I'm hoping that some one or more of you with more experience working with a sourdough starter can either help me out, or at least reassure me.
My starter is poolish, a/k/a 100% hydration. I started it small with 100 g of filtered water and 100 g of 50/50 mix of white AP and whole wheat flours. It became noticeably active after about 72 hours. That evening, I discarded all but 50g and fed with 100g of water and 100g of the same flour mix. The starter reacted great, rising to about double the volume overnight and being very bubbly and active. When I fed it again the next night, the starter I removed was full of gas bubbles. I again removed 80% and fed with 100g of water and 100g of flour mix (always the same mix which I had mixed up a large amount of at the beginning of the journey. This time, the response was sluggish. a very slight rise - about 1/8-1/4 inch on the container based on the rubber band marker after 12 hours. After 24 hours, it was the same, with a very small amount of alcohol (hooch?) on the top. I poured off the hooch, discarded 80% of the starter and again fed with 100g of water and 100g of flour mix. I also placed the starter in my oven with the light on to keep it warmer as it was pretty cold and drafty in my kitchen over night. This time there was another very minimal rise and after 24 hours, there was again hooch on the top, this time slightly more by volume. This was last evening. I again poured off the hooch. This time I only discarded about 100 g of the starter, leaving behind 125g. I fed with 125 g of water and 125g of the same flour mix. I left the starter in the oven, but turned the light off (it had been on and the oven was warm) because I was concerned with the light making it too warm. This morning (12 hours) there was almost no rise, but there were a few bubbles on the top but not really any visible along the side of the jar. I'm not sure if I am doing something wrong, or if the culture, being so new, is just doing a natural struggle to establish a strong and balanced existence. Any help, advice or suggestions? Thanks in advance.
My starter is poolish, a/k/a 100% hydration. I started it small with 100 g of filtered water and 100 g of 50/50 mix of white AP and whole wheat flours. It became noticeably active after about 72 hours. That evening, I discarded all but 50g and fed with 100g of water and 100g of the same flour mix. The starter reacted great, rising to about double the volume overnight and being very bubbly and active. When I fed it again the next night, the starter I removed was full of gas bubbles. I again removed 80% and fed with 100g of water and 100g of flour mix (always the same mix which I had mixed up a large amount of at the beginning of the journey. This time, the response was sluggish. a very slight rise - about 1/8-1/4 inch on the container based on the rubber band marker after 12 hours. After 24 hours, it was the same, with a very small amount of alcohol (hooch?) on the top. I poured off the hooch, discarded 80% of the starter and again fed with 100g of water and 100g of flour mix. I also placed the starter in my oven with the light on to keep it warmer as it was pretty cold and drafty in my kitchen over night. This time there was another very minimal rise and after 24 hours, there was again hooch on the top, this time slightly more by volume. This was last evening. I again poured off the hooch. This time I only discarded about 100 g of the starter, leaving behind 125g. I fed with 125 g of water and 125g of the same flour mix. I left the starter in the oven, but turned the light off (it had been on and the oven was warm) because I was concerned with the light making it too warm. This morning (12 hours) there was almost no rise, but there were a few bubbles on the top but not really any visible along the side of the jar. I'm not sure if I am doing something wrong, or if the culture, being so new, is just doing a natural struggle to establish a strong and balanced existence. Any help, advice or suggestions? Thanks in advance.
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