May 10, 2023 - 1:44pm
First time doing sourdough. Frustrated with problems
hi,
I need help
I am starting my first sourdough using ken forkish. I am in day 4. The sourdough has not risen for the last two days. I feed today. 200 gr levain, 500 gr whole wheat flour and 500 gr tap water at 32. This was done at 7:30 am. The starter smells strong of vinegar and nail polish.(2:30 pm). It has not risen It's temperature is 21.2 c. My apartment temp is 22. There is some hooch in the starter with some bubbles.
What should I do?
Throw everything away and forget about. I feel I am wasting flour. Frustrated
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First Time Sourdough + Ken Forkish + 100's of Grams = Not a very good formula.
Find a small jar. Transfer 40g starter and feed 40g water + 40g flour. Give it a very good stir and don't feed for another 24 hours. After which, every 24 hours feed as follows...
Carry on with this schedule till you see more activity. Then slowly increase the feed amount and how often it is fed to match the strength of the starter.
Many thanks!
For long I should do this schedule. When I should know the starter is ready
Just keep on that schedule till you see activity every time it is fed. Once you do then come back and we'll adjust the feed.
It took me about 6 weeks to get a starter going well. For a lot of people, it apparently only takes a week or two, but just because yours takes longer, it doesn't mean it won't ever be good. Just follow what Abe says and watch the starter, not the date!
Also, since you're using tap water, you could try leaving it out in a pitcher for a day before using it, to get rid of any chlorine. I always have a jug of "bread water" on the counter for feeding my starter and making bread, and things started working a lot better after I stopped using water directly from the tap.
This video is long and boring, but Erin McKenney says starters don't change much after 14 days, so, when I recently made yet another starter I gave it a full 14 days to ripen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cbeKdqV_NY&t=797s
Be patient; it will smell all kinds of funky while it is ripening. 4 days are way too short for starter.
Rule #1: there is no "hurry up" with sourdough.
Pineapple juice is a clever trick but I don't think you need it. Just let it sit for 14 days.
Forkish finally figured out how to make a starter without wasting ridiculous quantities of flour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpIFSgBurH4
Think about it, Abe.
If he is making his first starter, where is he going to come up with the 40g of starter your instruction calls for?
Old Steve Martin routine: "How to be a millionaire without paying taxes. First, get a million dollars".
Just mix flour and water and let it sit covered in a warm place for 14 days, adding flour and stirring daily.
Was on Day 4...
"I am starting my first sourdough using ken forkish. I am in day 4. The sourdough has not risen for the last two days".
Instead of starting again I advised to use 40g starter that they had going already.
It looks like you are using the formula in Forkish “Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast” which wastes a lot of flour. I never made that levain after reading all the criticism of it on this forum.
He has a new book out called “Evolutions in Bread” which uses a much more reasonable amount of flour and water to make a starter/levain. The book has a lot of pictures so you can see what the starter should look like each day.
I had never made a starter before, but I followed the method in his new book (and the video Doughooker posted) and I have been using it since September. I feed it once a week and bake once a week, so it works out well. You might find that one easier than the one in FWSY.