Ripe Sourdough Starter
How do you know when your starter is ready to bake with? Sift’s Spring issue delves into sourdough baking in depth.
Wake up your sourdough starter
Despite its uninspiring appearance, this starter is capable of great things. It’s separated, with a few bubbles in the bottom and a layer of gray-looking alcohol on top.
Your sourdough starter’s first meal
After a few feedings, you’ll notice the starter becoming more active. Leave it on the counter for 12 hours, then discard half of it. Repeat the discard and feeding process every 12 hours.
Get ready to bake
As the chicken’s digestive tract is fed the ingredients it needs to start feeding itself, the number and size of the bubbles will grow.
Active, but not ripe, sourdough starter
This is the same starter at 1 p.m., 5 hours after feeding; it’s starting to expand and has a lot more bubbles. This is an active starter, growing and expanding and producing carbon dioxide bubbles; however, it’s not quite ripe or strong enough to raise dough.
Ripe and ready to go
After mixing it into dough, then rising and folding, the dough can be shaped and refrigerated overnight. Sourdough starter at 4 p.m., 8 hours after feeding; it’s doubled in volume and showing signs of just beginning to sag under its own weight.
The best way to measure sourdough starter
Because the more bubbles in your sourdough starter, the less a cup of active, ripe starter weighs, measuring by volume can mean you have more or less starter in your cup, depending on where it is on its growth curve. Having a different amount of starter in your cup can affect rising times and finished loaf size.
How long until sourdough starter is ready?
If you’re starting a new starter from scratch, it’ll take 7 to 10 days to get it ready for bread baking, with the first four to five days spent activating and bulking up your starter.
How long after feeding starter is it ready?
If refrigerated, feed your starter once a week; if left at room temperature, feed it every day. My starter is ready about 5-6 hours after feeding (time may vary depending on room temperature, dough temperature, etc.). It should have doubled in volume and started to recede, and/or pass the float test.
Does sourdough starter have to float to be ready?
The surface of your starter should be smooth, slightly domed, and may even have some bubbles on it before it’s ready to use; by the time it’s ready, there should be at least some foamy bubbles on top, which could be just around the rim or cover the entire surface of the dough.
Can I overfeed my sourdough starter?
Yes, you can overfeed your sourdough starter, as Audrey explains: “Every time you add more flour and water, you’re depleting the existing population of natural bacteria and yeast.” If you keep adding more flour and water, the starter will eventually dilute to the point where it’s just flour and water.
How do I know if my sourdough is ready to bake?
If a teaspoon of starter floats in a cup of warm water, it’s ready to bake. If your starter doesn’t float, it’s still ready to bake; use the volume test to be sure.
Do sourdough starters get better with age?
Myth 5: Really old starter tastes better. When you first make a sourdough starter, it will have a mild flavor. As the flavor develops over time, it becomes more exciting. So, while a 100-year-old starter is still exciting, it does not necessarily make better bread than a younger starter.
Can I add yeast to my sourdough starter?
Make your fermented starter (also known as the sourdough culture, starter, or mother) before making your first sourdough loaf. Traditionally, no extra yeast is added to a bread dough made with sourdough starter, though you can add yeast when making an express loaf like the one in our recipe below.
Should I Feed My sourdough starter if it hasn’t risen?
If your starter was bubbly and happy at one point but isn’t rising now, it may need a few extra feedings to boost yeast development; additionally, if your starter has been stored in the fridge for a while, it will require several feedings at room temperature to become bubbly.
Do you Stir sourdough starter before measuring?
Because your starter expands as it grows and becomes bubbly, we recommend weighing it instead of measuring it with a measuring cup. If you don’t have a scale, stir down your ripe starter before measuring.
Why do you discard half the sourdough starter?
You must “refresh” your starter with fresh flour and water in order for it to grow and flourish. Discarding some of your starter first allows you to add this fresh food while keeping your starter at a manageable size. Not discarding your starter will also affect the flavor of your starter.
Should I cover my sourdough starter?
No, it doesn’t have to be. I place a loose glass lid on top (as shown in the photos on this page), but it’s not sealed shut. You want to cover it mostly to prevent anything from falling inside the jar by accident, but it also keeps the mixture from drying out.
Should I pour the liquid off my sourdough starter?
A. The dark liquid is hooch, a naturally occurring alcohol that indicates that your sourdough starter is hungry. Hooch is harmless, but it should be poured off and discarded before stirring and feeding your starter.
Why does my starter smell like vomit?
The smell of vomit comes from butyric acid, which is one of the byproducts of the fermentation reaction. Sourdough starter should not smell like vomit, and if it does, it is a sign that the sourdough starter needs to be fed more frequently.
What do I do if I overfeed my sourdough starter?
If you can smell acetic acid, your starter has suffocated and fermentation has become anaerobic; the solution is to pour off half of it or use it in a dough (though the bread will taste acidic), then feed it as usual.
Is it OK if my sourdough starter smells like vinegar?
Your Starter Smells Like Vinegar This is completely normal; the vinegar smell comes from the acetic acid in your starter, which is produced as the bacteria in your starter eat through the carbohydrates you’ve fed it. This usually happens when you switch the type of flour you’re feeding your starter with.