Hey everyone..
I have a question thats been perplexing me quite a bit and im finally turning to the pros.
I have a new starter that i started in september using the pineapple juice method. I work 12 hour shift work and have 7 days off every two weeks, and i bake pretty much EVERY day off. So my starter stays on the counter full time and is fed daily.
The starter leavens like gangbusters and have absolutely no problems baking with it. Over the past three weeks its gone from fruity, slighty acidic smelling to absolutely hoochie smelling 12 hours after every feeding. I feed with AP flour and tap water and keep it at 80% hydration.
So far ive tried switching to bottled water, changing my hydration level, a new clean and sterilized container, and its just as active as ever. and it still smells STRONGLY like terpentine.
Im trying one last experiment and saved just 25g of it in a new container and trying to slowly build up feedings.
Like ive said...it performs beautifully, but the smell is so strong it makes me worry that there could be something beyond Lacto involved and i dont want to be the cause of a friend or family member becoming ill.
as a final note, once baked, i dont detect any of these notes.
Any hints, suggestions or info would be greatly appreciated. Ive only been baking with sourdough for 2 years and to this point the only hooch ive experienced has been when its gone a few days unfed on the counter.
Thank you!
Bart
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for bread, does it smell like that as well?
The starter that I keep in the fridge smells the same but when I do the final build where I feed it 5 times the flour and 4 times the water, the smell is completely gone and it smells like lovely rising bread.
Could be because it's covered and that first sniff is strong. It would be. What does it smell like when the lid has been of for a minute or two?
In the days where you keep it at room temperature and it's permanently active it'll eat through the food quicker than when it's in the fridge. When feeding a starter from a fridge 1:1:1 it might take 12 hours to mature. But when you feed this now fully mature starter the same ratio of 1:1:1 it'll take quicker. So your feeds while it is kept at room temperature might have to be altered. Acetone smell and hooch means its hungry. May I suggest a ratio of 1:5 starter:flour. And perhaps at a lower hydration to slow it down.
...OH SILLY ME! I'VE JUST RE-READ YOUR COMMENT AND HERE IS THE ANSWER:
Well of course it's gonna smell of acetone and create a lot of hooch if unfed on the counter for a few days. A starter kept at room temperature needs to be fed everyday. That's why one keeps it in the fridge unless using often. Which you are doing but I don't get why you aren't feeding it often.
and my bread tasted like acetone too. i couldn't eat it and had to throw it out.
i tried a few things, but ultimately i fed it pineapple juice instead of water for one or two of my feedings, and just fed it normally. within 3-4 days, it was back to it's old self.
i think the pH of the starter was off, and this helped reset it. i'm not a scientific as other people on the board (search debra wink).
hope this helps. good luck.