October 14, 2019 - 1:38am
starter advice
Hi all,
Fist time posting:)
Like many of you I started last month the jorney to make sourdough starter. Although the starter looks good i feel it doesn't developed.
I used whole grain flour and water. I fallowed a recipe shared here. First picture was taken on end of day 3 and the other one day 5 or 6 before i put it on the fridge. after one week on the fridge nothing changed. I removed from the fridge 2 days ago and feed it again. it has some activity but not doubling/tripling.
I just get this bubbly dough. Smells sour but not yeasty.
Can someone give some advice? I have been searching the web but all sites/videos I find makes it looks easy.
What am I doing wrong?
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It looks like a really decent STARTer (pun intended).
However, in the beginning I would recommend not using the fridge. You should feed and leave it at room temp for the first 10 days or so, so it gets some rhythm and strength. After that you can start using the fridge, but in the beginning it's still quite fragile.
Alex does some great tutorial here.
Thanks.
I will try that next time. in the meanwhile should i discard the one was in the fridge?
Also when mixing the water:flour first time should i been mixing a couple of times per day?
whole grain flour seems to do the job but some people also uses rye. what is the advantage? it is better?
If you hate throwing away starter (like me), you can discard starter in a jar and keep it in the fridge. You can use discard to make many delicious baked goods, including pancakes, waffles, cookies and brownies. Because they don't rely on the starter to get light and airy, they do not need mature or active starter in them. But remember 1 cup of active starter = 0.5 cup of non-active, non-bubbly starter.
You can choose to feed it a larger ratio that it doesn't go flat within 20hrs. But if it goes flat within 12 hrs it would be better to feed it a little earlier to make it real active.
They say rye is easier to start the culture. But once you get the starter going the right way you can use any wheat flour for feedings. Whole wheat is perfectly fine too. Rye makes the starter more sour so if you are into real sour bread you can go for it :)
Don't discard your starter, you can take it out of the fridge and start your feeding routine. Also, don't micro manage or over think it. Bubbly dough is what you want, the starter in the photo looks good. Time to make bread.
Thank you all.
your replies have been very enlightening.
Actually I did some bread yesterday and baked this morning. 400g flours (10:1:1 white flour:whole grain:rye), 90g starter and 275 water.
i tastes good but its very flat.
IMG_4730.JPG
Because was not rising e left in the counter for 24h and this morning was puffed. The dough didnt have structure but still i manage to put it in the oven.
I left in the counter because before go to bed the dough was totally flat. I also knead the dough to activate the gluten.
It ended flat because of the starter or any other reason?
And I cut the bread while it was warm (shame :D)
Now tell us how you are feeding the starter? And the temp, don't forget the temp, very important.
I think if you are feeding the starter 1:1:1 you should feed it more flour before using it to increase the yeast population. Try 1:4:4 and don't be afraid to add a little more starter to the bread dough.
Im feeding with whole grain flour and water. I tried before with 50:50 wholegrain:white flour but didnt see any improve. (maybe starter was too young?)
what does it mean 1:1:1 and 1:4:4?
for feeding starters using weight. 1:1:1 would mean one weight of starter with the same weight water and flour.
How are you maintaining the starter, be specific, please?
I leave the jar in the kitchen counter.
My home its not too warm but neither too cold. I would say between 19 and 22 C.
I do: first 48 hours 1:1 in a jar
After that 1:1:1 every 24h or until double in size, increasing (and discarding) the ratio a bit every day
that just means that when comparing, your dough will be slower and take longer to go through fermentation. Try making the same loaf, everything the same. Then when the dough starts to puff op a little around 12 hrs, give it a folding to strengthen the outside skin of the dough. As you see the dough rising and spreading, fold it again within that 24 hour time frame. Sometimes you have to fold it every hour, sometimes every two hours. Look at the total shape of the dough and decide if you need to correct the shape and firm it up. A simple letter fold or a fold from each of four directions should be enough. If the dough appears too slack, fold it again. When you decide it has enough trapped gas inside and close but not expanded over double in volume (from the original flat mixed up dough ball) bake the thing and see how it comes out.
Your starter will get stronger as the days go by. You might want to give it some warmth soon after feeding or use bath temp water when feeding. If the starter tastes very sour right after feeding, slightly increase the amount flour and water when feeding. If you double the water amount to flour (200% hydration) you can often speed up the starter, just remember to use more of it and decrease the water amount in the recipe. The starter will not rise as high when thin, so you have to rely on aroma, effervescence and taste to determine when it's ready to use. Naturally when the yeast get stronger and ferment faster, all the rise times can change, so stay flexible. :)
Hows the taste of the bread? Is it changing as the days go by?
Hello again,
I had to be out for 2 weeks and when came back my sourdough was dead so i started a new one.
Im at day four and no much activity now. The first 2 days bubbly but now its normal. lets wait until tomorrow.
when should i start feeding white flour? so far have been doing 1:1 - whole wheat:water
maybe gone to sleep but not dead. Hope you still have some.
Well maybe not dead but very moldy
IMG_4931.JPG
But if you carefully get a clean sample off the bottom after removing the top half, you could inoculate more starter in a clean jar.
I need some help now
Has been day 6 now and I feed the starter 3 times in the last 36hours.
The last time I feed it was 6 hours ago and more than double in size. it's out of control :D
IMG_4993.JPG
The last feed was 1:3:3 with 50/50 whole grain/plain flour. It has a very pleasant aroma. not sour at all
what should I do now? put in the fridge or keep feeding?
Before feeding so you have some reference point. When it peaks it is still domed and rising but getting dull and a little wrinkled in the top middle just before it levels out and starts to fall or sink.
What temps do you have?
if the temps are still cool, don't feed it until it falls down a little bit. That way the bacteria have a chance to increase and protect the starter culture before adding fresh flour. It will be less apt to grow mold.
No idea, but probably around 24C.
I think its starting to falling down now.
feed again?
if you haven't already.
Hi Aletro:
I was reading your post and saw your starter photos. If you want to give the starter a boost stick with stone ground wheat flours or rye or a combination. I tried the white flour starter and it didn't rise a lot. with whole grained flours it really is the catalyst to the starter. As for a cool room, It's a problem I face daily where I live so a solution I found to work was to turn on my oven light and put the wire rack to the very bottom and place my mason jar there, close the oven door and it will stabilize the starter to a comfortable 72 degrees. I have had huge success with my starter in there as well as proofing my loaves.
I hope my post can help you out in some way!
Cheers!