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neophite

Hi there as the name suggests I'm new here and new to bread making ESP sourdoughs. Once upon a time I was given an heirloom starter but I didn't understand it nor was I interested at that time so it withered and died in a ziplock bag in my fridge. I regret that now! 

 

So on to the big question. I found a tutorial for sd starter in 10 days and I began to follow it. It was very basic in a mason jar 1tbs flour 1tbs tap water. Stirred and fed 1tbs of each every day. Stirring often. Day 3 it was very sour smelling with lots of great activity I found a larger jar stirred it up and moved it over feeding it along the way. All looked great. As we currently have a rodent issue I placed the loose fitting but glass lid on the jar over the ceran wrap with holes I had used the previous day's and came back in the morning to stir and feed it again only in the morning it had fallen with only very tiny bubbles a feed seemed to do nothing and the texture is no longer sticky active like it was the day before and now more like really thin pancake mix. It now smells latex-e or glue-e I dumped 1/2 as the jar was over 1/2 full and I was concerned it might take off and be all over the counter. The lid has now been off for a further 2 days with freq stirring and a daily feed and no change? Did I sterilize it some how. Is it over sized and therefor under fed? Did the jar lid somehow prevent it from off gassing and it snuffed it's self? There's no mould, it's not forming hooch it's just stagnant?

 

thanks  

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farinam's picture
farinam 2015 October 8

Hello neophite,

I don't think having put a lid (loosely) on the jar would have caused your problem.  Also, an establishing culture can go through phases of varying activity as the balance of yeasts and bacteria change and adjust to the changing conditions of acidity and so forth.  Sometimes they can give off odd smells that last a day or maybe two and then go away.  So, I wouldn't despair just yet.

In the meantime, have a read of SourDom's beginners blogs on this site and if things don't come good in another few days or if the contents of your jar get really nasty and revolting, then I would start again.  As an aside, and you will read about it in the blogs, adding a proportion of wholemeal flour (particularly rye which has other beneficial enzymes) is a good idea to increase your load of yeasts and bacteria that concentrate on the bran and germ.

Good luck with your projects.

Farinam

neophite 2015 October 16

Ok so after nursing it for a few more days I bought some ww flour poured out the slury that was in there smelling like glue. Added a TB of water and ww and let it sit over night this morning when I checked it smelled delightfully sour and was clearly more active. I fed it again with a TB of ww. Now what? I was thinking of adding a cup next and thinking about a recipe to use. Do you have any suggestions for a first bread? 

 

 

Thanks

farinam's picture
farinam 2015 October 16

Hello neophite,

As I said, you can't go past SourDom's Beginners Blog on this site for a method for developing and maintianing a starter and getting started on your bread making career.  He also gives a recipe called Pane francesa that is about as simple as you can get.  I would recommend that you practice making this several times using his method and timing as a guide but adjusting as necessary to suit your conditions until you have a good feel for dough and its development and handling and are making good bread consistently.  Once you have mastered this simple recipe you will be well placed to move on to recipes with more complexity and doughs with different flours and characteristics.  The main thing is, don't be discouraged if it seems difficult at first.  It's a bit like learning to ride a bike - all of a sudden you just don't need those training wheels.

Good luck with your projects.

Farinam

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