Hey guys it's Baker Bettie from BakerBettie.com and welcome back to another video.
Now this video is part of my sourdough series where I am walking you step by step how to
make your own sourdough starter from scratch and then how to start baking with it.
If you're new here and you don't already have a sourdough starter in progress, I will leave
the link for the entire playlist down in the description box so you can follow along.
Now if you are already working through getting your own sourdough starter going and you are
having some issues I want to address those in this video.
I get questions everyday from people having a few issues getting their sourdough starter
going so these are the most common questions that I get.
Now the number one question I get from people trying to get their sourdough starter going
is why am I not seeing any activity in my starter?
I get the questions, it's day 4, it's day 5, it's day 6 I'm not seeing any activity.
Is my starter dead?
Am I doing something wrong?
And I will say this, there is no exact timeline for a sourdough starter.
Everybody's starter is individual, everybody's environment is individual and it's going to
be different for each individual starter.
So just because somebody gives you a timeline that it likely should get going in 10 or so
days doesn't mean that it definitely will.
So if you are having some issues seeing some fermentation in your starter there are a few
things that you can do to encourage fermentation is make sure you are using whole grain flour
so whole wheat flour you can even use some rye flour.
Those flours are going to ferment much more quickly than white flour.
You also can make sure that your water your using in your starter is just a little bit
warm.
You definitely don't want it to be hot you only want it to be about 85-90 degrees fahrenheit
but that little warmth in the water is really going to help encourage fermentation.
You can also make sure that you are keeping your starter in a little bit of a warm spot.
So find somewhere in your kitchen that is warm about 75, 78 degrees is even better.
If you are struggling to get your starter going alot of times people will keep it in
their oven with the oven light on and that warmth from the oven light will kind of help
warm it up and get it going.
Make sure you put a note on your oven so that you don't accidentally turn it on if you do
do that.
But find a warmer spot for it.
And ideally not in direct sunlight.
Sunlight can actually discourage yeast growth.
Now the 2nd most common question I get is: I had grown in the beginning, I saw the bubbles
in the beginning and then it died down.
Did I kill my starter?
And I will say this.
That is extremely common.
It's really common to get what's called a false start in your starter.
Where in the first 2 or 3 days you actually see a really big surge of activity and then
it dies down.
Now that surge of activity gets people really excited they think oh my gosh it's started
really quickly and then they see that activity die down.
And they think they've done something wrong but you have not.
Your starter is trying to stabilize, that culture is trying to find the right balance
of yeast and bacteria.
Just keep with the course it's extremely common you have not killed it.
Just keep moving forward.
Now the next question I get really often is: How do I know if my starter has gone bad?
Now there are a few different signs that might indicate that your starter has gone bad and
the first is visible signs of mold.
So if you actually see fuzzy mold in your starter, on the edges of the jar or actually
on the starter that's a sign that you might have contaminated your starter.
This can happen if the equipment that you're using to stir up your starter isn't clean
or something has gotten into to contaminate it.
So mold is a sign that you are going to have to start over.
Also if you see orange or pink streaks in your starter, spots or streaks, that is also
a sign that something has gotten in and taken over and you're going to need to start over.
Now those things are actually more uncommon than people think.
One thing that people often see is the layer of liquid on top, that actually usually looks
grey or almost black, sometimes it kind of looks a little bit purple-ish.
This is called hooch.
It's super common to get in starters and it is actually a sign that your starter is hungry.
So if you're getting a big layer of hooch on top of your starter as you're getting it
going it means that you're starter is actually fermenting really quickly and it is going
through all of that food you are giving it too fast.
So you can do a few different things for that.
Keep your starter in a bit of a cooler spot so that's it's not running through food so
quickly, you can also use a little bit cooler water, or you can increase the amount of flour
and water that you are giving your starter.
So that it has enough food until it's next feeding.
Now another question I get asked is: why is my starter so stinky?
Now there's kind of some controversy about whether a starter smells good or not.
I tend to really enjoy the smell, it smells a little bit yeasty, it smells a little sour
and a little bit sweet.
That's when it's at its peak stage or it's really active and bubbly.
Now as it starts falling it runs out of food it will kind of start smelling a little bit
alcoholic or a little bit uh like vinegar and that is a sign that it's just hungry and
it's out of food.
So those smells might not be super pleasant for everyone.
I personally enjoy the smell of an active mature starter.
But if you have a brand new starter that you're just trying to start get going and it kind
of smells like stinky feet or stinky cheese, that is super common.
It doesn't mean that your starter is bad.
It means that there are some bacteria in your starter that aren't super desirable and your
culture is still trying to work itself out.
That smell should not last once your starter gets really nice and mature but just keep
working through it, keep feeding it, and that smell should go away.
Now I really hope this video helps answer a few of your questions if you are struggling
to get your sourdough starter going.
My biggest tip is to be patient and stick with it.
Treat it like a little pet, it's your little baby that you are caring for.
And it's going to be so worth it as you get it active and it makes beautiful loaves of
sourdough.
I will say if you have a super finicky starter at the beginning once you get it really really
nice and active it should be less of a problem child for you.
Usually once your culture gets established it's not hard to maintain it.
They are really really resiliant once they get established.
Sometimes they're just a little finicky at the beginning.
Feel free to ask me any questions down in the comment section and I will do my best
to answer them and I'll see you back here with another video.