Some advice on my starter would be greatly appreciated!ues

Hi Paul,

Your starter looks as though it's going fine to me. Just keep on feeding until it's really lively.

The mxture in the photograph looks rather thin. I find my starter seems to respond better when kept fairly thick i.e. 100% hydration (equal parts flour/water by weight).

Your first few loaves may not rise that well but don't be discouraged, they will improve.

Happy baking,

gongoozler

Hi Paul

I agree our starter looks a little thin. If you're refreshing with equal flour and water, is it doubling in volume, as it looks like its reached the top and deflated back down. If you have the time check it regularly over the next 24 hours and see if it doubles. I live in Scotland, so I have similar temps. My cultures is refreshed twice daily and doubles in volume every 12 hours. When my jar looked like your in the past it had used up all the avaiable food souce (I use Shipton mill flour too, its good). Don't want to tell you how to suck eggs but try and keep a clean jar, I move a teaspoon to a clean jar weekly, to stop mould etc. If your cultures isn't doubling in 24 hours and mine wasn't at day 7-8, leave it for 36 hours between refreshes for a couple of days to give it a chance and change your hydration slightly, maybe 100g flour and 105g water. I've found it helps my culture when the weather is slightly cooler. I use bottled water, not sure if its necessary. Don't worry about wasting too much flour, its only for a short time. Now when I refresh I keep a tbsp culture then add 30g (5-6g rye and 24-25g white) flour and 32g water. In the summer I keep less than a teaspoon as it doubles much quicker and reduce the water slightly. You just need to hang in there and experiment to see what suits you.

Hope this was a help

Chel

Hello Paul,

No silly questions here, we've all been where you are in this process at some point.

I too agree with the others that it appears that your starter is to thin to see much rising between feedings. The cooler temps are most likely slowing down the process as well.

Feeding equal amounts by weight and watching it closely between feedings to see if it rises should get you where you want to be. I would not change or add other flour types until the starter is well established. I'm in the U.S. and don't know the brands in the UK but as long as you are feeding a strong protein white bread flour you should see results. Again with the cooler temps thing will react slower. You may only need to feed once a day. If a clear liquid (hootch) appears on the top of the starter between feedings, it would indicate the need to feed more frequent.

Hang in there and best of luck!

Okay, so your hydration (thick batter) seems fine. Temperature maybe? I made myself a simple warming cabinet which I find perfect for starters and preferments, maybe you could use an airing cupboard or something similar. Warmth definitely makes a big difference, especially in the early stages of developing a starter. Somewhere between 25 and 30 degrees C is perfect IMO.

I live in Shropshire (although I'm a Londoner by birth and upbringing) and I suspect that there are plenty of wild yeasts floating around up here. This may not be the case in London but the bubbles indicate that you are definitely getting yeast activity so I guess it is just a matter of keeping on feeding regularly. You might try marking the level on the outside of the jar with a felt pen to make it easier to judge how much the volume is increasing. IIRC mine (2 years old now) doubles in about 4-6 hours at 25 degrees C.

Shipton Mill flour is certainly excellent. I've also had success with Wessex MIll French Bread Flour (T65) and Dove's Farm products. I'm currently getting good results with Marriage's Extra Strong Canadian but to be honest I don't think the brand of flour makes that much difference to the rising: that's more down to the type of flour - wholemeal always seems to rise less than white. I use bottled water but, like Chel, I'm not sure that it matters.

Let us know how you get on.

gongoozler

I live in Scotland and have an unheated kitchen which is colder than yours! It only warms up when it's sunny or the door to the living room is open. I haven't been baking long.

When I'm going to bake, I bring my starter into the living room to become really active. It starts bubbling much more quickly and doubles nicely. I can't use my airing cupboard because it has a vent in to the pump for the boiler. I'm not sure it would be good for the culture.

My starter was really thin when I started it but has bulked up much more over time. Is there somewhere warmer you could put it at night even if it needs to be in the kitchen all day?

Paul,

You could try feeding twice a day, I don't think it would hurt and could just help. More importantly try to maintain a steady temp in the range that gongoozler mentioned above. The little critters in the starter are just like us, they like a good food supply and mildly warm weather.

Other than that its just a waiting game to let them build up numbers and strength.

Well done Paul.

Can't wait to see the loaves!

Chel