Starter Day 5, Made beer! what to do now...?

It is definitely hungry. I don't know how much you are feeding, but it seems to be ready for more frequent and/or larger feedings. Also, giving it a stir a few times a day helps a lot.

with the bath water and save what is left of your 5 day old starter as a back up just in case you need to.  Just cover and pop it into the fridge or a cold pantry.  Mark and date it.

12 hours is a rough estimate, watch the starter and respond to it after a feeding.  It may take longer or less than 12 hours. keep that in mind.  When the fed starter is rising, let it rise until it's dome reaches peak, starts to level out and starts to fall back down on it's own.  Then feed, you can save up the discard chilling it or use right away in a loaf or add to an existing yeasted loaf.  I usually build up that discard and let it go directly into a loaf.  Save the bit left over and feed as the new starter.  

What you are aiming for is a feeding that will peak in about 8 hours and feed at 12 hours for a routine.  Temperature will affect the starter so if they are cool at night, feed less flour for the night feeding.  

Take 30g of it, add 60g flour and 60g water, stir, leave for a few hours - if you get bubbles, then hurrah - read this and give it a go: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/44111/easy-sourdough-part-1

-Gordon

Are you allowed to breathe near a .01 gram scale.  I can't imagine something outside of a laboratory needing that type of accuracy and having the numbers dance while the platform tries to find equilibrium would be annoying at best.

Gerhard

from the top.  If I was a sourdough culture, I'd be acting up just because I had such a cool jar to live in.  :)

It does look thick enough to catch a rise.  Go wee beasties, go!

roasted flour around the loaf, save it a put into the next dough.  

Yes, maybe it was too early in the oven...  Not bad.  Not quite a volcano.   This one had added yeast, right?  Did a good job, it's eatable.  Looks is always secondary, get the taste down first.   :)  What made you want to bake it?

With the next one try doing the final proof upside down, seam side up with a bit of side support.  When ready to bake, turn it over to score.  Now don't put it on parchment until you want it in the oven.  Let the shaped loaf rise on a floured cloth in a basket or bowl or deep sieve.  Or shape something with a few twisted kitchen towels on a rack so air can get all around it.  The idea is not to trap in any moisture (or it might stick) to make a surface to hold the dough later while it bakes.  The bigger bubbles inside the dough end up on the bottom (do poke the bigger ones) when it's flipped over and the bubbles have to rise up in the oven heat.  That gives more lift to the baking dough.  Once flipped over, place on the parchment and do your scoring thing and into a steamy hot oven.   

Scoring an "x" across the middle invites a volcano to some degree.  Try a score that blocks the top of the middle of the loaf, something like a pinwheel or a large #, or a long curve (smile) from one end to the other.  :)

OK, now we know it can do that!  :)   Sounds like the yeast were taking too long.  I don't like the "big sour" in wheat bread and you can manipulate the starter to get less sour.

It also means the bacteria are good and strong.  Too strong and possibly the yeast need some more work. 

One way to do this is to take out a table spoon of mature starter,  add 2 to 4 spoons of water and add flour to make a paste, somewhere between a soft dough and thick batter.  (if not into spooning, put a splotch on the bottom of the jar, add enough water to almost put in under water, stir, add flour to thicken.)  Wait for the starter to peak out and then remove a tablespoon of starter and repeat the process.  You should see the time it takes to peak shortening.  

Feeding it at peak tends to feed the starter just before the bacteria want to rev up their numbers.  The starter should taste pleasant middle sour/nutty at peak.  Contrary, after a feeding, the starter should taste like wet flour.  If the newly fed starter tastes sour, add more water and flour to stimulate yeast growth. 

To introduce wheat just smuggle in a spoonful between the whole flours and each time it peaks, remove some mature starter and  increase the wheat amount in the next ,feeding.   I dislike the word, "double."  It is too easy to get fixed on that and miss the other clues to starter health.  You may find that by upping the flour feed, you get tripling and quadrupling of the starter with higher concentrations of yeast.   

One of my favourite yeast tests is to do a one to ten feeding.  Once the yeast get that perfect lower pH they fill a beaker with gassy yeasty starter peaking within 8 to 10 hours at 24°C.  (so have your recipe handy)   When growing wheat starters, use a container that accommodates rise 4 to 5 times the starter amount and still stay in the jar.  lots of head space to avoid overflowing.  

Tip: too sour a bread?  Make an onion soup and when divided into bowls,  cover the soup with slices of toasted sour bread and top with cheese to melt in a hot oven.  Do not add any vinegar or wine to the soup (acid, or at least be frugal with it) as the bread will take their place as the desired acid.   

It doesn't look too bad.  Well oiled paper towels is a new one.  What are the flours in the dough and how much of each?