Hi everyone! I’m looking for some tips for my sourdough starter. I started it 8 days ago and I am seeing bubbles, but it never doubles in size. I am in Colorado so my house is pretty dang cold… I try and keep it by the fire during the day to get some warmth so thinking it has to do with the temperature and I just need to give it time but also not sure since i’m brand new to this! I’ve been feeding it daily usually a 1:1:1 ratio but I had changed it to a 1:2:2… I have done 2 feeds a day as well and even added Whole Wheat flour instead of AP or a mix of both. I will include some photos but would love any advice!
@Abe you seem to be the master of sourdough from reading this Forum! I would love any tips and advice from you!!
From the sound of things you went a bit too early onto larger and more frequent feeds. Best advice is to feed according to the strength of the starter. If it has bubbled up then feed. If not then wait till it does so. Daily feeds of 1:1:1 is ok as long as it’s kept warm enough. The mistake was to switch to 1:2:2 and to twice a day! when it wasn’t strong enough yet.
What was your last feed? When did you feed it? And how much activity has there been?
Ok, so my last feed was yesterday at 7 PM - I fed it 30g starter, 60g water, 60g AP flour and this is where it’s at now. The temperature in my house is definitely an issue being Winter in Colorado and during the day, it sits next to our fireplace, where it is at a good temperature, but overnight it gets to about 67/68 degrees. I have kept it in the oven as well as microwave but not sure it’s any warmer and I found that keeping in the oven with the light on caused it to “cook on top”… was almost too hot!
I didn’t feed it this morning after reading a lot of these posts on the forum. It has not risen but it is bubbling a little.
When a starter drops below 70F it can slow down significantly. Ideal temp is 75-78F. On top of that you did over feed it too early. Nothing to do now besides to keep it warm and stir it twice a day. Make sure you clean down the sides with spoon/spatula too. Don’t feed for a day or two or even three until you see more activity. If it gets a bot thin over the next few days you can give it a teaspoon or two of flour to thicken it up. Once it begins to show more signs of activity then start feeds again. You can always ask first if you aren’t sure. Eight days, for a starter, is still quite young. Not to worry.
P.s. I live in the UK and it can get quite cold here too. When trying to make a starter in the winter once (i’ve made many) I tried to warm it up by putting it on the heater. Ended up cooking the starter. Dead as doornail but smelled like cookie dough.
OK, I’ll do that!
Do you mind if I keep posting in here over the next few days to give updates? And when it does look like it is ready to be fed again, what ratio do you suggest feeding it?
Do you think the temperature drops through the day and night are hurting it? Maybe at night I will put it in the oven since the fireplace is off. I did recently purchase the Goldie by Sourhouse… have you heard of it? But waiting for it to ship!
I’ll keep you posted over the next few days and stop feeds until I see more activity.
Side note, I did collect some discard over the past couple feeds, do you think that is good to even use in discard recipes?
No problem at all Brittany.
I would feed according to the strength of the starter so updates will be necessary. Don’t have a recipe per se and can’t give exact feeds at exact times as it is the starter that is dictating right now when it needs to be fed.
The only way it’ll hurt it is to slow it down but won’t be detrimental. It’ll just take longer that’s all. If you have space on top of your fridge then that’ll be a good temperature as a fridge gives off heat. Might be better than keeping the light on in the oven all night everynight.
Never heard of Goldie by Sourhouse. I’ll look into it.
Also take note of aromas given off by the starter and let me know if it begins to smell like nail polish or anything like that. But right now just keep it warm and stir it every 12 hours.
Perfect, will do on all of that! Thanks for your help! No spot over the fridge but I do have a cabinet high up next to the fridge that i’ll put it in overnight! Seems warmer up there for sure!
I’ll keep my eye on it the next few days and only stir and keep you posted!
Thanks!
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Nice! See how it progresses by tomorrow morning and we’ll decide then what the next feed should be.
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Morning! Gave it a stir this morning, and here are a few pictures of what it looks like about an hour after. It looks like in the cupboard it was around 69 but it’s now sitting by the fire again where it’s 71/72 degrees.
It does seem a tad liquidy and I’m getting a slight smell of nail polish remover.
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Looking good! A tad liquidy and nail polish remover smell means it needs a feed. Let’s not go too much too soon. You can always feed again tonight if it needed a bigger feed. Proceed onto a 2:1:1 feed with a 50:50 bread flour and whole rye flour or whole wheat flour mix. Heading in the right direction.
Do you suggest feeding now or waiting until this evening to feed? Another 12 hours.
And when you say 2:1:1… just confirming before I mess something up. 
Still discard some? Should I do 30g starter, 15g flour and 15g water or should I increase this?
I have King Arthur Bread Flour, Whole Wheat Flour and AP Flour so i’ll use a mix of Bread Flour and WW.
Feed now. It looks good, has enough activity and the nail polish remover means it is hungry. I wouldn’t wait another 12 hours. In fact I think it could even do with a 1:1:1 feed but lets proceed with a bit of caution testing how it reacts.
2:1:1 would be 30g starter + 15g water + 15g flour (in sourdough speak this kind of ratio would be starter:water:flour - for future reference). However your jar is quite big and might be better to double up so try 60g starter + 30g water + 30 flour (15g bread flour + 15g whole wheat flour).
If it looks like this tonight you may repeat the feed. If it slows down (although it shouldn’t) then skip a feed. If it shows more activity then do a 1:1:1 feed.
Ok, she has been fed! (60g starter/30g water/30g flour)
And noted on the ratio terminology!! Newbie 
I’ll keep you updated!
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Not much movement here! Some bubbles but has not risen.
If it stays like this, repeat the feed tonight?
If it remains like this by tonight then skip a feed. If it looks like it did this morning then repeat the feed.
This is how we feed according to the strength of the starter.
When it perks up we will increase the feeds.
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Brittany, thanks for mentioning the Goldie. I never heard of it, looked it up, watched the excellent review of it on the YouTube channel for ‘Our Gabled House’. I like the idea of a controlled environment for growing the microbiome of a new starter. I recently started experimenting with that. I am not necessarily onboard with that same environment being the idea home for starter over the long haul. There is an irony to creating a new starter in a warm environment, then tossing it into a refrigerator until it is needed.
The downside of the Goldie may (or may not, depending on your personal taste preferences) be the same warm environment it creates. The flavor the starter imparts on the bread it makes is influenced by the temp the starter was kept at. It looks like the Goldie is set at the sweet spot between competing bacteria that make the sharp acidic acid (vinegar) and the bacteria that makes the smoother lactic acid (yogurt, cheese) flavors. And … the Goldie isn’t really set up for stiff starter. It can be done, but it’s not ideal. Like temp, the hydration of a starter also has a direct effect on the flavor profile it will impart on the bread.
I think the Goldie is going to hit it right in the middle, 75°F-78°F. I think you will enjoy it.
As a reminder, the warmer the starter is kept, (75°F-78°F is WARM!) the sooner it needs feedings. This is why most folks keep their starter in the fridge, to delay the time between feedings, especially if they bake bread infrequently. I keep my starters on the counter (west of you, no snow, looking at the ocean), at around 70°F. I need to use and/or feed them at least every 2 or 3 days. That should give you an idea of what you are looking at with the Goldie … frequent feedings.
Thanks for all of those details!! I’m
hoping to use the Goldie to just kick off my initial starter that i’m working on and then i’ll keep it in the fridge eventually and use the Goldie after a feed before i’m ready to make bread. I guess maybe quite the investment for something i’m not going to use that often once this starter is rolling it’s just so dang cold in my house I wasn’t sure how to ever make it work! do you think it can be used for that?
Yes, it will definitely work for that. Depending on what size Goldie you ordered, you can also use it for your preferments, the fermentation step between the ‘starter’ and the bread ‘dough’. As long as whatever you ferment will fit in a jar inside of your Goldie, you are good to go. Overall, I think the Goldie is a great idea, especially for folks that are limited in getting a warm place to develop their starters. I wish there was a way to adjust the temperature on the Goldie.
You can use your Goldie to make other starters, too. Yesterday, a common wheat/rye starter finished, it went from nothing to ‘bread ready’ in 6 days. A 100% Einkorn starter was ‘ok’ in 5 days, definitely bread ready in 6 days, also. Both starters were done in a controlled environment set at 75°F. With the Goldie you should be able to make yourself any kind of starter you want within a week or so. Although it is pricey, the quality appears to be good. You will have to post back here and let us know how you like the Goldie.