Hi folks, I've been using a sourdough starter for many years now usually 100% rye which I grind. This spring, after a winter hiatus, my rye starter which in the past was very robust rises very little and does not pass the float test. I've been grinding my rye from last years grain which is kept at 70f in a sealed glass jar in my pantry. I find I get a more active starter using all purpose flour when it should be the other way around. I'm wondering if my rye grain has lost some of its "life"? The other week I baked a half rye, half bread four loaf which turned out well. I'm perplexed! Thanks for any advice you can give me.
I also have a rye starter that I make with home ground rye. I thought mine wasn’t active enough until I increased the hydration to 50% at a min (I keep a relatively stiff wheat starter). Once I did that it was fine. I actually very rarely use the float test, just look for bubbles etc. and that’s been sufficient as I refresh daily.
One thing I did note was that the smell changed from a sweet apple to a less pleasant one when I switched to home milled grain. I assumed my starter was adjusting but it’s taking a while.
Could it be the water?
I don’t think I would blame the rye, as I think an established colony doesn’t much care what flour you feed it with, as long as the carbs it needs are there.
A book I read when I got started actually recommended against using rye to maintain a starter. All purpose flour only. Rye (and any other whole grain flour) introduce new yeast and bacteria to a starter that doesn’t need them. The starter is already populated and just needs food. If the new ones are different strains, then they could change how the starter behaves and make it less predictable.
I don’t follow that rule any more, but did for a long time. The starter I have now behaves nothing like the one I had then. I still haven’t figured the new one out. The old one was very predictable.
I've been baking with a natural yeast starter for a few years now but am still learning a lot. Although I initially got my first starter going on 100% rye, I seem to have the best luck for routine starter feeding with a mix of AP flour, whole grain flour (usually spelt or red hard wheat, freshly ground) and a small portion of rye (also freshly ground, sometimes bought), approximately a 65/25/10 ratio. I think I read this somewhere on a respected baking site (possibly even here?). I've also noticed that although my starter doesn't seem to mind the tap water where I live for routine feedings (we have pretty good city water), I seem to have better baking results when it is time to mix the dough if I use bottled spring water--I wonder if a small amount of chlorine in the tap water affects the rise and oven spring. I've even used good quality sparking water in a pinch and had great results. I have read that sometimes a starter can just go 'off' and it is just better to start over, but I haven't had to do that yet. Hope something in my comments might be helpful...best of luck!
Well, maybe, I should just acccept that my starter takes after its father (me) we both have good days and bad days for no apparent reason.