11
Oct
Ive tried to start fresh and am puzzled by what to do next. Mold is fairly uncommon when working with a sourdough starter but it can occasionally happen.
However it continues to be quite runny.
Sourdough starter has water on top. A sourdough starter has liquid on top means the starter just needs more flour to feed it. The hooch is harmless you can simply stir it back into the starter and feed it with fresh flour and water. Hooch is common if you have left it longer than usual between feedings.
Why does my sourdough starter have in the top the liquid separated from the flour. 2 days after beginning a new one a liquid water appeared on top of it it appeared after I fed it the first time. To feed it I discarded half of the starter and then I added 5 tbsp of flour and 5 tbsp of tap water to feed it.
Ive been feeding my sourdough starter over the past few days with equal parts starter water and flour. However it continues to be quite runny. In the mornings theres a layer of water at the top.
Ive tried to start fresh and am puzzled by what to do next. The liquid on top of your starter is hooch which is a byproduct of the fermentation process. You can pour it off or mix it back through your starter.
You usually get hooch when you leave your starter in the fridge for a. This starter is 6 days old. As you see it has a quite grey surface on top.
My recipe for this starter is simple just same amount of flour and water and fresh the starter once a day. I tried the same recipe many times but all the starters had same looking. Does this grey surface mean that my starter has a problem.
Note that when you are first establishing a brand new sourdough starter during days 3-7 the starter is approximately 100 hydration. Your starter will look wet and soft and you may not be able to see it expand and rise. This is normal since it is so hydrated.
In the next step you will add a greater amount of flour the night before baking. My sourdough starter has grown mold on top or on the sides of the jar. What should I do.
Mold is fairly uncommon when working with a sourdough starter but it can occasionally happen. There are a couple of options for dealing with mold. Hooch is the liquid that collects on the top of your starter when it hasnt been fed in awhile.
This liquid is the alcohol given off as wild yeast ferments. The presence of hooch isnt a sign that your starter is in danger. However it does indicate that your starter is hungry and needs to be fed.
If your starter is seriously tiny one feed should be enough to bulk it back up. Place 30g of your starter in a new jar and feed it with 60g water 30g whole wheat flour and 30g all-purpose flour. This will result in a 150g starter and thats a perfect size to maintain.
What and How to Feed. In a new starter your hooch will more than likely be a cloudy type liquid - it may look like the water has separated from your flour however this is not the case. This sourdough starter has developed a dark layer of hooch after being neglected for quite a while.
Even a sourdough starter in this condition can be revived - you can see how here. Hooch is a runny liquid that develops on top of sourdough starter when it hasnt been refreshed If you see hooch on top of your starter you can simply stir it straight into the starter and feed your starter the way you normally would. There is no need to drain the hooch out.
This can complicate your hydration levels. A small bunch of grapes and an apple would do it. Put the fruit next to your wouldbe starter the yeast on the fruit will migrate to the starter.
I know this isnt the popular opinion right now but a sourdough starter can be as runny as water or as thick as playdough. So dont worry about the texture. Despite best efforts sometimes a sourdough starter just wont rise.
This sad truth has frustrated many sourdough beginners to give up sourdough baking altogether. As it is more acidic than tap water it is considered a better choice for feeding sourdough starters. Distilled water is only 05 pH more acidic than tap water.
Grey discoloration is normal and if you see water forming. This is also known as hooch an alcoholic breakdown of the starchescarbs by the bacteria. This is a perfectly natural occurance and theres nothing wrong with your sourdough.
It just needs to be fed. The layer of amber liquid on top is called hooch and it consists of alcohol produced as a byproduct of fermentation. You can either sti.
After being refrigerated without feeding for several weeks my sourdough starter is clearly in need of attention. So I feed it and drop a bit in some water. As expected it sinks.
Heres the starter 4 hours later. Yes you can overfeed your sourdough starter. Every time you add more flour and water you are depleting the existing population of natural bacteria and yeast If you keep adding more and more eventually you ll dilute the starter so much that you ll just have flour and water.
Your starter will die if the water is too hot. Personally I never use water with a higher temperature of 85ºF30ºC. TIME TO CONTROL YOUR SOURDOUGH STARTER.
The above instructions may require some practice but after a while you will get the hang of it. As mentioned at the beginning of this post you cant control your sourdough starter to. To fix a wet sourdough starter make sure to use it just after it reaches peak fermentation or after it doubles and passes the float test.
This could take as little as 2 hours in a really warm house with a very active starter or up to 8-10 hours in a really chilly house. My Sourdough Starter Collapsed.