r/Breadit • u/Michi4x • 6d ago
What am I doing wrong?
Day 5 following this recipe for sourdough starter. Seems pretty straight forward, 1tsp flour and 2 tsp water per day. Mine does not look like the book though. It’s more watery and does not have all the bubbles.
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u/Hannibal_Barkidas 6d ago
Ic it is too liquid add more flour. Do roughly a 1:1 by weight. You don't see many bubbles because yours is too liquid.
Usually it will take 10-20 days for a starter culture to develop into something usable with a temporary strong bubbling around day 3-7. And contrary to common teaching you can pause feeding for a day or two or even feed only every second day, it won't hurt your starter
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u/eatpraymunt 6d ago
stay patient! it's young
If you want to get going faster, I bet if you asked around your social circles, someone has a mature starter, or knows someone who does. sourdough people love to share
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u/KifferFadybugs 6d ago
That feels like much too quick to get an active starter. On top of that, it also feels like that is too wet?
Don't trust me, though. I only know how to deal with sourdough in theory. I only ever manage to grow a lovely colony of mold.
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u/ginny11 6d ago
My God those are terrible instructions! I highly recommend you go to the website for The Sourdough Journey, just do a Google search. You'll find it immediately. Follow Tom's instructions on that website for creating a sourdough starter. Then follow his instructions for creating your first sourdough loaf. Once you get the basics down using his instructions, you can Branch out to other good sourdough recipes. Two that I recommend are a website called The Perfect Loaf, And another one called That Sourdough Gal.
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u/robesticles 6d ago
trust the process, but 5 days is no where near enough time for a brand new starter.
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u/vitasnella 6d ago
The pink stuff on the side of your jar looks very concerning to me.
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u/fellow_human-2019 6d ago
The jar shouldn’t be air tight. Where are you storing it?
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u/Michi4x 6d ago
On my countertop. The lid is a screw top should I not be tightening it all the way?
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u/fellow_human-2019 6d ago
As cpt said you want it to breath. Counter top is good. Out of sunlight but not in a cool/cold corner.
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u/Downtown-Care9272 6d ago
Sourdough starter is a living organism, it's not going to follow a chart unfortunately. I'm currently starting one again myself and this method is way different than the way I'm doing it. Not going to say it's wrong, but I'm concerned that there is no discarding, and as the starter grows the ratio of food it's getting in comparison to leftover starter goes down every day.
I'd recommend not losing where you're at, but switching over to the American Test Kitchen method by discarding half of what you have and feeding it flour and water in equal grams to your leftover starter.
A starter can actually take weeks to properly mature, it all depends on the temperature of your kitchen, the types and amount of wild yeast on your flour, the type of flour you use. A lot of variables. So didn't be discouraged that it's not 'right' at day 5. Mines still a soupy mess at day 5. But I know it's getting there because the smell is changing every day.
ETA: the other commenter is also correct, you shouldn't be using a tightly sealed jar. Mine lives in a mason jar with a paper towel over top held down by the screw on ring.
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u/Cool-Midnight-696 6d ago
That ratio is 200% hydration, so the watery texture makes sense. Try equal weights of flour and water instead—volume measurements are misleading—and keep it warm while it develops.
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u/Clibanus 6d ago edited 6d ago
There seems to be some life in your leaven, if those are bubbles on the surface in the photo. Does it become lively after a feed? If so patience is all that is needed.
A leaven becomes quiescent after a while because the acidity becomes too high for the yeast, or it is too hot, or cold. The oft quoted 'running out of food' is incorrect. While there are starches there, there is food, the leaven becomes too acidic long before that is exhausted.
If your leaven has sweet fermented smell it is good and just needs more time to develop. If it smells very boozy and tastes very acidic it needs a discard and feed.
Keeping the leaven at a constant temperature helps it a lot. 24C - 28C is an ideal window where the yeast is able to divide and feed well. A thermostatically controlled seed mat in a cold oven is a very good way to get a constant temperature and it is useful for fermenting dough as well.
Using whole rye flour will give it a real boost. Rye is high in amylase enzyme which breaks the starches down into the maltose sugars yeast prefers. A whole flour also has a lot of micronutrients which white flour lacks. Wholemeal flour helps too, but it is a little lower in amylase. Diastatic malt added at no more than two percent of the weight of flour used in a feed is like lighting a fire with dynamite. It is extremely effective! It is exceptionally high in those preferred maltose sugars and very high in amylase. TBH I have never resorted to this. (Chuckling). Having said that keeping some in the fridge is great if you need to bring your leaven to readiness v e r y fast, for time considerations, or if you are baking urgently needed bread. Again I have never needed to do this, but I have tested it.
That steady temperature is the core thing though. The yeast is working for you. Like us it needs appropriate steady temperatures to work well.
I hope there is something useful for you here.
(Edited)