Sourdough restart: Second try on sourdough starter and how to test if sourdough is ready
After my first failed attempt at sourdough starter I went about starting a new one, keeping in mind the lessons learnt!
So this time, I would:
1. Feed my starter every 12 hours / twice a day
2. Feed larger amount of flour and water
3. Pour away any hooch
4. Feed with rye flour also
Ok so let's get started!
Day 1
Mixed 4g of yeast, 1/4 cup of bread flour and 1/4 cup of water into a homogeneous paste. I also left the cover just loosely screwed on.
I kept a rather close eye on the starter as I wanted to see when was the rise of the starter, which is caused by the yeast starting to 'eat' the gluten in the flour. It typically starts after about 2-3 hours.
On the side of the container, I could also start to observe the bubbles, like a very wet bread dough.
After about 5-6 hours the growth would peak. The dough rises to about 2-3 times the original height. The black line marks the original level of the mixed starter paste. It smells a bit alcohol-y, yeasty, like bread dough. After this rise the mixture will usually subside, but remain bubbly. This process remains for the next few days.
So in the evening, after approximately 12 hours, I discarded most of the mixture except for about 2 tablespoons and fed it with 1/4 cup of mixed rye and bread flour and 1/4 cup water. i mixed it and left it, loosely covered. For the mixture of rye and bread flour I was not very specific as I just measured some rye flour and then topped it with bread flour until 1/4 cup.
Day 2
Woke up to a bubbly mixture.
Repeated the discarding and feeding like the day before. The rise of the starter occured similarly. There was a big of hooch forming on top but not a lot.
Also discarded and fed it again with rye and bread flour in the evening before going to bed.
Day 3
In the morning, minimal hooch was on top. It could be easily discarded, followed by most of the starter again. You can observe hooch by the watery layer on top of the starter.
After discarding and feeding with rye and bread flour, it was bubbly again within 1-2 hours.
And rose after 5-6 hours from the feed.
Days 4-5
In the subsequent days, the cycle was repeated, discarding and feeding the starter twice a day. The smell always hovers between rye and bread flour. On day 4 it seemed a bit watery, so I used less water during some of the feeds to return the consistency to a thick but slow-flowing paste.
I also observed that this batch of sourdough starter tended to form less hooch as compared to my previous attempt. So hooch could form due to prolonged 'starving' or non-feeding. Feeding more often could lead to the production of less hooch.
Day 6
On Day 6, I decided the sourdough was ready for baking. (Actually I just wanted to give it a go and try what a sourdough bread tastes like, whether my sourdough was successful.)
So I fed it in the morning, and it became active and bubbly after 2-3 hours.
How to test if sourdough is ready:
So I have read how to test sourdough is ready, take some and drop it in a bowl of water, preferably a transparent bowl. If the sourdough sinks it is not ready and if it floats it is ready.
It takes a bit of common sense, but I did not realise this at first. I thought a ready sourdough would be floaty all the time. Of course we cannot take a dormant sourdough (after it has subsided) and drop it in the water, it will surely sink like a rock. But if we feed it, and wait for it to rise / peak, take that and it will definitely float. Because it has so many air bubbles!
And I used this to make my first sourdough bread, which I will share the recipe in the next post.
Fed it again in the evening as usual.
Day 7
I wanted to prepare the sourdough starter for storage as I think I will only use it once a week for baking. So I fed the starter and waited for it to peak. Then I closed the lid and kept it in the fridge.
So this time, I would:
1. Feed my starter every 12 hours / twice a day
2. Feed larger amount of flour and water
3. Pour away any hooch
4. Feed with rye flour also
Ok so let's get started!
Day 1
Mixed 4g of yeast, 1/4 cup of bread flour and 1/4 cup of water into a homogeneous paste. I also left the cover just loosely screwed on.
I kept a rather close eye on the starter as I wanted to see when was the rise of the starter, which is caused by the yeast starting to 'eat' the gluten in the flour. It typically starts after about 2-3 hours.
On the side of the container, I could also start to observe the bubbles, like a very wet bread dough.
After about 5-6 hours the growth would peak. The dough rises to about 2-3 times the original height. The black line marks the original level of the mixed starter paste. It smells a bit alcohol-y, yeasty, like bread dough. After this rise the mixture will usually subside, but remain bubbly. This process remains for the next few days.
So in the evening, after approximately 12 hours, I discarded most of the mixture except for about 2 tablespoons and fed it with 1/4 cup of mixed rye and bread flour and 1/4 cup water. i mixed it and left it, loosely covered. For the mixture of rye and bread flour I was not very specific as I just measured some rye flour and then topped it with bread flour until 1/4 cup.
Day 2
Woke up to a bubbly mixture.
Repeated the discarding and feeding like the day before. The rise of the starter occured similarly. There was a big of hooch forming on top but not a lot.
Also discarded and fed it again with rye and bread flour in the evening before going to bed.
Day 3
In the morning, minimal hooch was on top. It could be easily discarded, followed by most of the starter again. You can observe hooch by the watery layer on top of the starter.
After discarding and feeding with rye and bread flour, it was bubbly again within 1-2 hours.
And rose after 5-6 hours from the feed.
Days 4-5
In the subsequent days, the cycle was repeated, discarding and feeding the starter twice a day. The smell always hovers between rye and bread flour. On day 4 it seemed a bit watery, so I used less water during some of the feeds to return the consistency to a thick but slow-flowing paste.
I also observed that this batch of sourdough starter tended to form less hooch as compared to my previous attempt. So hooch could form due to prolonged 'starving' or non-feeding. Feeding more often could lead to the production of less hooch.
Day 6
On Day 6, I decided the sourdough was ready for baking. (Actually I just wanted to give it a go and try what a sourdough bread tastes like, whether my sourdough was successful.)
So I fed it in the morning, and it became active and bubbly after 2-3 hours.
How to test if sourdough is ready:
So I have read how to test sourdough is ready, take some and drop it in a bowl of water, preferably a transparent bowl. If the sourdough sinks it is not ready and if it floats it is ready.
It takes a bit of common sense, but I did not realise this at first. I thought a ready sourdough would be floaty all the time. Of course we cannot take a dormant sourdough (after it has subsided) and drop it in the water, it will surely sink like a rock. But if we feed it, and wait for it to rise / peak, take that and it will definitely float. Because it has so many air bubbles!
And I used this to make my first sourdough bread, which I will share the recipe in the next post.
Fed it again in the evening as usual.
Day 7
I wanted to prepare the sourdough starter for storage as I think I will only use it once a week for baking. So I fed the starter and waited for it to peak. Then I closed the lid and kept it in the fridge.
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