Let me begin by saying I hope this is not a duplicate post. I thought I had posted but my account showed 0 posts, so I must have forgotten to save. I just started my starter. After 24 hours, when I was ready to refresh it, I noticed a layer of brown liquid about 1/2 inch up from the bottom. I have heard of a layer of hooch forming on top of starter, but this was not on the top, nor was it on the very bottom. There was healthy looking starter both above and below this liquid layer. I stirred it into the starter before doing the refresh. Now I am worried that I should not have done that. Any thoughts, ideas, or recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Category:
Replies
Hello floridatamar,
One possibility is that you were not logged in when you posted as posts by 'guests' have to be vetted before they are allowed to appear on the site and that can take a little while.
Anyway, back to your question. I don't think you have a problem. No mention of nasty molds or smells.
The only case that I can think of that could apply to your case was where, for some reason, a 'froth' layer remained stable after the yeasts and bacteria had run out of puff and stopped producing gas and the rest of the froth structure broke down to allow the liquid and solids to separate. In the case that I can think of I speculated that perhaps there had been some drying in the surface froth structure that gave it the strength to hold up after gas production had ceased, So, it appeared to remain floating on the liquid layer that formed underneath it.
Normally, the whole froth structure breaks down and you end up with only the two layers of liquid (hooch) and the flour and other solids slurry underneath.
Good luck with your projects.
Farinam
Farinam,
Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it. I am excited to be a part of this site and to learn from others.
floridatamar
I just had this problem too, just i have a nasty smell. This is day two of trying to restart my starter after the last one grew mold. I suspect it has to do with room temperatuee being up in the mid 80s. Should i throw out my starter?