My main starter, the first I made, was 50/50 WW/WAP @ 100% hydration. I kept it that way through numerous feedings and some failures and several (somewhat) successful loaves.
For some reason, I neglected to feed it the same "blend" and only fed with bleached white for a while. I think I just about starved my poor pet. I know bleached flour isn't optimum for starters and I'm not feeding it 100% WW to bring it back to strength. Flame me if you must, I'll attribute this mistake to a brain fart!!!!
So, this morning's feeding, I took off 60 gms, put in a measuring cup with 60 gms each of WAP and water from the kettle at 100% F as a levain for a loaf I was going to do after supper, put that to one side, and then fed the starter with 50 gms each of WW and the same water as above.
Since that, the Mother has increased by < 50% while the levain has hardly moved.
Any thoughts on the levain, and why it seems nearly inactive? While I know the bleaching process kills any of the minature organisms that supplies yeast, bacteria, et al, but shouldn't the white flour provide enough food for the yeast to become active and eat to it's content?
Jamie
do you know?
I'd just try first to really get your starter working b/f trying to bake.
That's pretty well a constant for anything dough related unless it calls for ice water or specifies room temp for some reason.
Jamie
Take a step back, as if you're creating a starter from scratch. You've fed it but it's slow and/or unresponsive. Keep them warm and stir every few hours. Feed only when you see activity till then wait! Once they get stronger and rise everytime they've been fed then they're fine. Add as much whole flour as possible preferably rye. If you still think something has gone really wrong then perhaps it needs a further nudge with some pineapple juice. Perhaps there's been a contaminant but wait and see.
..... my issue is the mother starter I fed WW was fine and bubbled happily away. However, the starter I took off (from the same bottle) and fed with WAP seemed to get stagnated.
Jamie
By WAP do you mean White All Purpose ? And is the WAP Bleached ? If that is the case, that's probably the reason the levain isn't moving. Bleached flour doesn't provide a very hospitable environment for bacteria and yeast. Although I don't know that the bleaching agents are fungicides, I can't imagine that a sourdough starter, whose action is based on the symbiotic activity of wild bacteria AND yeasts, would thrive with that as its diet.
You will need to get some new flour to make bread with, that's all. Your starter, like children, will live and thrive if fed well !
I have never had any problem using bleached flour when feeding a starter or levain? Any kind of starch seems to work, rice flour, potato flour, bran, sweet potato starch, corn flour or corn starch - the wee beasties I have like anything starchy to feed it as ling as there are enzymes to break the starch down into sugar. Those that are missing amylase, I just add in a bit of diastatic or white malt to take care of that. I have always been amazed at what these wee ones will eat!
Your starter may be way more picky than mine too - depending on the wee beasties in it. The variance can be very large and outcomes way different......nit all wee beasties are the same.
Yesterday morning, when I put on a loaf (another thread for that) I fed my starter with WW. 6 hours later, there was very little sign of activity. I was leaving the house for a meeting and wouldn't be home 'till midnight, so I stirred it and left it in it's cozy home above the fridge. This is what I woke up to this morning (Note the location of the rubber band):
Jamie
Sorry if I confused anyone by using an acronym of my own doing, I thought I'd seen that somewhere.
Yes, the white is bleached. There's no unbleached to be had where I live (a small community an hour outside the city) but just last night when I was in the city for a meeting, I went to one of the newest and biggest grocery stores and got a 5 kg (11 lb) bag of Robin Hood white all purpose unbleached. I have already fed my starter with it this morning and have a loaf fermenting.
Jamie