If the starter is healthy and active then you don't have a problem. Some people use batter consistency, some people use dough consistency. There are possibly some differences in the balance of yeasts and bacteria that give differences in taste and acidity. Once again, whatever suits you, there are no rights or wrongs, just what works.
I have a lot of experience baking with pure rye sourdoughs, so i can give you my two cents :)
I assume you feed the starter with wholegrain rye flour. Rye is a very "dry" flour, in that it sucks a whole lot of water. Simple test: mix a tablespoon of wheat flour with a tablespoon of water. next to it do the same but with rye. The rye will look a lot less hydrated than the wheat, even though you put the same flour to water ratio.
I bake with a 1:1 rye / water starter when I bake my rye breads. It has the consistency of oatmeal (best way I can explain it), it doesnt ever bubble on the surface, but it easily doubles in volume in a day - in the fridge! - after being fed. Rye is such a grateful thing to use, for some reason it is just bonkers active, but you should not worry at all that it doesnt bubble on the surface. If you do want it to, theres no reason you cant "thin" it up with more water so it reaches the same consistency as your wheat starter... But theres really no reason to. If it tripples in volume, you got yourself a sweet ass rye culture going :D
Replies
Hi Petra,
If the starter is healthy and active then you don't have a problem. Some people use batter consistency, some people use dough consistency. There are possibly some differences in the balance of yeasts and bacteria that give differences in taste and acidity. Once again, whatever suits you, there are no rights or wrongs, just what works.
Keep on bakin'
Farinam
Hi Farinam,
Thank you for your reply, it does help me a lot.
My Wheat Starter bakes the greatest Bread and is 1:1:1, so I shall do that for my Rye one too.
I think with the Rye Starter, because it is much thicker from the word go, it does not bubble as the Wheat Starter does and that got me a bit worried.
It doubles quick after feeding, even tripples has lots of Airholes , big ones and does what it should do, just not such a bubbly surface.
I have a lot of experience baking with pure rye sourdoughs, so i can give you my two cents :)
I assume you feed the starter with wholegrain rye flour. Rye is a very "dry" flour, in that it sucks a whole lot of water. Simple test: mix a tablespoon of wheat flour with a tablespoon of water. next to it do the same but with rye. The rye will look a lot less hydrated than the wheat, even though you put the same flour to water ratio.
I bake with a 1:1 rye / water starter when I bake my rye breads. It has the consistency of oatmeal (best way I can explain it), it doesnt ever bubble on the surface, but it easily doubles in volume in a day - in the fridge! - after being fed. Rye is such a grateful thing to use, for some reason it is just bonkers active, but you should not worry at all that it doesnt bubble on the surface. If you do want it to, theres no reason you cant "thin" it up with more water so it reaches the same consistency as your wheat starter... But theres really no reason to. If it tripples in volume, you got yourself a sweet ass rye culture going :D