October 25, 2020 - 3:33am
pinkish and grey spots: safe to use?
Hello :)
I'm new to sourdoughs so I'm very unsure of my starter. Picture below.
This is the first stage of my sourdough starter: 50g of whole rice flour plus 50g water, 24hours at 30°C (86°F).
It smells good, not sour, is very fluffy and the pink is very faint. Can I still continue with this? Next step would be to add 50g of flour and 50g of water and let it sit again for 12 hours.
Thanks for you help!
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The rule I follow is - grey or black, it'll come back. Red, better left for dead. That's for a flour starter, rice may be different, but if the rule stands, try another. Better safe than - well, something else! Enjoy!
Lina, I wonder if the bamboo bowl might have had some undesirable microbes tucked away in the pores. I have worked with starters for years and never seen anything like that. Maybe I was just lucky.
Danny
I have a very simple response to any visible contaminant - toss it and start over. You should use this as an example for minding the contaminants in your surrounding environment. In canning it's called "sterile technique" and you may have to resort to it in your particular environment. It's near standard practice in professional bakeries worldwide and I use it in my home baking environment too.
Try using bleach to reduce the number of unwanted spores not only in your bowl but in the general work area prior to commencing a build. Make sure to rinse the bowl (after the bleach treatment) first with hot water followed by several rinses with cold water. Allow the bowl to air dry (upside down). Also keep the bowl covered during periods of untended fermentation.
Best of luck,
-Wild-Yeast
Wild-Yeast, wouldn’t a typical mixing bowl or glass vessel (something pore-less) eliminate that?
@DanAyo,
Yes, they're my standard type for starter-ware. Issues are discovering real Pyrex bowls. Most off the shelf are just super tempered glass currently. Corning is getting there with their "Dutch Glassware" - pretty pricey though.
Gorilla Glass comes in clear. Wonder what the cost would be?
Q: Is Corning even in the consumer business any longer?
A: Yes, they're still in the consumer glass business it's called Corelle Ware.
Wild-Yeast
I just finished my third batch of sourdough bread - so - still a baby at this. I do know that your container should be non-reactive (glass, metal) as it is a chemical process that you are starting (wild yeast, air, water - when the yeast gobbles up the sugars (carbohydrates) in the flour, it creates carbon dioxide. Anything else can alter that chemical reaction). As other people have said, the bamboo bowl may also contain other bacteria in it and therefore is probably not non-reactive.
could be nasty. Doesn't even look good. When in doubt, dump and start over. Read up on rice yucky things. Sorry to get emotional.
Lina, if you care to drill down on “Rice Starters”, check THIS LINK.
@DanAyo, The URL you gave is for TFL "Slap and Folds"? Did you mean:
site:thefreshloaf.com rice starter instead?...,
Wild-Yeast
Thanks, Wild Yeast. I edited the post to reflect the proper link.
Appreciate your help.
Danny
I have some sort of mold phobia or something. Anyway, I almost threw up seeing the picture of your starter. I can't even scroll back up to look at it. And, like Mini, I've read real horror stories involving rice which has gone off. I would throw that starter out and I would seriously consider throwing out the container too. It's just not worth it. I know you've already had lots of replies from experienced bakers (which I am not), but that just doesn't look safe at all.