Sourdough starter. Please help

[shkooter]

Hi,

I've been trying to make a sourdough starter using wholemeal spelt. It was going great.

This was it on day 2


But since then nothing. I fed it 50grams of flour and 50g yesterday and there were bubbles but no growth.

I took out 150g this morning and added 70g flour and 70g water but still no growth, but there are some bubbles  after 5 hours. I had it in the laundry where it is around 28 degrees.




I'm just not sure what to do? 

Thanks in advance

[cookie1]

Hopefully Chookie will be able to help you. She is our resident expert.

[shkooter]

Thanks Cookie 

[achookwoman]

I  am no expert. Shkooter. I also have not made starter from Spelt.

However it appears,  from the photo,  to be alive. 
Why did you remove some of the starter?
It should be OK at this temp. But the warmer the conditions,  the quicker it will use the energy available in the flour.
I would give it a good feed,  say 1/2 cup of both flour and water and give it a good stir every hour or so.  I leave a spoon in the jar and just give it a stir as I pass..   It sounds like it is hungry.
Let us know how you go.

[shkooter]

I  am no expert. Shkooter. I also have not made starter from Spelt.

However it appears,  from the photo,  to be alive. 
Why did you remove some of the starter?
It should be OK at this temp. But the warmer the conditions,  the quicker it will use the energy available in the flour.
I would give it a good feed,  say 1/2 cup of both flour and water and give it a good stir every hour or so.  I leave a spoon in the jar and just give it a stir as I pass..   It sounds like it is hungry.
Let us know how you go.

Thanks heaps Chookie.

I have been reading a whole lot of (random) stuff on different pages, and one of the things I read was that there might be to much starter to maintain.  I didn't dump it - I poured it into another container and popped it in the fridge.

Should it still be growing/doubling?  It does seem active, just not doing anything.

[achookwoman]

In the fridge,  it will hibernate. When you take it out of the fridge,  you need to feed it and give it a good stir. And bring it back to room temp.
I am wondering where you live?  If it. Is very warm you could have the same problems that Gert had. . Because of the warmth,  she had a very hungry starter,  but eventually made an excellent loaf. 
I would be inclined to mix 400g of starter with 500g flour, 1 teaspoon of each salt and sugar,  and water to form a soft dough,  knead for 4 mins,  tip into a cast iron pot,  ( lined ) that you can put a lid on.  Let it double.  Then bake with lid on for first 30 mins.  Then without for 15.  I have no idea how long it will take to double as it depends how active the starter is.  If it looks like it is late at night,  stick it in the fridg,  remove in the morning,  and continue to let it rise. 
Emergency treatment!!!!!! If after 24 hours nothing much has happened,  scrape back into TMX and knead in 2 teaspoons of dried yeast that you have mixed with a little warm water.
Sorry to prattle on,  but there are many variables and you will have to find what will work for you.

[shkooter]

In the fridge,  it will hibernate. When you take it out of the fridge,  you need to feed it and give it a good stir. And bring it back to room temp.
I am wondering where you live?  If it. Is very warm you could have the same problems that Gert had. . Because of the warmth,  she had a very hungry starter,  but eventually made an excellent loaf. 
I would be inclined to mix 400g of starter with 500g flour, 1 teaspoon of each salt and sugar,  and water to form a soft dough,  knead for 4 mins,  tip into a cast iron pot,  ( lined ) that you can put a lid on.  Let it double.  Then bake with lid on for first 30 mins.  Then without for 15.  I have no idea how long it will take to double as it depends how active the starter is.  If it looks like it is late at night,  stick it in the fridg,  remove in the morning,  and continue to let it rise. 
Emergency treatment!!!!!! If after 24 hours nothing much has happened,  scrape back into TMX and knead in 2 teaspoons of dried yeast that you have mixed with a little warm water.
Sorry to prattle on,  but there are many variables and you will have to find what will work for you.

Thanks again Chookie.  My post was a bit confusing now that I re-read it.  The main body (so to speak) of the starter is on the bench - the bit that I poured off is in the fridge.

I fed it again yesterday as per your suggestions and there was still no growth, although there were bubbles.  I've just fed it again to see whether a 12 hour schedule will work better. 

I'll try to make a loaf using your recipe later in the week and I'll report back

[cookie1]

Bubbles are a good sign.

[judydawn]

Katie and I were only discussing this the other night.  Neither of our starters double but only grow by the amount of what we feed it with.  I've read where people say their starter doubled overnight but ours never has (our dough doubles but not the starter) - it just gets bubbles and I thought that was what was supposed to happen.  It can all be very confusing.  I agree that bubbles are a good sign Cookie 

[shkooter]

Katie and I were only discussing this the other night.  Neither of our starters double but only grow by the amount of what we feed it with.  I've read where people say their starter doubled overnight but ours never has (our dough doubles but not the starter) - it just gets bubbles and I thought that was what was supposed to happen.  It can all be very confusing.  I agree that bubbles are a good sign Cookie 

That's good to hear. So does it bake well?

I got some other starter from a friend today and that has doubled since I fed it at lunchtime.  Except I ran out of flour and can't make a loaf till tomorrow. D'oh!!  That is a white flour starter so that could explain why it I so different to mine

[judydawn]

I have hit and miss efforts with sourdough bread making shkooter - mine is a white flour starter too. 

[Bonsai]

I use rye flour and the starter doesn't double but gets very foamy and bubbly so it looks like there is more in the jar. It continues to ferment slowly even in the fridge so gives off a large gassy burp when i first open the lid.

I think white flour starters are harder to maintain according to Yoke Mardewi's Sourdough book.

[cookie1]

My sourdough bread is usually lovely. It's funny that Yoke states that Bonsai as I find my white sourdough fairly easy to maintain. With my sourdough baking I seem to use a mixture of Yoke's methods and Chookie's methods and touch wood things go well. I loved Yoke's classes and learned so much from her, but she did scare me about sourdough baking a bit and now Chookie has shown me that there is nothing to be scared about.
Yoke now does thermomix sourdough classes and I think I will attend one of those.
My starter sometimes bubbles up, but then moves down again. Often it is over night and you can see where it has bubbled to. The ideal time to use it would be when it is at its peak, but I'm not getting up in the middle of the night for anything, not even my sourdough starter. 

I think a rye starter is easier to handle and less 'fussy' than a white starter.

[shkooter]

A sourdough breadmaking class sounds great.  But long.  Most of the recipes that I have seen call for proffing over 6 or more hours.  That's a class that definitely needs to be accompanied with some wine.

[cookie1]

This lady is amazing. Before you start you taste lots and lots of things. She then chats about various things, methods etc. it is usually about 4 hours and you do one thing that is actually hands on, and a few other things that you 'help' do. She runs most of them in Perth, Western Australia.