The sourdough Starter Thread

[smallblueplanet]

smallblueplanet

First one is still just has the stretchy gloop to it. Should I give it another stir?
Second has got bigger after its stir yesterday.

They look little little bubbles? Patience needed Grasshopper.

[Containergardener]

Ok thanks. I will wait, bit warmer today so will see if they change further.
Still hasn't earned a name yet

[Snoop Puss]

The stretchiness is probably gluten strands forming. It's the bubbles you want. Might only be tiny at first and not break the surface but bubbles are good.

In your photo, is the horizontal mark a line that you drew on the jar where your flour and water mixture originally came up to? If so, it looks like your starter has doubled in size. And that is very good.

[Containergardener]

Yes Mark is the original line. It is now showing more bubbly in the 2nd one.

[Snoop Puss]

Are you keeping track of the days and checking the Weekend Bakery site (if that's the method you followed)?

Link here again: https://www.weekendbakery.com/posts/...in-easy-steps/

You might be about ready to think about baking.

[Containergardener]

I haven't done anything more with it as I thought it needed to increase further, it has shrank down a bit this morning. Maybe its needs a feed? I thought it would get bigger and bubblier first.

[Snoop Puss]

CG, here's the first of a series of videos on sourdough by Elaine. You can really tell in this video that she's not used to YouTubing, but she is a great source of information and you might find the images useful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INAa...=CotswoldFlour

With this video, she's starting back at the very beginning, and you're quite a bit further on than that. But you might find it useful to start at the beginning before watching the later videos in this series.

Essentially what has happened with your starter is that the natural yeasts that have developed have used up all the food available to them in the flour you've given them. So no more natural yeasts are developing, no more gas is being produced and the bubbles that have developed are now dissipating. Consequently, your starter is shrinking back. Your starter is what is known as 'hungry'. So you need to feed it more flour (and water). If you have a look at it, you might notice it looks a bit runny on top or has lots of small bubbles on the surface. If you were to leave it much longer, you might see a greyish liquid on the surface. This is known as 'hooch' and is perfectly safe, despite the solvent-like smell. You can stir it in or pour it off when you feed your starter. I personally pour it off.

It sounds to me like your starter is at the stage where you could consider using it. You can't use hungry starter in bread, as it doesn't have enough natural yeasts in it to be effective. But discard some and feed, just like you have been doing. If it doubles in size in a few hours, consider baking with it. There are recipes that use discard or unfed starter and you could try those first, if you fancy. Bren has shared some discard recipes in the past. There are these too: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/rec...iscard-recipes

I don't know how often you bake bread. I bake twice a week most weeks, but sometimes I make yeasted bread if I'm in a hurry, so my starter can go a couple of weeks without being used. If I were to leave it on the counter, it would keep getting hungry and I'd be using up flour just to keep it alive. So I keep my starter in the fridge rather on than the counter, as the cold slows down the yeast activity. This means I only feed it with a view to baking, not just to keep my starter alive. This saves flour and inadvertently letting my starter die by mistake.

Big thumbs up from me for Elaine. Watch the videos and check out her website.

[Bren In Pots]

I make crackers from the above site ^ they're easy and very tasty.

https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...54#post2503454

Edited here's a link to the oatcakes i make regularly.

https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...86#post2311986

[Containergardener]

Snoop I never bake bread
Have done yrs ago after that we had a bread machine but not used that for years either.

[Snoop Puss]

Snoop I never bake bread
Have done yrs ago after that we had a bread machine but not used that for years either.

Out of interest, what will you be making with your starter, then? I'm intrigued.

[Containergardener]

Bread. I've just never made soughdough bread before.

[Snoop Puss]

Sorry, I misunderstood your previous remark.

Good luck with your first sourdough loaf, then.

[Containergardener]

Haha sorry I talk jibberish. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing with sourdough

[Bren In Pots]

I made sourdough pikelets this morning stirred in apple, raisins and cinnamon, then topped with yoghurt.

https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/rec...FBQUFBR1hVZEk4

[Snoop Puss]

Oh my goodness, Bren. They sound amazing. What did you do with the apple? Grate it into the mixture?