Hi, my sourdough starter is one month old and i am getting nice results so far. I bake once a week and feed the starter once a week n I keep it in the fridge. This week i could not bake so I forgot to feed too. Its been 12 days since I fed my starter it looks healthy but tastes very sour n fizzy like carbonated drink. Is it normal? Can I bake with this starter?
I've never been able to bring myself to taste raw sourdough, but CO2 is a normal byproduct of both the yeast and obligately heterofermentative lactobacilli, and CO2 is "fizzy", aka carbonation. The acids are produced by the lactobacilli.
I've been able to keep my starter for 4 weeks in the refrigerator, and it still works fine after refreshment.
Mine is like that too when ripe - it fizzes on the tongue and tastes sour. That's after 18-24 hrs. I think that's normal. Refresh it once or twice before baking with it and you should be fine.
I would take a small sample and feed, letting it peak before using. You might want to hang on to this fizzy starter just to see how long the fizz lasts and how long it will inoculate flour & water or takes to turn into beer. Do replace the fridge storage starter for bread baking, but you see, it does hold for a few weeks easily, Mix it a little firmer (a bit more flour) and it will last longer. (I can't help but think your starter will be more vigorous from now on.)
Tasting can be so informative! Just tasted mine. Too much like wet flour even though it smells sour. Mine needs more fermentation before using.
Mini
It tingles on your tongue. I assume your starter is just doing its fermenting thing.
Even i dont like to taste the sourdough. I only licked a small drop. It tingled like a strong cola. Good to know its active. I am baking something good today.