Hi. Thanks in advance for any help. I'm on day 9 of my starter, which is 3 days of letting it sit and 6 days of feeding. ((I used Alton Brown's instructions.) I did not discard any until day 4 of feeding (forgot that step.) My starter has some bubbles but no rising. Good news is it smells sour and good. Maybe a little floury. I think I may be keeping it too thick(?) It's too thick to pour. Can I revive it at this point?
About consistency: 125 gm flour is about 1/2 cup by weight. 125 gm water is about 1/4 cup by weight. So are feedings supposed to be 1:1 volume, as a lot of recipes say, or weight:weight as a lot of recipes say? Brown's recipe was by weight. Two VERY different consistencies.
Thank you.
Mallory Kane
We feed by weight. Feeding by volume makes the starter too liquidy.
Try giving your starter a stir and cut back on the frequency of feeding. When it has lots of bubbles and starts rising, then you can go back to feeding it more often. Be aware that when it gets going, you might need to increase the amount you feed it so it isn’t hungry by the next feeding. And be aware that you can keep small amounts so you are not wasting flour.
I am keeping a lot. I have trouble throwing away paper and dip tubs, you can imagine how I feel about sourdough starter. I've considered saving a small amount, say 60 gm, in a different jar to see how a small starter performs. I appreciate your answer.
I left the starter for 24 hrs without feeding and it bubbled like mad and went from a faint sour smell to an alcoholic/ fruity smell. Fed it y'day. Now keeping it in oven with light at constant 83 degrees. This morning it smells pleasantly fruity, and still madly bubbly, but very little rising. See pics. I hope the thumbnails show up. I'm encouraged. Do I keep feeding and wait for sour smell? Am I correct that until it starts doubling in size it's not ready to make bread? Thank you so much.
Rickey Mallory
Thicken it up with more flour when you feed it. You are off to a great start.