Hi everyone!
I've never done anything like this before but have been watching youtube videos about baking and thought I'd try my hand at a sourdough starter. It seemed like a cool project and something to keep me occupied.
About a week ago I started with whole wheat flour and water. I fed it for two days and then started taking a small part of the starter and feeding it every 24 hours with a 50/50 mix of whole wheat and all purpose flour. So far the smell has changed a lot, from nasty to yoghurt-y, and I've been seeing bubbles. But it has not risen at all yet.
My house isn't as warm as I think it should be and putting it in the oven with the light on is not an option. Also I feel like the bubble-activity has slowed down a lot in the last 2 days.
Should I just persevere with it or have I messed up somewhere along the way? I'm a bit neurotic and I'm worrying a little because my starter doesn't look like any of the ones I've seen in videos.
Thank you!
"I'm a bit neurotic" plus "I have a new sourdough starter" equals "I don't know whether to laugh or cry, so I'll try a bit of both". ?
The usual best advice for the slightly-neurotic sourdough newbie is "Resist the urge. Whatever you just thought of, don't do it."
Please act in a way that you would call "irresponsible" and let the sourdough take care of itself for a while. It will turn out better that way. ?
Keep going with daily feeds, you will soon see it change again. While establishing your starter it will pass through 4 stages and may take up to two weeks. The first bubbles you see are not yeast activity by nasty smelly bacteria (as you are using water), these will die off and be replaced by other good ones as the Ph drops. At the right Ph, the yeasts will wake up and slowly increase and will work hand-in-hand with the lactobacilli evidenced by a nice yeast/beer smell. Nature needs time so be patient. You may need to give it another feed or two of whole wheat flour for a kick-along.
Cheer.
After having persisted for about 3-4 weeks feeding/discarding with just water and flour yesterday ( and on more than one occasion thinking of giving up) I swapped or water for Pineapple Juice. The change in bubble activity and the volume increase in the starter volume has been significant. This morning I discarded some starter and then refeed with Flour and Pineapple Juice. This afternoon I can see small bubbles so I fingers crossed I now have a viable starter. The starter is very much 'a zoo' of yeast and bacteria. It seems like it takes time for a 'stable' starter colony is formed - persist would be my advice.
Not quite sure of your process. You say you fed it for a day or two and then started taking a small part of starter... Plus the activity has slowed down.
I find it's best not to overfeed at the young stage and not too often either. The PH level is trying to lower and become acidic. Too much fresh flour and too soon seems counterproductive. Plus if there is no activity then what are you feeding?
Take a break, keep it warm and give it a stir every 12 hours instead of a feed. See what happens over the next day or two or even three. Have patience.