Hello, I just began a new starter a bit over a week ago using the Tartine Bread recipe. I have made this before but never with all organic flour. My starter does not seem to be active enough. It is not doubeling in size. I has bubbles, looks and smells healthy. I tried feeding it twice a day and it didn't make much a difference. Maybe I need to keep feeding it twice a day? Is it the organic flour? Any info would be great! Thanks.
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What sourdough starter "recipes" don't tell you is that there are no recipes.
What happens when you try the float test? When mature drop a little starter into a glass of water. Does it float or sink?
Mine took two weeks before it was finally ready to make a loaf. Got really funky at first, then spent a week kind of liquid-y with just tons of small bubbles developing after 24 hours, but no real growth. Then it just took off.
My starter is nine years old, When I first got it going I was the king of helicopter parenting doing crazy a** stuff like feeding it twice a day.
These days I make bread In as few moves as possible. Here's what I do.
Kitchen Scenario A; My bowl is empty of dough. I just cooked the last of my approx 1800 gram doughball. Maybe I used the last remnant for pizza maybe I made a loaf a bread, no difference, I'm out of stock in the dough department. The side of the unwashed bowl still has some live dough particles sticking to it. Using this to "infect" my next edition I add a little flour I add a little water I stir an put in fridge. I mix by eye now but lets say it's a 1/5 cup of flour and water enough to make it 100 to 125% hydration. Ok couple days later or whatever I pull out the bowl add some more flour add some water if needed stir it and then keep it at 80 degrees until that sh** is foaming up like the yeast I know an love, Boom, time to make sure its in my personal weight range of 500 to 400 grams so 1/2 flour 1/2 h20 then add my 800 to 1000 grams of flour 23-25 grams of salt and mix in the usual manner.