July 30, 2020 - 9:04pm
Is my starter ok?
I live in a tiny country in the Caribbean. We can't get unbleached flour here so I used regular bleached AP flour. Its been a day and I don't know if I should keep feeding it or if I should give it up. It says it is enriched but I don't know if it will work.
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Even with whole grain flour, the process may take at least 7-14 days to get something strong/useful. With bleached AP, the process could be longer or may not even work. the issue is that there are likely no good bacteria or yeast in the flour itself and you'll rely on what is in the environment. Whole grain will likely provide all those for you. If you could get some whole grain flour in there it will really help kick things off.
also check out other sources of yeast/bacteria to build your starter like:
https://www.food.com/recipe/nancy-silverton-s-grape-sourdough-starter-316306
Enriched is ok, just means some vitamins are added, nothing wrong with that. Most of my starters began with bleached white, and it will work, but as mentioned, it does take longer and success rate drops. With white flour I find best to keep it uncovered to get some air flow - you'll be relying more heavily on airborne contamination. Just mix it (makes it on the thick side) and leave it alone til you see some rising and/or bubbles, then feed to keep that consistency. I'll bet you have access to pineapples, and a little bit of juice when first mixed can help things along. You can also try a little oatmeal and/or wild berries (just made 1 from flour, oatmeal and a backyard raspberry - morning of the 3rd day it exploded - made a loaf a few days later).
Patience is the main ingredient at this stage - the more of that you have the better things work out. Enjoy!
something that is so ripe it's fermenting and blend with some water to thin it a little and add some of the flour. Soft paste to batter consistency. Cover to keep bugs out and prevent drying yet let gas escape. A loose rubber band and plastic or a saucer. Use about Two tablespoons of extremely ripe fruit, Two tablespoons of water and one heaping tablespoon of flour. Just watch for the first two days then dubble up on the third day. Discard the half and repeat on the forth day and if needed on following days until a large yeasty growth spurt is noticed. Then convert to just water and flour in equal weights. And. !!! And when the yeasts are pumping out a fair amount of gas, increase the amount of flour to water ratio while reducing the amount of culture in the blend. (Down to about a rounded teaspoon.) Your warm temps will be an asset so I don't expect the process to take too long and keep it out of the sun.
When the yeast show themselves they will demand more flour food. Keep us posted as to whats going on if you need assurance or help.
I made my starter using bleached flour. It took a long time to get going (like more than three weeks) but it was winter and cold here. Definitely don't give up!
That's why wholegrain works best. Although if one has white flour, while it isn't as ideal as wholegrain, it'll still work. But white flour that has been bleached really is pushing it. So while the odds are really stacked against this starter it's certainly not impossible. Over time i'm sure some wild yeast and bacteria will take up home within the starter however it's going to take a lot of time.
What it needs is a push in the right direction and i'm going to suggest something along the lines of what Mini said. Introducing another source of wild yeast and bacteria by some other means be it fruit or some other vegetation.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/58556/what-say-you
why not check with a bakery and see if you can purchase some sourdough starter. Then all you'd have to do is maintain it.