Jessie

May 25, 2021 at 12:51pm

This is a comment more to address the starter parents-to-be from Wisconsin than to ask a question of my own.
I've successfully gotten my starter going like gangbusters here in Juneau, WI in just under a week but I have made starters before and learned from mistakes I've made previously while living in Hartford and Slinger, which are towns in the vicinity.
What I've learned is that the environment here is quite dry, and that the temperature changes are quite drastic to say the least. So, to address the first issue, may I suggest that even if you weigh the ingredients, and especially when using KA whole wheat flour, that you actually use anywhere from 115g to 120g of water. Start at the lower amount, wait a few minutes, then if it seems to be getting too thick, add 5g (a tsp) more at a time, until you have something that flows.
I hate to say this but I learned my lesson and actually use Gold Medal whole wheat flour to create my starter this time around. I'm on a disability benefit and can't afford failure, so decided to try a low cost material and it works just fine. The rest of my flours are KA since those are what my family will taste really.
The temperature I deal with by warming the water I use to make my feeding dough. And then use a thick yellow microfiber towel to keep my canning jar warm while my starter is digesting. I check it every hour until I see it start to fall and make a note in my journal just when that is. That's only once a week now, when I'm not baking. But when I'm about to bake, it doesn't matter. I just feed it the night before, straight out of the fridge, and let it wake (warm up) overnight in my microwave with a boiling hot 10oz cup of water. Because I know it's an active starter by now, I just add enough feed amount to it so I can leave some from my recipe as starter.
I hope this helps those of you from the cheesy state!!

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