I started my Sour Dough with one .25 oz packet of yeast, 2 cups of flour, and 2 cups of warm water. I got the usual reaction, and let it for a couple of days. It got crusty along the edges of the bowl, so I stirred it in. After it another couple of days it was very watery, smells sour, and was lacking in many bubbles. I added 1/4 cup of flour, and a pinch of sugar to see if I could get a reaction from it. It had a brownish liquid, which I supposed is what people call hooch. I stirred it in. It's been sitting for an hour now , and I don't see a whole lot of action. It all looks like very watery dough now. I'll try to check it in the morning, but did I blow it by not feeding it sooner?
Thanks for any tips, advice, or criticism. :)
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One of the best, most reliable starter guides I have seen is SourDom's beginner's blog, here:
sourdough.com/blog/sourdom/beginners-blog-starter-scratch
Follow that, and you will be off and running in 7-10 days on average.
There are also lots of other posts here if you need more info.
I agree: Sour dough is not made with commercial yeast; that would defeat the purpose, yes???
I made my own for my bakery; it took a good month of feeding to get a really good starter although, there was vigorous activity after about 5 days.
100% Rye flour
100% water
2 oz each is enough for a home baker.
mix in a clean glass or plastic jar with a lid. Change the Jar every so often to a clean one.
pour out most of the starter every time you refresh.
refresh twice a day for the first 7 days.
then refresh once a day for two to three weeks.
You should have plenty of activity after a week but your sour flavor will need time to develop.
I started to refrigerate the starter overnight and leave it out during the day for couple weeks and the sour flavor developed.
I keep the Jar of starter out on the table all the time now but I will give it a few nights in the cooler if the sour starts to wane.
I now use King Arthur all purpose flour for the starter and only use 50% rye and 50% all purpose once a week to give the wild yeast a boost.
Rye is best for starting a starter because the wild yeast finds more nutrition in Rye.
This starter is now eight months old and going strong.
Good luck