how would i know if it's a bad stink or a good stink...?

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Netanel on 4 Feb 2018 at 03:59

so.. i started my starter 60 hours ago. i fed it after the 48 hours and also now (12 hours later).

the starter is doubled in size and all seems like i read\watched.

but... it kinda stinks. the all kitchen now have a smell of yogurt-like. is it good? is it bad? 

 

BTW - how to know when I can use the starter to bake?

it's floating and it's rises

It's still very young and you'll need to keep on feeding it for a few more days until it is ready. It might go through a variety of smells and even get less active. Have patience, keep it warm and feed when it needs to be fed. If all goes quiet then you can skip a feed or two. If the activity keeps up then carry on with regular feeds. 

I’ve never experienced the initial bad smelling starter, so I have no experience with that. But I was thinking, in this case would pineapple juice be in order? Just curious.

Danny

Pineapple juice is good for the first feed for a kick start. This should help avoid a leuconostoc stage. But since it's already 2.5 days in and had a couple of feeds I'd say ride it out. It's a normal stage after all and once it begins to smell nice then that'll be a good sign. And yoghurt smell I wouldn't say is bad. Believe me there's worse. 

but how do i know it is ready? 

and.. my house is a bit cold. is it really bad? it's not freezing.. but cold. 

didn't understand... you saying if there is a lot of activity (rises) so to keep feeding normally and if there is not much activity so i can skip days? 

Warmth is the key. If your house is cold you really need to get inventive and find a way to get your starter up to around 75-78F. It'll take a long time if you don't. 

As for the feedings you should be feeding in rhythm of the starter. But to avoid complicating matters if I were you I'd feed once every 24 hours by taking off half and replacing with fresh flour and water. 

E.g. if you have 100g starter then every 24 hours take off 50g and feed it 25g water + 25g flour. 

Get some wholegrain in there and find a way to keep it warm! 

Once it begins to pick up, get more active and speed up then you can take off a little more and give it a bigger feed and feed it twice a day. But most importantly for now is to find a way to keep it warm. 

 

ok. so i'll try to keep it warm and i'll feed it every 24 like you said. but how do i know it is ready? 

how to know "now i can use it!"? 

 

btw.. i will be out for 2 days.. what to do? can i skip 48h? 

 

Starts bubbling up and peaking quicker, in about six hours, and it smells good then its ready. Feeds 24 hours apart for now while it's slow but should be fed more often, twice a day, when it starts to mature. 

When going away just refrigerate and pick up where you left off when you get back. Or give it to a friend to take care of. 

I've been keeping mine on the counter, fairly liquidy, not in the fridge.  Warmer temp and wetter starters promote sweeter lactic acid, instead of the pungent acetic acid from colder, firmer starters.  The smell is much nicer.