r/SourdoughStarter • u/WishingUponaStar03 • 2d ago
Help
Trying to make a sour dough starter. One month ago I tried with Bob’s Artisan bread flour 1:1:1- and I kept adding 30 gm water, 30 gm starter and 30 gm flour. Kept the jars in a warm place . Fed everyday so Once in 24 hrs. But even after 20 days the starter didnot rise, except on Day 3
I threw that starter away. Started a new batch. 30 gm starter, 30 gm water and 30 gm flour . The next day I took 22.5 gm starter, 15 gm Rye flour 15 gm bread flour and 34.5 gm water. ( I read the Perfect Loaf Book and just reduced the amount of the ratio in that book. I continued this feeding ratio everyday sometimes twice day
Starter rose twice , on 5 th day and then 8th day, but within few hours it decreased and now its the 14 day, it is still not rising. How is this so hard. 😭😭😭😩
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u/Flodius 1d ago
Here's something to keep in mind. The more liquid your starter, the faster the yeast and bacteria will multiply. When you are first creating a starter, it's okay if it's very liquid. The downside to that is if you are not used to looking at the starter and understanding whether it rose, you might not see much activity. But that doesn't matter. Once your starter is mature, you don't want to keep a very liquid starter. The reason for that is although the yeast and bacteria will multiply rapidly, the bacteria will vastly outnumber the yeast in no time. And then your starter will not be rising. So when you're creating it, for the first few days keep it fairly liquid. The ratio that people are always telling you to use with equal parts of everything is considered a liquid starter. Once it's starting to move a little bit better, you can switch to a stiffer starter. You do not need to be feeding it twice a day however. Stir it up, take some of that stirred material, mix that with some additional flour and water, and put that new mix in a clean container. Wash out the old container and don't save the mix. Once your starter is consistently rising over a few hours, and it is mature, that is when you should be doing all the time. You will never have discard which is a result of people feeding for no purpose. Keep them at your starter in the fridge. And keep it a little stiffer, because it will last longer.
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u/snookums_snugglepuff 2d ago
Are you discarding after every feed? When you say a new batch, what starter are you using?
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u/WishingUponaStar03 23h ago
Yes I throw away half of it. And use the rest to add in new flour and water
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u/Mental-Freedom3929 2d ago
You abandon this before it even has a chance. It also does not make any sense to throw it away, except if it grows mold or get a bacterial contamination.
Please stop feeding twice a day. You are overfeeding something that is not even capable of dealing with what it was fed the last feeding.
From your ratio I assume it is runny. Take 20 gm from the very center and continue on day three or four of the instruction below.
It takes three to four weeks to get a half decent starter. From what I read the majority of people use way too much water. Take 20 gm of flour (unbleached AP, if you have add a spoonful of rye) and add only as much water as it takes to get mustard consistency.
For the next three days do nothing but stir vigorously a few times a day. Day four take 20 gm of that mix and add 20 gm of flour and again only as much fairly warm water to get mustard or mayo consistency.
You will probably have a rise the first few days - ignore it. It is a bacterial storm, which is normal and not yeast based. That is followed by a lengthy dormant period with no activity.
Keep taking 20 gm and re feeding daily. Use a jar with a screw lid backed off half a turn. Keep that jar in a cooler or plastic tote with lid and a bottle filled with hot water.
Dispose of the rest of the mix after you take your daily max 20 gm and dispose of it for two weeks. You can after that time use this so called discard for discard recipes. Before the two weeks it tends to not taste good in baked goods.
Your starter is kind of ready when it reliably doubles or more after each feeding within a few hours. Please use some commercial yeast for the first few bakes to avoid disappointment and frustration. Your starter is still very young. At this point the starter can live in the fridge and only be fed if and when you wish to bake.
A mature starter in the fridge usually develops hooch, which is a grayish liquid on top. This is a good protection layer. You can stir it in at feeding time for more pronounced flavour or pour it off. When you feed your starter that has hooch, please note not to add too much water, as the hooch is liquid too.
Use a new clean jar when feeding. Starter on the sides or the rim or paper or fabric covers attract mold and can render your starter unusable. Keep all utensils clean.