I have recently made a 100% wholemeal rye starter and I used it a couple of times to bake bread. The first time was a disaster, but the problem may not have been entirely due to my starter. The second attempt, using a different recipe, was better but not really successful. In between the two tries I fed my starter which by the way I'm keeping in the fridge.
I'm trying to maintain the starter as a 100% rye starter and I'm not sure if this is advisable or not. In various photos that I see as well as on videos, the starters are really coming alive with a lot of bubbling activity. Mine is a bit of a sloth. It is fairly liquid, like a thick soup.
Currently I'm experimenting trying to see how much life there is in it and I have these two tasks going on:
1. 20g starter, 25g rye flour, 75g bread flour and 125 ml water.
2. 50 g starter, 25g rye flour, 75g bread flour and 100 ml water.
For both cases I started with a cold starter taken out straight from the fridge. It's been nearly five hours since test 1 began and two and a half hours since test 2 began. Neither starter has shown any signs of visible activity (rising, bubbles). Test 1 smells of "fresh" flour with a sweet undertone. Test 2 has a stronger, rather bitter smell.
Irrespective of how the above experiments may turn out, my question is how do I enliven the rest of the starter that I have kept in the fridge?
Should I take it out and start feeding it regularly?
If so, for how long and in what ratio?
How much of the starter, if any, should I discard each time?
Can I continue feeding it with rye flour?
Update:
Test 1: After about 8.5 hours the starter has risen almost 1 inch in the jar. It doesn't smell much of anything.
Test 2: After about 6 hours the starter has risen almost 1.25 inches in the jar. Again, it doesn't smell as strong as before.
Neither starter contains any significant number of bubbles either on the surface or visible from the sides of their respective container. I'm guessing that more time is needed for fermentation.
What's your ambient temperature?
Currently 22C/71F. Earlier it was about 26C/79F.
By the way, Test 1's rise is starting go down. Test 2 seems to continue to rise.
What kind of water are you using? I have had best expereince with bottled spring water. Chlorinated tap water is not recommended. And I think my bottled spring water (Crystal Geyser) works better than my bottled "purified" water (Fresh Finds) both from Big Lots.
Is your bread flour bleached? I think all flour labeled "bread flour" is unbleached.
Most timings in reference to starters are about beginning with a room temp starter. If you begin with the starter at fridge temp, things will take longer. Also, the added water and flour should be at room temp.
You _can_ begin with cold starter, and adding cold water, and cold flour, but things will just take longer.
If you use any ratios higher than 1:1:1, it will take longer for the starter to peak. it just takes longer for the yeast and LAB to "spread" among the greater mass.
Your first one was 1:5:6.25, and the second was 1:2:2. So both take longer than 1:1:1.
Also, it is recommended, and my experience backs it up, that you mix the water into the starter first, before stirring in the flour. That way you end up with a better dispersal of the pre-existing yeast/LAB into the new food. Insufficient dispersal could mean that clumps of old stuff is isolated and can't get to the new food as easily.
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If you literally created your own starter, pulling the yeast out of the air, etc, (that is, not using somene else's pre-existing culture), it can take 2 to 4 weeks for such a "from scratch" starter to get "balanced" between lactic acid bacteria "LAB" , and the wild yeast. I forget the exact numbers, but maybe up to 10 or 12 feedings, at least, with consistent proportions and kinds of new flour. As someone recently mentioned, brand new starter from scratch goes through stages: child, adolescent, teen, mature, with different behaviors until it gets to mature and stable.
Thank you for the detailed information.
I learned a lot by reading it!
My water is tap water, but it's well filtered and the flour is stated to be unbleached. I suspected that starting with a cold starter may throw out the expected timings. I'll bear in mind the ratios for the next time that \i do this exercise.
It's also useful to learn that my starter is still a child. It's certainly behaving a bit like an undisciplined child, but to be fair it's not entirely its fault. :)
does your water filter specifically claim to remove chlorine? Some do, some don't.
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And here's the comment that mentioned the phases:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/61284/starter-feeding-advice-please
scroll down to jey13's comment.
My water filter does remove chlorine.
Thank you for the link.
Hi Miller:
I was looking at posts and came across yours! "Oscar," my starter, yes that's his name lol. I originally started Oscar off with equal parts stone ground rye flour, and water (which is filtered through my fridge) then microwaved for 30 seconds to make it tepid. Oscar is 12 years old, honestly he was a very unappetizing starter, smelled like stinky feet for 2 days, I thought it would never work-out . I starved him for 3 days, then fed him twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, with equal parts rye flour and water, discarding 1/2 each time!
On day 3 the smell changed to a something similar to acetone, by day 5 he smelled great! yeasty with a tangy rye accent note. I continued feeding him for 12 days to get him stabilized and predictable with rising and fall times.
I never gave up, though I thought it took forever to bake my first loaf! I baked some of the most delicious loaves of rogbrod heavy rye! I am Swedish by descent and this was the bread I grew up on which wasn't easy to find anywhere. Oscar changed over the years rotating with rye flour, then stone ground whole wheat to sometimes spelt flour. You can change the flour taste by discarding 1/2 of it and adding whatever flour you are matching to the bread your baking.
I love the combination of stone ground wheat and rye its earthy and works for all artisan breads! I store Oscar in the fridge when I am not planning on baking for a few days. When I need him I just start the feeding ritual the day before so he gets two feedings and start my bread making the next morning. He is always vigorous and bubbly and his rise is triple by the end of the day. I monitor his rising and falling habits with an elastic band on the outside of the jar at the height of the starter.
I have also given some of the extra starter that I hate wasting to friends in the form of flakes by watering the extra starter down to a very thin paste and brushing it on wax paper with a new 4" paint brush and letting it set overnight at room temperature., then peeling off the flakes and putting them in mason jars to give away. with instructions on a tag saying (to bring Oscar to life, just add equal parts flour and water)
I'm sure your starter just needs a bit of time to turn into the catalyst that will bake you a thousand loaves of amazing bread!
Good luck and I enjoyed reading your posts!
Cheers!
I liked very much reading your story about Oscar. I expect that a sourdough that is present that long in the home after all does become a member of the family. Children usually leave home when they grow up, but sourdough stays for ever. Also, it never asks for money to buy a car, just a little bit of food now and again!
I should report that my sourdough to which I too have given a name, has become quite responsive and active since I last posted here. I suppose all it needed was more time to grow and become more mature. I call my sourdough "Ryan", having in mind that it's made exclusively of wholemeal rye.
I should really try drying sourdough and see if I'll be successful at it.
Currently I'm fully immersed (I don't dare say obsessed with) in experimenting with sourdough.
I must agree with you on being slightly obsessed! I too never get tired of a what I would call "A happy accident" I experiment all the time with flours and combinations of ingredients.
I even change around my Kosher salt to a smoked Himalayan sea salt or a Balsamic variety. It really does taste a bit like dipping a freshly baked loaf of crusty bread into a mild virgin olive oil and balsamic sampler. I love it! I never get tired of experimenting! I think ever Artisan Baker is looking for their next masterpiece! Every so often I create something that I find exceptional. As they say no pain no gain! I feel that a failed loaf of bread formula is only going to make a person learn by their mistakes and I have made many from wet dough's to dry, not enough proofing and too much proofing, I've learned quickly that sourdough is a slow process, it needs time and patience and most of all the persistence to document it's behavior from the start to the finish.
Its almost like raising a child lol watching it grow, feeding it and making sure it gets a lot of rest, showing it love and attention and keeping it warm lol
Our breads are truly our babies!
Cheers!