January 24, 2007 - 9:34pm
Starter not rising?
Hi - I just found your site today and it has inspired me to try this whole sourdough business again. I tried Maggie Glazer's sourdough starter back in November and thought it was working, but it never did "rise". When she says the starter should "quadruple in 8 hours"...well, mine just wasn't doing that. It would have a nice sour smell and had a definite fermentation going on (lots of bubbles under the surface), but was a sticky, gluey consistency and wasn't rising. Now, hers is a "firm starter", so I don't know if that makes a difference. I'm anxious to try some of the trickier breads in her Artisan Baking book, but they all require a starter!
Any thoughts? Am I doing this right? Was my starter OK after all?
Thanks.
Share
Mine just started to show life today, and it looks beautiful... Today was the 7th day... I would never expect it to do anything in 8 hrs. If you get any bubbles in the first couple days, it's usually due to bacterial action. Check out SourDoLady's starter recipe on this forum. Also there are tons of other threads here about sourdough.
All the best
Srishti
Well, once the starter is established, it would most definitely qudrupal in 8 hours... Did you mean 8 hrs after starting making the starter or when you started making the bread itself?
Oh,and WELCOME to this site :-)
Srishti
It was doing this after 8+ days, though, so it should have been a "completed" starter by then. I'm glad your starter is working. I have SourDoLady's starter on my kitchen table as we speak!
Bobbi
Thanks. (:
8 hours after refreshing the starter, it "should" quadruple. Mine never did bubble up or expand upwards at all. Maybe because I was making it in the winter? How important is room temperature in all this?
When i do my starters with equal volumes, i.e. 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 water, it wouldn't rise. The bubbles just floated to the top and disappeared. When it's thicker, 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water, it rises. Never quite quadruples. It's cool in our kitchen so it might take ten hours to reach it's peak.
Does this help
jeffrey
Hi All- New here though I've been lurking for awhile. I hear so many of you talking about Sour Do Lady's starter but haven't been able to find the recipe and instructions for it. Would someone be kind enough to let me know where I can find this on the site or be willing to share it on this thread?
Thanks!
Trish in Omaha
Hello Trish,
Welcome to this site, here is SourdoLady's starter http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/233
Hello Bobby,
Today is my 8th day on the starter. Yesterday it was doing beautifully. I fed it a whole cup last night as I wanted it to build up some bulk before I'd bake with it. I had 1 1/2 cups last morning and not it's only 1 3/4 cup. We turn the heat down in the nights, so the house is cooler. Let's see what happens during the course of the day. There are a lot of beautiful bubbles in it though, so it's happy at least.
Also, it seems like if you make it with white flour it really bubbles up a lot, as I have seen some pictures of it on this site with sourdoughs bubbling out of the containers, don't remember the name of the person.
Whole Wheat is much heavier and it wouldn't rise that much.
Keep us updated
Srishti
I am using SourdoLady's starter recipe and so far so good!
Welcome!!!
Thanks to everyone who replied to my question. I'm off to the Whole Foods Market after work to pick up the whole grain wheat and rye flour. Can't wait to get started. I'll let you know my progress!
Hmmm...maybe I'm using the wrong water. I'll try using filtered water this time - is Brita water OK?
I started a new one last night using organic ww flour - I can use that instead of rye, right?
You can start it with any flour you like, from what I understand, but whole grains (such as rye) have more yeast in them naturally because the bran is not removed.
At least, that is how I understand it.
Thanks all for your interest in this topic - I now have 3 different starters on the go (!) and will report back in a few days.
Pseudobaker, I used Maggie Gleezer's starter method and it has been great for a couple of years (still is) BUT it never quadrupled in size!
I used to worry about that, but it makes great bread and works fine, so I've stopped caring - if it is very bubbly and active,I'm sure it will raise your loaf. Also, her book worried me to death by suggesting that if it hasn't "crested and fallen" before you use it, the loaf won't work and the starter will die. Honestly, I haven't found the starter to be temperemantal at all - it lives as a stiff starter in the fridge, left alone for weeks at a time, then comes back to full strength quite happily when it is fed.Also, I seem to remember that the orignal starter, made with rye, took about 2 weeks before it really got going. But it has never looked back!
This is a great site, and there is so much advice, you will certainly get a good starter going if you follow all the tips and suggestions here.
Happy baking,
Andrew
I made the Glezer firm starter beginning January 4 and it finally quadrupled but took about three weeks. I then used the completed starter recipe which, for those of you with her recipe knows, uses a very small amount of all ingredients. That is one reason I wanted to try this recipe in addition to Glezer stating you need this firm starter for the recipes in her book. But now it seems so much less active despite refreshing it twice per day. We are experiencing very frigid temps here but surely that is not the reason this starter does not rise as Glezer states it should.
I refrigerated it last night in order that I would not lose it and was hoping I can get some sage advice here. What would you recommend I do? Since the starter "barely" rises but is still showing bubbles is this just the way a firm starter behaves especially at this level of ingredients? Btw, I made some wonderful bread with only my starter last Friday and they rose very well.
Also, if one wishes to use other recipes not using a firm starter is there a method for converting it for use on those recipes?
Zola blue, to convert from a firm starter (which is how I keep it in the fridge) to a not firm starter, I take 30 grams of firm starter and add 40 grams of flour and 40 grams of water. This is left, mixed and covered, for about 8 - 12 hpurs, then I add 100 grams of water and 100 grams of flour, which, after another 8 - 12 hours, gives me 300 grams of highly active starter at 100% hydration. It works for me - I can't guarantee it work for anyone else, but give it a go! You'll still have your stiff starter in the fridge to fall back on! And for the firm starter to live in the fridge, I'd use 30 grams starter, 30 grams of water and 50 grams of flour. This is mixed, covered, and left on the side for around 4 or 5 hours, then put on the fridge. It seems to like this routine - for me, at least. Again, what suits one person / starter may not suit all - but try it!
Good luck,
Andrew
Andrew, thanks for your reply and instructions. I'm a very new bread baker (roughly 6 weeks) and new to this forum. Maggie Glezer's recipe for a completed starter, which I have done, is 10 grams starter, 25 grams lukewarm water, and 45 grams unbleached bread flour. Are you saying then it is ok to depart from her formula and that your ratios perhaps will make a better and more active starter? Sorry, if I'm being redundant.
Glezer's recipe for final days of creation is; starter - 60 grams; water - 45 grams; unbleached bread flour - 90 grams. Do you sometimes have to return from the completed starter recipe to the one before to get it more active again? Or just do as you instructed and abandon her recipe?
Also, I was wondering if there is a formula for how to use a firm starter in a batter-starter recipe without actually converting the firm to batter. Or is that not how it should be done? I love Glezer's book and recipes and she says they require her firm starter recipe. So confusing!
Zolablue,
I followed Magie Glezer's starter recipe TO THE LETTER for the first two weeks (until it was really up and running) , then for a while longer - but I resented throwing away so much flour and effort - so eventually began on the regime I outlined above. As I say,it works really well for me - but there are loads of different opinions and one person does not always agree to the letter with another.
Once the starter is active and able to raise a loaf , I think you can relax a bit more with it - keep two in the fridge and you'll always have one you can experiment a little more with and one you can be more precise with!
I find that a covered stiff starter can survive WEEKS without feeding or bothering, and to bring it back to use, it is a matter of taking 30 grams starter, 40 grams water and 40 grams flour - proceed as my posting above! The remaining starter will need to be fed , left for a few hours and then refrigerated.
But as I say, there are lots of different approaches - this is one I am very happy with and which works well for me.
Happy baking!
Andrew
If you'd like the bread recipe I normally use, email and I'll send it - simple and effective - I find.
Many thanks, Andrew, I will start on this tomorrow. I did already raise some loaves very successfully so that's a good thing! I'm also very interested in not having to toss so much flour and effort so I appreciate your help. I would love to know your recipe so will email you.
Edit: Sorry, Andrew, as I said I'm new to this site and unfamiliar with how to email you for recipe. Can you post it here?
email me at stickleback4@mac.com
andrew
I followed Andrew's instructions on the Glezer starter, splitting my one "mother" into two and using a different ratio for each as an experiment. One is definately the firm starter I wanted to maintain and after two refreshments is very active today. The other, as instructed, is a bit wetter, still not a batter, and it is going great as well. The starter was obviously very healthy despite my concerns and the fact it had been in the fridge for a few days. Thanks, Andrew!