May 9, 2015 - 11:13am
My starter smells!
I just recently found this site and this is my first posting. I've discovered some really talented and inspirational bakers! So now I'm inspired! I created a sourdough starter using the pineapple method. It's been three weeks now. I've been feeding it almost twice daily for the last week and a half because I wanted it to get active so I could bake this weekend. I've made a sourdough starter before using Nancy Silverton's directions. The smell this time is really acrid. Is this OK? It's active and alive. It also has a slightly yellowish cast. I'm already using it in my bread but not sure if it's good. I've read about the bacteria that forms and makes it smell bad. Could this be the problem?
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A healthy starter is going to smell like very strong vinegar and that's a good thing, because it indicates the acidity of the sponge, which should be somewhere around 4.0 - 4.5 pH. Bubbles will indicate yeast activity.
If the starter smells sulfurous and/or rotten, it's gone bad, so get rid of it and start over again.
Stan Ginsberg
www.nybakers.com
I am with Elagins, my starter though my starter smells of strong vinegar when it is very hungry, once it is fed and bubbles up it smells like wine.
I work with a wheat starter though, not sure how the smell would be if using rye or whole wheat or any other starters.
... and the rules are pretty much the same, except that rye sponges ferment more quickly and become much more acidic than wheat-based sponges, probably because I use wholegrain rye flour, which has the effect of buffering the sponge and allowing it to get more acidic. Whole wheat flour would have the same effect.
a rye starter , but only for a short time and gone back to my wheat starter which I have at 80% hydration.
I might give the rye starter a go.
Over here in the uk I can only find the dark rye flour, the one that I used in german is different and the starter gets very creamy , the flour feels finer too.
Thanks, PetraR, and to Elagins. I think I'm just timid but after reading your comments I went ahead and used it in the bread. I think it will be fine; it didn't smell rotten. I will let you know how it comes out. Thanks again for your helpful comments!
you need to feed the rye starter more flour and water. Feed it in a separate bowl and give it enough until it smells like just wet rye flour. I normally feed mine about 4 to 5 times the starter amount in flour.
Rye is so easy and really 'durable'. My rye starter can go for weeks between feeds and not build up any hooch at all. Smell just gets better and better. Springs to life when fed.
Whole rye