My 'Moro' Sourdough starter is very active after 3 days.

MrOrangeSpangle

Hi there.

 

I have finally got round to making my first sourdough starter.  I'm using the recipe from the 'Moro' cook book....Flour, Water and red grapes in muslin submerged in the flour/water mixture.

 

The Moro cook book says to leave it for 10-14 days at room temperature, by which time the grapes ferment and the muslin cloth inflates with the gasses that are given off.

 

Well, after just three days... the flour/water mixture looks very active, and is full of bubbles, and the muslin cloth has totally inflated. 

 

Is it time to begin feeding the starter now, of should I still wait for 10 days before feeding my starter?

 

Many thanks in advance.

 

Anthony.

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173 users have voted.

Replies

Alie0Bronwynn 2010 March 4

I just hate it when I have a question and then no one says anything back!  So, I'm responding, however unhelpful it might be.

 

I've found a lot of ways to kill a starter, one of those ways was not feeding it when it needed feeding.  So, my inclination if I were you would be to split the starter.  I'd pour out just about 1/4 cup into a seperate container and feed that, while leaving the original starter as it is.  That way if the fed starter doesn't react as you'd hope, you still have the original for another 10 days before feeding.  At least, that's what I'd do.  :-)

 

Good luck!!

rossnroller 2010 March 4

[quote=Alie0Bronwynn]I just hate it when I have a question and then no one says anything back![/quote]

That rarely - if ever - happens on this site.

That said, I think Alie0Bronwynn's suggestion is a good one.

LeadDog's picture
LeadDog 2010 March 4

 You will need to feed the starter, under most conditions the yeast will run out of food in about 12 hours.  They will start to die after that.  Yeast have also been known to feed on each other and start to give off really foul odors.

DavidMannafromDevon 2010 March 4

Anthony,

the purpose of initially leaving the starter mix is to catch and nurture some wild yeasts.  If the mix is active and full of bubbles then that has happened and you can proceed to the feeding stages.  I have three starters here none of which took more than 4 days to become actively fermented. The yeast in the flour you used, the yeast on the grapes you added and the yeasts in the air where you have the starter are all variables and you seemed to have picked a good spot.  Your aim is to make some bread not to sit around watching bubbles so go for it.

 

good luck

 

David 

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