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.
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.