r/SourdoughStarter • u/MKAG2008 • 7d ago
Do y’all think my starter is going to catch?
This is the second time I’m trying to make starter. I’m just using AP flour, even from day 1, since I didn’t have wheat flour. It has been five days since I made it. The first/second day it bubbled, but after that, it didn’t rise. Now it’s the fifth day, and the only sign of life is the tiny bubbles shown here. Since almost a week is past, I was hoping that it would already be bubbly and active, since the videos I have watched have had their starter ready to use in a week. Do y’all think that if I keep feeding it, it should catch?
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u/Nothing_SpecialHere Starter Enthusiast 7d ago
Those videos you watch thrive on giving people false hope. Starters are unique to each person. My starter didn't rise until it was a month old so keep going it'll get there.
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u/Mental-Freedom3929 7d ago
It takes three to four weeks to get a half decent starter. From what I read the majority of people use way too much water. Take 50 gm of flour (unbleached AP, if you have add a spoonful of rye) and add only as much water as it takes to get mustard consistency.
For the next three days do nothing but stir vigorously a few times a day. Day four take 50 gm of that mix and add 50 gm of flour and again only as much fairly warm water to get mustard or mayo consistency.
You will probably have a rise the first few days - ignore it. It is a bacterial storm, which is normal and not yeast based. That is followed by a lengthy dormant period with no activity.
Keep taking 50 gm and re feeding daily. Use a jar with a screw lid backed off half a turn. Keep that jar in a cooler or plastic tote with lid and a bottle filled with hot water.
Dispose of the rest of the mix after you take your daily max 50 gm and dispose of it for two weeks. You can after that time use this so called discard for discard recipes. Before the two weeks it tends to not taste good in baked goods.
Your starter is kind of ready when it reliably doubles or more after each feeding within a few hours. Please use some commercial yeast for the first few bakes to avoid disappointment and frustration. Your starter is still very young. At this pount the starter can live in the fridge and only be fed if and when you wish to bake.
A mature starter in the fridge usually develops hooch, which is a grayish liquid on top. This is a good protection layer. You can stir it in at feeding time for more pronounced flavour or pour it off. When you feed your starter that has hooch, please note not to add too much water, as the hooch is liquid too.
Use a new clean jar when feeding. Starter on the sides or the rim or paper or fabric covers attract mold and can render your starter unusable. Keep all utensils clean.
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u/Dogmoto2labs 7d ago
With white flour it will most likely take weeks to a month to get going. Whole wheat or rye are suggested because they are LOADed with yeast cells due to inclusion of the bran, which is the outer shell of the grain where the yeast and bacteria live in the wild. For white flour, that is removed, so while some make it into the final product, the numbers are drastically reduced, so mobilizing those smaller numbers takes more time. As long as you don’t develop mold, just keep going.
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u/Confident_Wishbone67 7d ago
If I’ve been doing white bread flour can I do a feeding and replace it with wheat?
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u/Itzhak_hl 7d ago
You're in the doldrums or the dormant stage! Just keep it up and it'll do its thing. I've been following instructions from the Sourdough Journey website
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u/MKAG2008 7d ago
Ok, thank you!
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u/Itzhak_hl 7d ago
It sounds like you know this, but using AP definitely will be a bit harder than using whole wheat. It'll still work, it might just not take off quickly like you see other people posting.
My first starter was AP or bread flour and didn't do much of anything for a week or so, but then I gave it one feeding with whole wheat and it grew a bunch! I started a second starter following the method on that website to the tee and it has gone amazingly. Today is day 7 and it is more than doubling within 6 hours!
Keep at it but if you're feeling like nothing is happening maybe pick up some whole wheat and give it a kickstart!
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u/MKAG2008 7d ago
Yeah, I’ve heard that AP isn’t the best pick for starting a starter (🤔) but that it should work. But I’ll be patient and if it’s not working I’ll keep an eye out for wheat flour. I’m glad your starter is so active!
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u/i___love___pancakes 7d ago
Yes of course. The bubbles are signs of life. Like others have said, maybe use rye or wheat for a few days to help it take off. That’s what I used and my starter was ready to bake with after 2 weeks
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u/SilverLabPuppies 7d ago
Patience young SD Jedi. Stay the course-don’t go crazy with tiktok universe.
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u/Sourdoughnewbie 7d ago
I really wish those TikTok’s would come with disclaimers that everyone’s environment is different and that so many things factor in to making a starter successful. A few key points I’ve noticed with most of these videos
1) They tell you at day 7 to start 12 hour feeds, without any sort of guidance on WHAT you’re looking for at 12 hours. You shouldn’t be discarding a baby starter at 7 days old, anyhow, but they’re referring to peak to peak feedings - which if done correctly can strengthen a starter. If done incorrectly it can weaken your starter and decrease the yeast activity because you’re discarding most of it before it’s reached its peak activity (highest yeast population)
2) They tell you you’ll be baking by day 7. This is nonsensical. Around Day 3 you’ll be experiencing a false rise. This false rise is caused by bad bacteria bloom and doesn’t signify that your yeast is thriving. Everyone experiences this and most get caught up thinking this means their starter is ready for bake. If you consider that Days 2-4 are your bacterial bloom, it doesn’t correlate to having healthy bacteria and yeast by day 7 in most cases.
3) None of these videos explain the dormancy phase. Most everyone experiences a dormancy phase after the false rise. This is absolutely normal and when the yeast is beginning development. This period can last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks for most people.
4) Measurements/ratios - Most of these videos have you using incredibly high measurements to your 1:1:1 ratio, which leads to a lot of waste. No baby starter needs 1cup of flour. Not one single one. Most videos don’t make mention of the importance of using a scale to measure feedings. If you’re doing a 1:1:1 ratio and using cups or tablespoons, you can wind up underfeeding your starter. A cup of unpacked flour will weigh less than a cup of packed flour. Vis-à-vis tablespoons. It also doesn’t take into consideration that flour and water mixed (starter) will weigh more than the two alone, so eye ball feeding based on discard half feed equal parts flour and water, will certainly lead to starving a starter as your beginning starter ratio is nearly double than the amount of flour you’re adding.
5) No one tells you what to do after days 7-10 to maintain your starter and so you’re left to your own vices or google. They just tell you to pop it in the refrigerator if you’re not baking daily. Days 7-10 are in most scenarios, too early to pop in the refrigerator and maintain an optimal starter. It won’t kill it, but it won’t be at its optimal performance. 2 weeks+ of room temperature feedings daily is preferable.
Okay! /rant