Starting Over
So after a few weeks neglect in the fridge, I attempted to bring my starter back to life.
It had a good bit of hooch, and smelled pretty intense.
It was slow to rise, but eventually did the job. But the aroma/flavor was crazy; this intensly sour, nail-polish like character dominated. And the consistency, was all goop. I keep it around 66% hydration, but this was like pancake batter.
I tried feeding it daily for about a week. But after each rise, the same nail-polish fruity (almost banana) aroma, and sticky goopy consistency, as though all the gluten was completely melted.
What happened?
Did some crazy bacteria/enzyme/yeast take over my beloved starter?
It seemed like it would be impossible to make bread with this, so I dumped it all (though i slightly regret it, some of those fruit aromas were very interesting from a brewer's perspective). I had frozen some healthy starter back in February, and I am attempting to bring this back to life.
Wish me luck.
I am curious though, if anyone has experienced anything similar to this, and if there might have been any chance at a resurection.
-Gerard