I lived in the states. I am now living in Thailand and we are in the middle of the monsoon season. I am wondering if an environment where it rains most of the day can affect the sourdough starter process? I attempted to make sourdough starter following Maggie Glazer's recipe, but it never really took off. There was absolutely no rise after the 7th day. Any thoughts out there?
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I live in Taiwan which has a very similar climate to Thailand: hot and muggy most of the year round. The only problem I have with my starter is that it has a voracious appetite. I have to keep it in the fridge or else it will require feeding every 3 to 4 hours. My kitchen temp varies between 27 degrees C. in winter to about 32 in summer. In summer my starter triples in about 3 to 4 hours then it collapses. If your kitchen temp is much over this (say 34) it might be too hot for the yeast.
I am not familiar with the starter recipe you refer to but perhaps you could elaborate more and I could give you some tips. I have started a good few starters and have never had one fail on me yet. Just keep feeding it as per the recipe and as long as it doesn't get mouldy, something is bound to happen. Sometimes it takes longer but it should be up and running within two weeks. Give it a boost with wholewheat or rye flour or a combination of both. You should see some action overnight. You can always convert it to pure white or whatever at a later stage.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for the input. It just might be the white flour I am using. I am going to try and use Reinhart's recipe since it uses more rye flour, which is available here. I'll post my results in the near future.