April 18, 2020 - 6:00am
A beginner sourdough starter- question about ratios
Hi all- I just began my sourdough starter 9 days ago. On Day 1 I used Ancient Grain flour and water, and every day since I have been doing 113g starter + 113g 00Flour + 113g water. I have been doing this every 12 hours religiously for the last week, but this starter will not double. It grows a bit and bubbles nicely and has a really beautiful smell, but if it doesn’t double, do I need to consider changing the ratios of flour and water added at feedings?
Another baker told me, give it a go making bread, it sounds fine, but shouldn’t it be doubling or even close to tripling? Thanks for any advice!
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you may want to skip your next @ 12hr feeding. Mark the height of your starter a let it go until it does triple. Take note of the peak and use this amount of time as a guide when the starter is used in a bread.
Thanks for the reply- but I’m still concerned about the ratios. I switched it up at my last nighttime feeding and used 75g starter + 100g flour + 125g water. It seems even more sluggish than before. Should I consider a 1:2:2 ratio for feedings?
you can feed at 1:1:1 or 1:2:2 etc - the starter will adapt to cope: they are pretty flexible.
Personally I'd stick to 1:1:1 once every 24h however; it's not going to do it ANY harm to get a bit hungry. Do try to include about 10-20% wholewheat flour in there however to keep introducing new species and nutrients.
Concerning the doubling I think you just need to give it more time: at least another week and possibly two... you probably haven't got the full range of microbial flora yet.
Hi there,
Thanks for your post.
I also have a starter that won't double. It bubbles and smells yeasty. I feed it 2X a day (3X yesterday because I would like to bake with it). But it won't double! I have been feeding it for 2 weeks, so I suspect I am doing something wrong with the ratios. I have been feeding by volume - 2 parts starter, 1 part unbleached white flour, 1 part water (I switched to distilled water a few days ago in case the city water was too chlorinated). I'm willing to be patient - I just want to make sure my methodology is ok.
Thanks for any advice you can offer...
Rachel
It may be a bit young and/or it may need to be a bit more sour.
If it’s been active for more than a month already, try holding off feeding it for 24h, or until all visible activity has ceased. Then taste a bit to check it’s sour... if so, then feed it 1:4:4 including about 20% wholewheat. If alternatively it wasn’t sour, then leave it for a further 12h before feeding.
Don’t worry, going hungry for a day or two won’t harm it.
Thanks for your reply, Martin. I appreciate it.
Does your starter bubble up in volume until it is double in size?
The lady I got this starter from said it doesn't need to double in size as long as it has good bubbling action.
Thanks!
I will also add that the lady I got this from said it is a very "peppy" sour and she has used it for years. So I don't think it is that it is too "young." I just don't know if I am doing something wrong.
I'll try letting it get a little "hungrier."
Mine does, yes - however there is nothing ‘magic’ about doubling in volume. There are basically two things going on here:
The expansion in volumes of the starter relies on a combination of BOTH these factors. IE there has to be both gas being produced, and enough gluten in the mixture that the bubbles get nice and big before they ‘pop’.
The key point in knowing when to use the starter for baking, or when it’s ready to be fed, is being able to judge the level of metabolic activity - i.e. the rate of gas production. Whether this is associated with a doubling in volume, or more, or less, depends on the gluten level in the mixture - which isn’t so important. The only thing is that in general peak gas production equates to peak volume... more or less.
If you want to bake with a starter (I.e. use it to inflate a dough) then you want to add it when it is at its maximum level of activity... which you estimate by seeing that it has achieved peak volume (usually ‘holding at the peak’).
Alternately if you want to know when to feed it efficiently, without just burning through your flour supplies at maximum rate, you want to know that it’s USED UP all the previous food... which you estimate by seeing that it’s stopped producing gas, or in other words has passed its peak and collapsed back down again (and also, incidentally, starts tasting acidic).
I hope that helps... I don’t recall if I already mentioned it by the way, but it’s very instructive to make a time-lapse video of your starter’s behaviour in the hours after being fed. It’s extremely easy to do so with a mobile phone or tablet camera - for iPhone or iPad, just open the camera app and swipe left or right until it shows ‘time-lapse’ then just point it at the jar, put a wristwatch in shot, and leave it running overnight (plugged in!)
Wow, Martin, that was an extremely helpful explanation! I really appreciate it. That makes sense - I'm looking for signs of active metabolism. I definitely see that.
I just checked my jar again after about 4 hours and I can see bubbles and that the volume has gone up by about 30%. I'll watch it a little longer to help me understand its growth cycle.
THANK YOU so much!!
Rachel