It’s ok and may just be that the good bacteria is taking a little longer to win. When troubleshooting a sourdough starter that is not rising we know that it is always going to be caused by the four things mentioned at the top of the article, flour, water, time or temperature. Short answer, no you don’t (because then it would be an active starter, right?). The base ratio of equal parts of flour, water and starter which is followed by main bakers is not suited to all flour types. If you’re storing your discard in the fridge, just remember that it’s unfed so eventually it will go bad if you don’t use it. The Easiest Sourdough Discard Bread You’ll Ever Make! Increase the amount you feed the sourdough during refreshments. Have you given it enough time? Following this method removes the need for daily feeding of the mother dough so saves waste and also allows extra ingredients or flours to be added to the sourdough to flavour the bread. The tricky one is knowing which one to change. Further reading: how to make sourdough bread. You can get around twice-daily feedings by refreshing the sourdough, placing in the fridge for the day and then pulling it out of the fridge overnight to mature at room temperature. Not discarding a portion of the starter would result in the creation of too much sourdough and use more resources. I've written an entire post dedicated to the topic of sourdough starter not bubbling. Using ionized water is not recommended for sourdough production. It is far more rewarding to be patient and wait for those wild yeast strains to populate your starter. How Final Dough Temperature Makes Fantastic Bread, Bakers Percentages & Bakers Formula | All you need to know, How To Easily Pass The Windowpane Test When Kneading Bread, Use a clean bowl or jar to refresh your sourdough, taking a small amount of fly-free starter to build from. The mother dough can be left in the fridge and fed weekly to keep it active. Short answer – yes. A sourdough starter left at room temperature needs frequent refreshments to keep it active and prevent it from turning bad. A sourdough starter is weak or sluggish due to the low amount of activity that it produces. ultimate beginner’s guide to baking sourdough bread here. It will be fine, it just needs time to get used to it’s new food. Can I go on vacation without killing my starter? Using the refresh the whole mother dough technique will have to be done twice a day. This ration is commonly used to build and maintain the majority of sourdough starters. Take a look at the My sourdough starter doesn’t rise article to find out how to get it going again. You have to keep it fed and control its environment to keep it happy. Some ideas to keep your starter warm are inside the oven with the light on, next to the kettle, inside an Eziyo yoghurt maker, inside the microwave with the door ajar to keep the light on or in a cupboard next to your oven. This site contains affiliate links. Sourdoughs containing whole grains are less inclined to lose activity if the dough doesn’t get refreshed for long periods, perfect for the zero waste sourdough starter feeding method. It tasted "ok", but wasn't great to look at. If it doesn’t work, increase the amount of flour and water a little more. When I made the pointy bread I placed the dough in the fridge overnight for its bulk fermentation. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It may just take longer. After building an active starter, bake a loaf with it and without refreshing it, place it in the fridge for 4-5 days. The most popular one is the float test. I’ve had this problem, and many others have too, you are not alone! Controlling temperature to a higher consistency than this will adapt the flavour and the speed that the bread takes to rise, but this isn’t important for simple homemade sourdough bread. Adding more alkaline and removing the minerals in the water is the complete opposite of what a sourdough starter wants to achieve. If you forget to feed it once or twice, it’s not a problem, just feed it again. The use of the fridge is also handy to control the ready for the oven times by slowing down the proofing process. There are a few myths that many bakers come across to help their sourdough, I’ve posted a couple here with the science behind why they are myths instead of best practices so you know to ignore them. An super active, ready to bake with starter will have some, if not all, of the following qualities: One of the best ways to ensure your starter is successful is time. Go back through all the processes and check you are following them correctly, something must be wrong somewhere!! I just watched a fantastic presentation by Dr Lyn at Bakerpedia. The fridge is often used for the bulk fermentation or final proofing stages of sourdough bread production. The best way to tell if a sourdough starter is strong enough to raise bread is to watch it after feeding. Others say to keep the mother dough active and remove what you need to make the bread when required. That’s the hooch, it’s a sign that the starter is hungry. For these elements to develop the wild yeasts necessary for the worlds favourite levain we need to allow the bacteria in it to develop over time. Maintaining regular feedings is important in keeping the starter active. Sometimes the amount of chlorine in your tap water affects a sourdoughs ability to develop. Alternatively, if you want to make bread the following day just refresh the starter as normal. A couple of days before you plan to make bread, remove it from the fridge and start building the starter up with feedings twice a day. If you have trouble keeping your starter warm I suggest you get a proofer. The ingredients in sourdough are water and flour. Instead of discarding part of the starter, begin with smaller feedings of flour and water and gradually increase them whilst retaining the whole amount of starter in the bowl. No sweat it’s a really common problem that is usually fixed with a couple of simple steps. Here's a list of the most popular sourdough starter feeding methods: A popular question when it comes to maintaining a sourdough starter is ”do I use the main starter to make the bread, or remove a piece and refresh it?” To explain, we'll call the main sourdough the "Mother dough" as it is called in some countries. Your email address will not be published. Cover a jar with a lid (don’t tighten it completely) and place it to a warm place (25-27°C; e.g. After 3-4 days of regular feedings, the sourdough should be perfect to use. Remove the correct weight of starter from the mother dough and refreshing it by exact amounts of flour and water gets the exact amount of starter needed for the recipe. Follow the steps in the How to boost a sourdough starter section above. Your email address will not be published. Using the fridge to cool the dough creates additional flavours in artisan bread. Reach out to me if you need more help. Sourdough is quite happy operating at room temperatures of 15-35C (60-95F).