April 1, 2007 - 5:01pm
Day four of Sourdough Starter
Good evening everyone!
I recently started my sourdough starter that sourdolady suggested starting with ornge juice. Today is day four and I've only notice about 12 little bubbles in the bottom of the tightly covered glass jar I'm using. I've discarded every thing except for 1/4 cup of the mix and then added the flour and spring water. The smell was quite intense but, I once again wonder if I am on the right track? At this point I will say thank you and wait for some response.
In search of my starter - Chuppy
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I had the same problem and quit again. For me I think it was a temprature issue my kitchen was too cold.
Chuppy,
It takes a while to get a culture really working right - more than 4 days for most of us. Think in terms of a couple of weeks. What does it smell like? At this point, it may need more frequent feedings. If the smell is sharp and pleasant after a few hours, then I would feed it a couple of times per day at least. It may help to feed it more often or expand it by more than triple each time. Don't overheat it, but somewhere between 70F and 80F is reasonable. If you're closer to 70F, it will take longer, but it will work very well at that temerature, too. The key is, you have to stick with it for a while. It takes a couple of weeks for the right organisms to establish themselves, no matter what method you use. What typically happens is you think it's not working, but suddenly it starts to behave and in about a 24 hours period it goes from sluggish to just fine, at which point you know it's finally really working. However, that could happen anywhere from day 3 to day 14 or even longer.
Bill
Bill,
At some point should I be seeing a little or alot of doubling in the mixture? It seems that if it is a starter, it should eventualy double in size because of the yeast, which in part will make bred rise? From what I've read so far this is my understanding.
Thanks,
Chuppy
Hi Chuppy,
If you thicken it up into a thick paste, as opposed to pancake batter, it should rise by double. However, that may not happen until it has "taken off", as I described before. It will be sluggish, and then at some point you'll notice a change, where it's just much more active. At that point, feeding it more frequently and at a higher ratio should help it come to the point where it will double in 4-8 hours or so. However, rising by double will only work right if you use a thicker paste rather than a thin batter.
By the way, I agree with Sourdough-guy that it normally will take off within 3-5 days, but sometimes temperature, some wrong organisms getting the upper hand in the culture for a little while, or maybe not catching the timing and ratios right on feeding could delay the process. However, it almost always will begin to work after a period of time.
Bill
Bill,
As we speak I can see quite a few bubbles and a great smell comming from the glass jar. I wish I knew how to post pictures on the blog so I can better explain myself. None the less, I think the starter is doing what it should. At least it hasn't gone flat.
Chuppy