Hello, I am new to sourdough, and even after spending hours scouring the net for all my queries I still can’t reach peace about my starter :(
on day 1,2,3,4, I used 70g mature starter to 100 grams bread flour and 100g water (feed every 24h)
on day 5,6,7 I used 1:2:2 ratio.
there was a lot of activity on day 1 and 2 (as well as hooch) and I’m aware that this activity is from the ‘bad bacteria’ but after that it has been very quiet. On day 3-5, there was very little bubbles (just tiny ones at the surface) and no rise at all. It smelled very sour (and tasted very sour as well when I used the discard to make pancakes)
on day 6 and 7 it started smelling like yeast, but still no rise. I read that this period of inactivity is normal, but how long should I expect this period to be? The videos on YouTube show the starter rising and falling literally Everyday so I’m Abit concerned, especially about the amount of flour I’m using :(
I live in a very hot and humid country so it’s about high 20 degrees here. When it gets too hot I put my starter in an aircon room.
I use boiled tap water that is left on the counter for a while.
should I keep feeding it or just leave it to do it’s thing? I read that by discarding, I might be removing too much yeast.
Hi! I had similar problems getting a starter going in a hot kitchen. Once I understood what it needed then it was more successful. I recently switched my liquid starter to a stiffer one and it lasts longer on the bench in a warm room. Once your starter starts smelling sour with tiny bubbles on top and flat surface, especially with hooch as well, it’s spent and needs to be fed. While it’s active it should look bubbly on top but most of the activity will still be below the surface. My liquid starter would peak in 6 hours so sometimes you need to ignore times given in recipes which probably are from different climates. When feeding my liquid starter I would only keep about a tablespoon then give it enough food to keep it going, like at least 100g each flour and water. If you think about how the starter got going- the naturally occurring yeast in the flour.. then every time it’s fed you’re giving it a boost of fresh yeast as well. Hope that helps, I understand the frustration!
Thanks for the reply!
The thing is, even after I fed it, it doesn’t rise at all (it’s appearance basically remains the same at all times, it only becomes more liquidy after a while) so I’m not sure when it is ‘hungry’...
also the hooch only formed when it managed to double in size(day1,2) after day 2 it was just stagnant the whole time
Please, while starting up a new starter, don't use any discard until yeast have shown up and the starter is active from something other than rogue bacteria.
The problem sounds like over feeding too soon in the beginning. Hooch on the second day can only be separation between water and flour not alcohol. It is not a sign to feed the starter. Perhaps stirring would be better. High 20°s C is not too hot and a good temp. 26° ideal for after the first slightly warmer first day. Those first bacteria are getting busy and make a little acid. As acid builds in the starter, another group of bacteria take over until the desired bacteria group gets the acid level low enough to let the yeast get into rapid reproduction. Then you will see doubling or more rise, but only if the flour & water mixture is thick enough to trap bubbles. So if you want to see if that is happening while little bubbles are popping on the surface, simply, without discarding, add flour to thicken up the goo. Make it a little dough like, roll soft ball into flour and watch it in the bottom of a narrow glass.
In this situation I would go find that jar of discard if you saved any from previous days and see what it is doing while not being fed. It may be further along than the fed one. Take a spoonful and feed it separately and race the two of them.
Hi mini, are u saying that I shouldn’t be eating the discard? (That’s bad... I felt bad throwing the discard away so I fried it up and ate it...)
also about over feeding, I don’t think that it is the case. I only feed it once every 24h and with temperatures being 27-30degrees here I don’t think over feeding is the issue
the part about it being too liquid to keep bubbles in might be something! When I first stir the flour and water in, the texture is like a thick batter but by the next day it becomes quite liquid. I will cut down on the water when feeding!
is stronger, use any discard but right now the culture is still sorting itself out I don't suggest it.
Hi mini oven! Thanks for your help, by reducing the hydration I think it enabled the starter to rise more (only 1/3, but it’s way better than no rise!)
I also switched to whole wheat flour so maybe that helped as well :)
giving flour with more wee beasties, enzymes and minerals helped along with less water to stimulate bacteria and yeast production. High hydration starters don't rise as high and very wet starters may not rise at all but they can ferment faster. That's why I tend to start out warm and thin and gravitate to thicker and more moderate temps as time goes on and yeast numbers increase. More dough like starters take longer to ferment but expand more up to the point where they can no longer trap gas. (That gas release can happen for a number of reasons.)
Testing with pH is always a little tricky as it not a test to total acid. You can have a low pH reading but too early to feed for yeast activity yet diluting is needed. Thus the often confusing interpretations as to how to trouble shoot a "stuck starter." The more information provided by the poster the easier it is to figure these things out and make good suggestions. Since we can't observe directly, we can only suggest or say to split the starter and... "try this" or "try that" or wait and see what else happens. Some suggestions can work in your kitchen under your conditions better than others. What works for one may or may not work for another. That is the challenge and the fun in these wild and tame sourdough starters.
So relax and enjoy the fun. Enjoy the reads.