Dillon is around 7 days old, and keeps teasing me with bubbles but won’t rise. I’ve tried a few different things, including putting him near my baseboards for heat, putting him in my oven with the light on (unfortunately my oven has an auto off with the light, which I learned through this process), talking to him nice, and attempting to curse him into submission. His base is bread flour, but I’ve been feeding him AP for the last few days. There are so many resources out there that say different things, so I’m not sure where to turn. Most days he ends up with a slight liquid at the top, and has a funky “cheesy” smell (which I heard is a good sign?) but he will not rise. I’ve attempted a 1:1:1 (starter:water:flour), and have attempted a little extra flour in case he’s hungry. I did discard as well with optimism he would spring to life. He also has a cousin, because I split him into two batches because of feeding. Looking for guidance since the bubbles are there and the rise is not. Help!!
by Opossum-Queen
22 Comments
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For Rule 5, I’ve tried 1:1:1, I’ve tried more flour and less water, I’ve exposed to warmth, I’ve used AP flour and bread flour. I’ve also fed him plenty of love. More details are in the main post, but I’m happy to answer more questions if needed!
7 days is nothing, my starter took a month before it started to be approaching usable
You have an active culture. Wait 48 hours for it to starve a little. Come back Friday night, discard half and give a. 1:1:1 feeding. You will get a rise Saturday morning around 6 am
Remember colder climates produces more bottom fermenting yeasts similar to beer. You have stuff in there it just takes longer than you want to wait for it. I’m currently overnight proofing a loaf for 10 hours with a mature starter that doubles in 3 1/2 hours because my house drops in temperature overnight. Use your climate
to your advantage. Be patient. Sourdough baking is a humbling experience.
Last thought it actually looks a little wet, go for more of a play dough texture.
When I have an active starter that’s bubbling but not wanting to rise I feed it with rye flour. Usually a 50/50 rye and ap blend. I find the whole grain really makes my starter go nuts.
7 days is very young, but try a mix of rye and bread flour for feeding. They love it.
When I started mine, I used whole wheat flour. It has a high protein content (13.8%). You can also use rye flour. This is important that it has a high protein percentage when feeding. Once your starter matures, you can go with bread flour if you want. Another important thing is do not use bleached flour. This actually kills the bacteria. I didn’t see a rise in mine for about 5 days. Once it started doubling in size, I just kept feeding until it would double or triple in size in 4-6 hours. After about 2 weeks, it should be good enough for bread making. A good quality flour to use is King Arthur. Feed it a 1:1:1. 100 grams each. It’s a journey. Be patient.
Also do NOT use tap water. Use bottled.
Keep on doing exactly what you have been doing it can take 2 weeks and more especially in the winter.
Hey it took mine a month to double and another month to consistently triple in 8 hours. Take it easy!
Gotta name it something like Elwood or Margaret next time.
Looks like it is too wet. If it is was less wet the bubbles would be trapped in the mix and give some rise. Make a stiffer mix next time you feed it then watch it closely for activity. Feed it shortly after it has peaked (when the dome collapses and gets flat and wavy on top) and keep feeding it like this until it has strengthened. I would not use it until it is reliably doubling in about 4 hours on a 1:1:1 feeding assuming your house is not too cold.
Edit to say that for some flours 1:1:1 is too wet, and you will have to hold back some water. Think just a little stiffer than mustard consistency.
Do you do half AP and half whole wheat when you feed it?
should’ve given it a female name.
girls mature much faster. 😉
We all know a Dillon lol
I always start a new starter- either from scratch or my dry powdered starter with a warm environment to bubble up. There are mats used to grow seedlings that keep a constant 80 degree temp, and I wrap that in a towel and around the jar. Works like a charm for developing within the week
Dillon be chillin. My Spelton John was like this. Went a little stiffer and added slightly more flour than water. Seemed to help
Mine took a month before it was ready. But really the best is after several months.
Hi. Your starter is not thriving because the culture is watered down. IMO.
Sluggish starter:
Your starter develops more yeast cells every time it has ideal conditions and continues to develop until the conditions limit it further. (E.g. when readily available food runs out. Or, when it is fed too much too often.) Your starter will sustain a certain density of yeast cells. Further, it has optimal vigour and fermentation potential at optimum density.
Yeast thrives in slightly acidic conditions in the range ph 4 to 6 as do the ‘good’ bacteria. They don’t thrive in the neutral or alkaline conditions that encourage molds and ‘bad’ bacteria that are also present in your flour and allows them to multiply. The water you feed your starter is neutral so the more you feed your starter the more you reduce the acidity and the less vigorous your starter to the point where they become sluggish stop reproducing and deplete the population.
When you reduce your starter by either baking with the rest or by discard it retains that population density they don’t die but they can go into limbo and need a kick to revive. After feeding the yeast population density is reduced further and it first needs to multiply and feed up. As the population increases fermentation rate increases and the rate of gas production too. So after feeding rise is slow then more rapid before slowing as food becomes scarce
Too high of a temperature in the culture raises the metabolism but not so much the population. The food is digested and depleted more quickly so the lactobacillus digest the protein bonds and create a more sloppy culture that is odourous. Left alone this becomes stronger. (Tastier) this is the ideal point to feed again. Not less than 1:1:1.
To revive your starter mix it thoroughly and reduce to 15 g in a fresh clean jar.
Feed the starter 1:1:1 it will multiply and reach optimum density quite rapidly. It will also run out of food quite rapidly, depending on dough temperature. The doubling time at this ratio is the standard for assessing starter activity. When it has started falling mix it thoroughly, reduce to 15g and feed 1:1:1. Repeat until vigour improves.
Feed it 1:5:5 it will take approximately three times as long to reach the same population density and therefore double in volume.
My starter doubles in 2 1/2 hours . My bread recipe is 1:5:5 and doubles in volume in about 7 1/2 hours but I curtail it 6 to 6 1/2 hours so there is enough food left for for cold retard.
Your starter will continue to ferment even at very low temperatures (below freezing) but very much slower and without reproducing.
.
You don’t need much starter. I keep 45 g in the fridge. When I want to bake I pull it out let it warm up before feeding it 1:1:1 this gives me my levain and 15g surplus to feed 1:1:1 to become my new starter. It lives ii the fridge till needed.
Happy baking
I had the same issue and I have reduced it to 30-40g and then added 40g water 50g flour. After 1h in a warmer oven (I turned it on for 2 min before placing the starter) it was more than double
I know a 30 year old human Dillon that has the very same issue.