July 7, 2020 - 3:31am
Help needed with starter
Hi folks
I need some help with my sourdough starter. Everything had been progressing nicely in the first few days, bubbling away well, growing within 4hrs of feeding. Then, all of a sudden, it seems to have died off. There are still some bubbles on the top, but there is no growing at all. I've tried reducing the amount of starter, and feeding, but still nothing happening.
Is it time to start over again? I guess nothing lost but some flour and water!
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You’re actually progressing along a perfectly normal path. Don’t give up, your starter is doing exactly what it supposed to be doing.
For a more in-depth explanation of how a starter evolves from just wet flour to a thriving ecosystem of useful microorganisms, check out Debra Wink’s amazing articles, “The Pineapple Juice Solution (parts 1&2)”
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/10856/pineapple-juice-solution-part-1
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/10901/pineapple-juice-solution-part-2
Don't feed it until you see a bit if activity, and cut back on water to thicken it up. If you start over using the same method you'll end up at the same place again, so just keep going.