Hi everyone, just after a bit advice as I am a newbie to the whole starter business. I have been making the starter peter reihnhart recommends, using pineapple juice to make seed culture then feeding when looking active and finally in the fridge too be fed every 5 days with a 1:3:2 ratio. But the thing is the starter no longer looks very active. It smells nice and fruity and I have just baked a 100% wholewheat loaf which has totally collapsed when taken out of the basket. Does anybody know where I am going wrong? And anyone any advice for a newbie? I liked this recipe because I don't have to feed every 12 hours as I have 2 children under 2 and will probably forget or not get a minute.
Any help greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
To get it back up to speed, I would suggest biting the bullet and leaving it out at room temperature and feeding every 12 hours for several days. I know I stashed my starter in the fridge when I couldn't bake for a few months and it was quite sluggish. It took a couple of weeks of regularly feeding it to get it make in fighting form. If you don't want to feed it every 12 hours, try a 1:2:2 feeding every 24 hours. That should work okay.
Hi Kathy F, thanks for the advice, really appreciate it.
When you are feeding in order to put the starter into the fridge, you should be feeding and then letting the starter raise a bit (if whole grain then maybe 50% rise, if white flour then double) before putting into the fridge. In other words, you want to be putting a starter into the fridge when the microbes are very active and multiplying. Maybe you're already doing this, but since it wasn't mentioned in your original post I thought I'd mention it.
Of course, as the poster above noted, you probably need to get the starter back up to speed before going to the fridge again.
I, too, had the Reinhardt book and found his approach confusing. That is what lead me to this site in the first place.
Below are links that you should read that explain the whole process better than BBA. I followed the pineapple method in the first link below, and my results were quite similar. The key for me was that mine was active but lagging until I upped the temperature to mid 70s F.
Once your culture is up and running, you'll chuckle that you ever worried about it, because the culture is very resilient. But the sour will disappear, and you'll have to study how to get it back, if you want it. You can look that up when the time comes. Dabrownman's many instructive posts here will be a good resource. Happy baking!
Step by step: https://www.theperfectloaf.com/sourdough-starter-maintenance-routine/#more-1429
Wink Pineapple Method - Part 1 - http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/10856/pineapple-juice-solution-part-1
Wink Pineapple Method - Part 2 - http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/10901/pineapple-juice-solution-part-2
Bob & Fred - Maintenance without waste - http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/32136/life-fred-maintaining-starter-pictures
Bob & Fred - "Is Fred Dead?..." - http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/44777/fred-dead-practical-starter-abuse
in the fridge for 4-6 months with no maintenance if built healthy, stored at the right time and stored properly. It will make a fine levain every week with a small amount of it used for a 3 stage levain of 4 hours each using progressively larger amounts of flour and water each stage. In 12 hours you have a levain ready to go.
Whit flour starters, specially wet ones, go through food quick and there isn't any buffering ability of bran that allows the culture to survive better for longer time at low temperatures. It is going to be hungry after a week of storage and it needs to be taken out of the fridge and brought back to life on the counter with multiple feedings while you build a levain with a bit of it. White starters require more work and feeding ti be healthy and strong - it is the nature of the beast,..
No Muss No Fuss Starter
I agree with Dab. I keep my rye starter in the fridge for weeks without feeding it and it raises my loaves just fine. I've used as little as 6g of it to start my leaving builds.
I keep it at about 67% hydration.
Good luck !
Thanks everyone, Amazing advice.
Thanks.
I've found, too, that once I've taken my culture out of the fridge, I need to dump all the alcohol plus half of the starter and feed to bring it back to volume and leave it for the day. The next morning I dump all the alcohol plus about 80% of the starter. I use quart jars, so I then add back equal parts flour and warm water and stir very well. In 3-4 hours the mixture is trying to blow the lid off my quart mason jars. Now's the time to get your dough made or knock it down and put the jar back in the fridge.