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| Here is a great example of a happy healthy starter brought in by a class member. Thick enough to hold big bubbles. See how the starter clings to the glass? Just right! |
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| Beautiful family photo! Almost all of these are starters that originated with mine. |
"When your starter is more liquid, it isn't strong enough to hold the bubbles the organisms are creating. The C02 is being produced, but there's no parachute to catch it. The bubbles just leak out the top and so your starter never "rises" or doubles. If you want to see some action, you have to let your starter be thick enough to hold on to the bubbles." Brilliant! She nailed it right on the head. I would say that a rough 90% of starter problems I see in helping people with their starter is a result of a runny starter. So here is a tip: Your starter should be the consistency of room-temperature butter on a warm day. You should be able to spread your starter across the glass of your jar, and watch it slip down the glass. If your freshly fed starter is too runny for this, then add more flour. It is almost always better to err on the side of a thicker starter. Starters that are too thin tend to sour and be unproductive
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| A few of our class members who bravely brought their starters in for check-ups :) |
No matter what happens, stick with it and keep trying. you will get there! Starter baking, like parachuting, takes preparation and enough pure faith to make the leap!
What if the liquid in your starter is on the bottom instead of the top? It is harder to pour that off, so it keeps getting more and more sour.
ReplyDeleteChances are, if liquid is settling at the bottom it is because your starter is too liquid. You can either stick a spoon down the side of your jar and try and let the liquid run out first, or you can scoop out the starter in the top half of your jar and transfer it to a new jar for feeding, then use or dump what is on bottom.
DeleteIf you cannot dump out the liquid because your starter runs out of the jar too quickly, that is another sign that it may be too runny. Does that help? As much as possible, try to avoid mixing the liquid back in- not because it is harmful, but because it will sour your starter over time.
I didn't feel like my starter was too liquid, but I will try it thicker and see how it goes. Thanks!
DeleteMaking it thicker made a difference! Thanks.
DeleteYay! I'm so glad!
DeleteCan I use my starter to bake on non-feeding days? If so should I feed what is left?
ReplyDeleteAs soon as your starter has bubbles all the way to the very top (you can open the jar, look down and see bubbles on top) it is ready to use. Usually this is 12-24 hours after feeding. You can use your starter from that time until it starts getting liquid on top, which is usually a span of 3 days or so.
DeleteYay!!!Thank you so much for the butter analogy. That made such a difference. After only one feeding my starter doubled in size. I just made my first recipe with my starter today and it was a successful batch of english muffins. I'll try to attach a picture.
ReplyDeleteIn my quest to get my starter to double in size I started leaving it out on the counter hoping that warmer temperatures would help it raise. Now that it is going I don't want to feed it twice a day and am wondering if I can convert it to a refrigerator start? What should I do to accomplish that if it's a possibility? Thanks for all you wonderful information.
Tristan, you can switch it back to the fridge, just know that it will take a little time to adjust back to the temperature. It may go slightly dormant for a few feedings, but should bounce back!
DeleteHow long should it take, starting it from flakes, in the fridge? I have been trying for about 4 weeks now. I've got 2 starts going. I barely get any bubbles. It's not doubling, and I also barely get any liquid on the top after 2-3 days...it mostly just turns brownish. It still smells good. It's very stretchy. I am only going in 1/4 cup feedings to minimize waste til it gets going. (meaning 1/4 cup start, 1/4 cup water, and a little over 1/4 cup white wheat flour) Does that make a difference?
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you are doing everything right, if the smell is good and there is minimal liquid. You may just try thickening it up a little bit and see if that affects the bubbles. The next step is to be bold and try it in some bread :) that is the only way to really see how it is doing. From what you tell me, things sound good, but let me know how it goes!
DeleteIs it possible for a starter to be too thick? If it were, how would I know? I'm still trying to get a handle on what my starter's consistency should be like. :)
ReplyDeleteAndrea, your starter should really be almost a wet pre-dough. It should be thick and pasty, but not so much that there is residual flour in the jar or you are stirring a dough ball around your jar. Thick and pasty. It's hard to describe, but thicker is better than thinner. If you keep it thick, then the longer you work with your starter the more familiar you'll be with how thin is too thin. Does that make sense? :)
DeleteThanks! I live in the Pacific NW, so I always have to add a lot of extra flour when I'm baking--the climate is just so wet here. So even though I've been adding a bit more than one part flour to one part water and one part starter, I think my starter is still too thin. I'll try thickening it up on this next feeding.
DeleteOkay, so here's an update. Thickening it up definitely helped a little bit, but I couldn't get it to double until I finally tried using non-chlorinated water. It doubled for the first time last night!
DeleteCan my start be revived? I got it from a friend and it has never doubled. In fact, it got the liquid on top within a few hours. So I've started power feeding it for several days now and then I let it go for about 4 days without feeding it and it hasn't gotten the liquid on top. But still no doubling. I have made scones and crackers with it, and the scones puffed up, so I think it's still alive. I will try thickening it next, I think maybe it was a bit too runny.
ReplyDeleteAlso about chlorinated water. I think our city has chlorinated water but I'm not 100% sure (all I can find is that the water report says we have byproducts of chlorinated water.) I started using the water filtered through my berkey, but then I'm not sure if it's the right temp. How important is the right temperature?
So looking forward to bread that isn't so sour and brick-like! Funny thing is the kids still like it, though. ;)