I started making my own sourdough starter 3 weeks ago. I used the 1:1:1 ratio, feeding it once a day for the first 2 days and twice a day for the remainder. After seeing that it wasn’t bubbling or rising that much, I started wrapping it in a warming blanket, as my house is quite cool, however, that doesn’t seem to have helped. I also tried feeding it 2:1:1 ratio and that didn’t help either. My feeds have been either AP flour or a mix of AP and white whole wheat flour.
I last fed my starter approximately 16 hours ago and this is what it is looking like. I’m wondering how I should proceed, as I seem to have confused both myself and my starter.
Have you read through this thread yet?
Assuming you are using unchlorinated water, I would stir it and let it sit 12-24 hours more. Then stir again and let it sit some more. Only when it bubbles a lot, consider doing another feed. At that point you might add a little lemon or pinapple juice to the water you are using in order to drop the pH.
If you have a quite cool basement or entryway, you might try this method of starter creation instead:
Thank you for your reply!
Yes, I did look through that thread, which is when I switched to feeding 2:1:1, however, it doesn’t seem to have helped much and I’m not seeing any bubbles.
I will do as you advised with stirring and only feeding once it bubbles a lot. I’ll keep you updated on its progress.
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Update: It’s been a little more than 2 days and I’ve just been stirring it every 12 hours or so. This is what it looks like now- a few bubbles with no rise.
Is this normal? Is it possible the starter is bad?
Aroma?
Slightly sour, but it doesn’t smell spoiled or like acetone.
Has it become very watery?
No, not at all
Keep stirring for now. See what happens in a day or two. Keep it warm as best you can. At least above 70F if you can’t exactly manage 75-78F.
Okay, I will do that. I’ll keep you updated on how it goes.
Thank you!
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It’s been about 2 days. I’ve been keeping it as warm as I can and stirred it every 12 hours or so. This morning, there was a dried-out patch on top, probably from the heat, so I took that out and mixed whatever was left. There are still a couple of bubbles, but not much. There hasn’t been any rise either.
That is a huge container for the amount of starter.
What water source are you using?
There’s a little activity.
I’m going to try to find a smaller container for it.
I’ve been using tap water for it, but I haven’t fed it in 5-6 days now.
Should I continue to just stir it?
Feed it 2 teaspoons of wholegrain flour + 1 teaspoon water, give it a very good stir and leave it for another 24 hours.
Okay, will do. Thank you!
Depending on where you are and how your tap water is treated, that could easily be the explanation for sluggish starter. A lot of places in the US specifically treat water with chemicals that kill microbes. Sourdough starter is microbes.
You might want to buy a gallon of spring water from the store and try using that instead of the tap water.
Oh wow, that’s interesting, I didn’t know that.
From now on I’ll use spring water. Thank you!
Can’t tell from the top only. Does it have any bubbles? What does it smell like? Has it gotten watery?
That’s why I brought up the topic about water. Might have to look into it. Find some mineral water that is pH neutral or lower.
