Establishing and Working with Homegrown Sourdough Starter

[Anna N]

Anna, Looks like crossing your toes and fingers worked.

 

~Ann

And so it did for quite a number of days. It seemed extremely lively until yesterday morning. I fed it in the same way using the same ingredients and today it appears to be as dead as a door nail. Damn. Just as I was about to use it to make some bread. I will feed it again this morning as always and see what happens but my hopes are dashed.

[Chelseabun]

And so it did for quite a number of days. It seemed extremely lively until yesterday morning. I fed it in the same way using the same ingredients and today it appears to be as dead as a door nail. Damn. Just as I was about to use it to make some bread. I will feed it again this morning as always and see what happens but my hopes are dashed.

 

Mine rises up and then deflates.  Are you sure that it hasn't just got very lively and is flat because it needs another feed? 

[Anna N]

Mine rises up and then deflates.  Are you sure that it hasn't just got very lively and is flat because it needs another feed?

I am not sure of anything. It simply did not increase at all after the feeding yesterday morning. I took 100 g of that this morning, fed it 100g each of flour and water and now it has a very few puny bubbles and no increase in volume at all.

Since I am following the same routine in the same place using the same ingredients it is very frustrating that I am not getting the same results.

[Smithy]

I'm far from my notes and starter, but as I recall my starter began to look lively and then just sulked for a few days, barely bubbling with the same treatment each day; then it took off. Keep the faith!

[ElsieD]

Mine looked like nothing also but on the eighth day it sprung to life and has been happily alive ever since.

Edited November 6, 2014 by ElsieD (log)

[pbear]

Anna, try this.  For tomorrow's refreshment, do 100 g exactly the same as you have been.  This way you have a baseline or control.  Then, take another 100 g (which ordinarily you would discard), give it the same feeding and then frappe it with an immersion blender.  Aeration helps the yeast.  Run this second starter parallel to the control for three days, i.e., prune back and rebuild both on the same schedule, frapping only the second.  I'm pretty confident that'll turn the trick.  Once the starter is up and running, by the way, you can drop the frapping.

[Chelseabun]

And so it did for quite a number of days. It seemed extremely lively until yesterday morning. I fed it in the same way using the same ingredients and today it appears to be as dead as a door nail. Damn. Just as I was about to use it to make some bread. I will feed it again this morning as always and see what happens but my hopes are dashed.

 

My first attempt was with a white flour starter (see post #12).  I felt there wasn't something right with it as although it was fermenting, it was very slow.  My second attempt started with rye flour and then after it was established was fed with only white flour.  I found the second starter was active from very early on and i am confident that it will give my bread enough rise. 

 

I would suggest therefore, you may like to try (alongside your white starter) a second starter (from rye flour).

 

Just to prove mine is working, here is my starter in slow motion:

 

http://youtu.be/xbTsG64Vtq4

copyright statement: This video was shot by me in my kitchen and i therefore own the copyright.

The background music was provided free by youtube and is therefore covered by their standard licence arrangements.

Edited November 7, 2014 by Chelseabun (log)

[Anna N]

Anna, try this.  For tomorrow's refreshment, do 100 g exactly the same as you have been.  This way you have a baseline or control.  Then, take another 100 g (which ordinarily you would discard), give it the same feeding and then frappe it with an immersion blender.  Aeration helps the yeast.  Run this second starter parallel to the control for three days, i.e., prune back and rebuild both on the same schedule, frapping only the second.  I'm pretty confident that'll turn the trick.  Once the starter is up and running, by the way, you can drop the frapping.

I certainly have nothing to lose by trying this. And I will give it a go. But my my goal when I began and my goal now is to test Mick's theory that all one needs is flour, water, some patience and a feeding routine. Thank you for the suggestion and I will let you know how it goes.

[Anna N]

My first attempt was with a white flour starter (see post #12).  I felt there wasn't something right with it as although it was fermenting, it was very slow.  My second attempt started with rye flour and then after it was established was fed with only white flour.  I found the second starter was active from very early on and i am confident that it will give my bread enough rise. 

 

I would suggest therefore, you may like to try (alongside your white starter) a second starter (from rye flour).

 

Just to prove mine is working, here is my starter in slow motion:

 

http://youtu.be/xbTsG64Vtq4

copyright statement: This video was shot by me in my kitchen and i therefore own the copyright.

The background music was provided free by youtube and is therefore covered by their standard licence arrangements.

Thank you for posting this. That is exactly what my starter was doing until it suddenly stopped doing it! But let me ask you this. Do you Feed it at approximately the same time every day or do you feed it according to its rising and falling cycles?

[Chelseabun]

Thank you for posting this. That is exactly what my starter was doing until it suddenly stopped doing it! But let me ask you this. Do you Feed it at approximately the same time every day or do you feed it according to its rising and falling cycles?

'Yeastie' (my name for my starter) gets fed about the same time each day but when it was started (about two weeks ago) initially  was fed about once every two days (i.e. when required). Now i am thinking about baking with 'Yeastie', i will increase the feeds to approx. every eight hours (i.e. according to it's rising and falling cycle approximately).

 

I really wish i had the answer for you.  I thought you had it working out well when you posted the photo of your starter fermenting.  I am used to using commercial yeasts for bread, beer and wine-making.  Wild yeast cultures are new to me.  I am learning with you here.  Regards.

Edited November 7, 2014 by Chelseabun (log)

[Smithy]

Anna, have you made any progress? Did your starter survive?

I had to leave my starter untended for over 3 weeks. To hedge my bets I split it and put some in the freezer and some in the refrigerator. Yesterday I found time to tend to the refrigerator starter. It didn't look bad, straight from its confinement:

It looked surprisingly lively, but boy, was it sour!

I used Mick's method of 100g each starter, water and all-purpose unbleached flour. This water may have been chlorinated, and that worries me a bit, but I had no other source of water. Here's what I had after mixing:

The container on the left is the leftover starter; on the right is the freshly-mixed and -fed starter.

24 hours later, look at it!

I'll feed it another couple of days, and if all goes well I'll have a chance to start baking again soon.

[Anna N]

's Missy,

I have made multiple attempts since I last posted. Today I will discard a very dead started that is on my counter at the moment. It does not seem possible that something so simple could defeat me but for the time being it has.

[Anna N]

First of all I apologize. I had addressed my response to Smithy and when I hit post it looked fine but when you dictate it seems things can go wrong.

I had every intention of dumping my dead starter this morning and abandoning the game for the time being. However, this is what it looked like after being abandoned on my counter for who knows how many days. So I moved half of it into a scrupulously clean container, added 100 g each of flour and water and we will see what transpires. I swear this is my last attempt this year!

[weinoo]

I don't think my starter liked being confined to a Ball jar...

 

 

Edited November 25, 2014 by weinoo (log)

[ElsieD]

I don't think my starter liked being confined to a Ball jar...

 

2014_11 starter.JPG

But on the other hand, you know it's alive!

[cyalexa]

The bread in this pic is a semolina loaf made with commercial yeast but if you look behind the bread you will see my little ball of rye sourdough starter in the jar with the blue lid.

 

 

 

[Anna N]

Success at last?

[weinoo]

Shhhhh...you don't want to jinx it!

 

I knew if anyone could do it, you could, Anna... .

[ElsieD]

Anna, that's a nice looking lively starter you have there!

[Anna N]

Shhhhh...you don't want to jinx it!

 

I knew if anyone could do it, you could, Anna... .

weinoo,

Your vote of confidence means a great deal to me. But let me assure you it is undeserved. This is MAGIC. Try as I might there is no logical explanation why I failed 99 times and on the 100th time succeeded. Only magic can explain odds like that. I switched flours from all-purpose to bread flour and failed time and again to keep the starter alive. I was religious about feeding it daily. Nothing. Then two days ago the plastic wrap that had been loosely draped over it looked rather ratty so I tossed it in the garbage. I had so lost interest in this damn starter that I was not even going to waste another piece of plastic on it. I rested the lid to the Camboro container carelessly on top and walked away. Two days later I have a healthy, vigorous starter. Don't tell me that it's not magic.

[Anna N]

Anna, that's a nice looking lively starter you have there!

I will feed it tonight before bed and again tomorrow morning and then attempt my first loaf of bread before disaster strikes!

[weinoo]

weinoo,

Your vote of confidence means a great deal to me. But let me assure you it is undeserved. This is MAGIC. Try as I might there is no logical explanation why I failed 99 times and on the 100th time succeeded. Only magic can explain odds like that. I switched flours from all-purpose to bread flour and failed time and again to keep the starter alive. I was religious about feeding it daily. Nothing. Then two days ago the plastic wrap that had been loosely draped over it looked rather ratty so I tossed it in the garbage. I had so lost interest in this damn starter that I was not even going to waste another piece of plastic on it. I rested the lid to the Camboro container carelessly on top and walked away. Two days later I have a healthy, vigorous starter. Don't tell me that it's not magic.

Might be a good day to play the lottery, Anna       !

[bethesdabakers]

Really pleased to see this thread is still going.

 

Anna - I was going to suggest you tried a loaf when you posted your previous starter. But there'sno doubt this one's flying - look forward to thebread photos.

 

Best wishes - to you all.

 

Mick

[Anna N]

Might be a good day to play the lottery, Anna       !

Bought my tickets a few hours ago! Dough for my first loaf is resting on the counter. I gave it a first stretch and fold and can already feel structural building. I am going to give it another turn and put it to sleep in the fridge until tomorrow. I am flying without a parachute using one of Mick's formulas combined with Ken Forkish' technique.

[Anna N]

Ta da!

Thanks for all the encouragement.