The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Starter left out for 5 days, still good?

JRo's picture
JRo

Starter left out for 5 days, still good?

Hi all,

I’m still very much a beginner with sourdough.  I have been maintaining my starter for 2 years and it has been active and healthy.  When baking often, i would feed it daily.  When not baking often, i kept it in the fridge and fed it weekly.  It would double to triple in height in 12-24 hours.

I went away for 5 days and forgot to put it in the fridge.  It was at room temp 66-68deg F for that entire time, out of direct sunlight.  When i got back, it was very thin and smelled of acetone.  There was no mold, no odd colors, no liquid on top.  It has been 4 days, i have been feeding it 1-2x/day to try and get it going again but there is minimal reaction.

Is this salvageable?  Should i try something different?  Or is it a goner?  (I’d love to keep this starter if possible for sentimental reasons…)

Thanks all!

 

Abe's picture
Abe

Then give it some TLC till it loses the acetone smell and rises well. 

Edit... and of course don't overfeed it. Wait until each feed matures before feeding again. Sorry for my quick reply... was about to board my flight. That's what I meant by TLC. Golden rule is to allow your starter to dictate when it needs feeding. 

Debra Wink's picture
Debra Wink

Here's the thing -- if you have fed it more than 4 times when there has been no activity, all you're doing is flushing away your cultures. You have given it more than enough fresh flour at this point and now it needs time to reawaken. No more feeding until you see signs of activity, even if it takes 3 days.

Benito's picture
Benito

Listen to Debra, she is right, each time you feed where there hasn’t been any sign of activity you are diluting your culture so that there are fewer microbes.  Wait until there is a good amount of activity with your starter peaking (domed) and then just starting go fall flattening dome, before feeding again.

 

JRo's picture
JRo

OK, that makes sense!  Thanks for all your help!

Debra Wink's picture
Debra Wink

It may be vulnerable to mold at this point, so you should probably stir and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula once every 24 hours to discourage that. I hope it bounces back for you!