I'm preparing to bake my first sourdough this week; have been building a starter along the lines of the one in Peter Reinhart's ABED. Went to the fridge last night and the thick plastic jar was cracked right around and the top lifted clean off. Have I made a fundamental mistake, or do I just need a larger jar?
Cheers,
Mick
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You've got yerself a runaway starter!! And that's a GOOD thing.
That means it can't wait to make you bread. Do give it one more feed before you do, though, coz it also means it has peaked. To be on the safe side, keep your starter in a jar with room to triple.
Can't wait to see bread from that sizzling starter of yours.
it's a cracker all right! Maybe leave the lid ever so slightly loose as well! Beauty :o)
But it does look like you need a larger container and maybe leave the lid loose. Personally, I would be a little nervous about the top half of you started. I'm not sure shards of glass make good bread.
Make sure you use a loose fitting lid or leave it a bit loose. Best advise for active starter containers is that after adding the flour and water to refresh your starter it should only fill the jar a little over 1/3 to allow it room to completely expand... I agree though it looks like a lively one!
Thanks for all the helpful comments.
The jar is actually heavy plastic (not glass), I don't think any of it got in the starter but I threw out the top part of it anyway.
I'm sure the jar was less than 1/3 full when I previously fed it. Also, I had taken over 100g of it out the night before to make my first loaves.
I now have a taller jar :)
Cheers,
Mick
Hi...I buy these plastic covers with elastic called Cover Mate that look like shower caps at the resturant supply store. I use them on top of my starter jars and also in place of plastic wrap on bowls. They're reusable, food safe and allow gases produced by the yeast to escape. They work great!
Toni
Toni, how cool - a sourdough starter in a shower cap! I'll have to look our for some!