Just found this and reading (?hundreds) of old threads.
On day 9 of a rye starter. House is about 67-70 degrees. It smells nice and day 2 stinky explosion but otherwise doesnt bubble and rise.
I went into this with advice to just discard "whatever" and feed it 1:1. So at any given time I could have had any amount of starter and been adding 25/25 up to 75/75.
I thought I was underfeeding it, so switched to twice a day. Have also tried 100 degree proof in my oven for a few hours. Still no good bubbles or rise bit smells nice.
However, I think where I'm going wrong is I should have a known quantity of starter each time.
Should I go 1:1:1 or 1:2:2?
And would you do 24 hours, 12, or a long wait once like 48h?
Thanks
it will take longer to get active yeast thriving. Overfeeding is often a big problem when starting up a starter also getting the starter warm enough. 100°F is a bit extreme and too warm. Use 90° as your max. Next, stop feeding it so much right now. Watch the starter and wait for bubbles to form. My suggestion would be to stop feeding, get it about 76° to 78° ( at least above 75°F) and wait for signs of sourness and gas formation. If it is thick enough it may trap bubbles.
Taste the concoction you have and
*if it tastes like wet flour, give it two days before adding any extra flour to thicken it up.
*If it tastes sour, reduce to about 40g add a tablespoon of water and enough rye flour to make a soft paste. Get it warmer (starters really like body heat) Then watch it. Don't feed until it has risen to its max and bubbly. It should smell fruity and have a sour taste. It may take a day or two.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/61186/new-starter-7-days-do-i-still-feed-if-no-activity