starter bubbled within 24 hours and now nothing

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starter bubbled within 24 hours and now nothing

Postby pianodirt on Sun Dec 11, 2011 3:18 pm

I'm new to making sourdough starters and breadmaking in general. Following Katz's recipe, I used 2 cups freshly ground spelt and 2 cups spring water.

I put the mixture in a quart jar, covered with cheese cloth and put in the oven with the light on with a thermometer in there. The temp has been between 70-85F. In the first 24 hours, it started to rise and bubble quite a bit. This was much sooner than the "number of days" Katz says is common than I expected. It rose to larger than the quart jar could handle and it poured it out into a large ceramic bowl. All the while I was stirring 2x/day the first day then several times a day since then.

It's been about 3 days since starting it (I'm in Seattle) and since that quick burst of bubbling/rising I have seen no bubbles. It certainly has a strong sour smell.

My question is, is now the time to start feeding the starter? Was the quick bubble action the sign of it being active and just did so quickly because of the warm temp in the oven (it was 80-85F the first day)? If I wait too long to feed it, will it "die" or go bad?

I've since propped open the oven door, which has brought the temp down to 70-75F.

Thanks!
pianodirt
 
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Re: starter bubbled within 24 hours and now nothing

Postby nasal on Fri Dec 30, 2011 2:11 pm

i feed mine every night for the first week, while it's still out on the counter.

after the first week, i stick it in the fridge and feed it once a week.

as for "can it go bad?"
yes! this is your pet; a colony of bacteria and yeast. if you don't feed your pet, it will die! symptoms of a dead pet include funny colors, creepy awful smells, and other disturbing symptoms. a hard crust on top, however, is totally normal in dry climates. just peel it off and toss it

hope this helped!
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Re: starter bubbled within 24 hours and now nothing

Postby MDee on Fri Dec 30, 2011 5:12 pm

"freshly ground spelt", so whole grain I'd imagine. That is the problem, using whole grain makes keeping a starter much harder. I just use regular white bleached flour and I have to try to kill my starter. I've left it out on the counter for a week and had it nearly dry out only to refresh it and make bread the next day. (By the way I eat at least one, usually more fresh sourdough loaves of bread every single day and have so for years now)

If you want to make "healthy fiber rich bread" okay but your life is much easier not trying to do your starter that way.
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