Hello,
hi, im from Kuwait.
My starter is 5-6 days old. Its not fermenting. And im losing faith in it.
this is not my first time. Ive done failed starters a few months back then stopped.
There are signs of microbial activity. Its sour. Yes there are one or two bubble.
but no rise in volume. No wild yeast.
tried plenty of ratios (in the past) 1.1.1 - 1.2.2 you name it.
why is it not possibly fermenting.
ive seen plenty of starter recipes. All call for different methods. Thats why i feel theres no standard method. But i cant make it work.
help.
thankyou
You haven't really given much information. What kind of flour are you using? White, whole wheat, and rye behave differently. Approximately what is the temperature where the starter is sitting? How often are you feeding the starter? It's hard to say what you're doing wrong without knowing much about what you're doing.
My best bet, from the limited information you've given, is that you may not be feeding the starter often enough for the ratios and temperature. My understanding is that the yeast tends to get going fastest, but that it slows down once things get too acidic. So if you feed the starter more often, or (up to a point) feed it more, then you'll get more yeast activity.
Another (less likely) possibility is that you actually haven't gotten any appropriate yeast in the culture. I think this could happen, theoretically, if your flour is processed at much too high a temperature. The usual recommendation is to start new starters using stone-ground organic whole grain flour. That said, I'd be pretty surprised if that were actually the problem.
My principles for any starter (I make gluten free ones now, the same way).
* grind your own grain for the starter, even if it's not perfectly ground, it's better; a coffee grinder works fine
*organic if possible because sprays will mess it up ; same principle, use spring water if you can, or ensure there is no chemical like chlorine in the water
*use a whole grain, so if it's quinoa, try to get red or black quinoa because the hulled white is not as quick
* use an acidic liquid instead of water for the first few days (pineapple juice is traditional, but use what you have)
* quiescent starters can be encouraged by adding a small amount one of these, and removing them after three days: onion slice, grape skin from organic grape (or unsprayed if that's all you have), a bit of sauerkraut, cabbage leaf, kefir or yogurt
*use a scale to measure by weight so that the hydration is at least 100% every time you feed it
*feed it every 12 hours if 24 hours seems too long (if there is hooch)
*stir vigorously when feeding to aerate the mixture
*after you see some bubbles, plus if you've waited 7 days, put the jar in the refrigerator for 24 hours, then take out, feed, and allow to come to room temp -- this last trick works quite well and it helps if you decide to use a cold rise someday.
*don't give up
Good luck!
Since they already have a sour starter, there's no point monkeying around with other acids.
Adding other fruits/vegetables will introduce yeast and/or bacteria, but they're not likely to be ones that will actually survive in sourdough culture for long. The general consensus is that there's no point trying to introduce microorganisms from an external source. The organisms you want are in the flour or on the baker.
100% hydration is fine, but drier starters work quite well too. Consistency is generally a good idea.
There's really no need to aerate the starter; we don't do that when we mix dough.
I don't understand what you're trying to accomplish with the refrigerator at the end.
stop feeding it for a day and get the temp between 75°F and 78°F. See if that helps.
In the beginning i used "bob's red mill" unbleached white flour. I feed it every morning. I then introduced whole wheat to see if i can accelerate the fermentation.
Yesterday i've added whole wheat that ive ground my self with a coffee grinder.
If any one knows vanessa - a british baker. She suggests we use freshly ground floor (3 months max). going to try fresh now on. But im pretty sure other people succeeded with aged flour.
as to the temperature of the water, iv never monitored it. I only use lukewarm or a few degrees warmer. I dont think you have to be scientific that much. but i can if i have to.
thank you guys for replying.
throw a couple in your starter. I know some folks disagree but many agree with this as a valid way to get a starter going.
Nancy Silverton, in fact.
...a more experience bread baker shared his method with me when my lackluster starter seemed barely alive. I switched from the Tartine feeding method to this: 50g starter : 50g water : 75g flour.
Details: water is purified and about 80 degrees F. Flour is a 50/50 mixture of King Arthur Organic Bread Flour and Arrowhead Mills Organic Rye. I put the starter in the oven with the light on, along with a medium sized pot of boiling water. I live in a cold house, so I do what I can to keep it warm in that oven.
I fed it only once every other day for the next eight days. That helped. So did less water (I had been using too much), and a warmer environment.
More bubbles appeared and after about 10 days, it doubled. Huge difference, much better.