Hi Lisa, I think spelt flour will work fine for creating your starter, but you may want to transition to feeding it with our unbleached all-purpose flour when you have some available. It sounds like your sourdough starter is generally going in the right direction, and thinning out at this point may actually be a good sign, as the texture of the starter does tend to thin out just before the wild yeast becomes more active. A spelt flour starter may ferment a bit more quickly than a white flour starter, so look to see if the starter is rising and doubling within 6-8 hours after a feeding. Once it reaches its highpoint it will gradually fall and return to its initial level, with a thinner consistency, so you may be missing some of the bubbling and rising if you're not able to observe your starter throughout the day. I would continue to feed your starter once a day with equal parts starter, flour and water by weight, but once you see the starter predictably rising after a feeding, you'll want to switch to twice a day feedings at room temperature. Once you see the starter rising predictably with the twice day feedings, then you should be good to go. Good luck and let us know how it goes!
April 8, 2020 at 9:59am
In reply to Hi Barb, I only had Bob's… by Lisa H (not verified)
Hi Lisa, I think spelt flour will work fine for creating your starter, but you may want to transition to feeding it with our unbleached all-purpose flour when you have some available. It sounds like your sourdough starter is generally going in the right direction, and thinning out at this point may actually be a good sign, as the texture of the starter does tend to thin out just before the wild yeast becomes more active. A spelt flour starter may ferment a bit more quickly than a white flour starter, so look to see if the starter is rising and doubling within 6-8 hours after a feeding. Once it reaches its highpoint it will gradually fall and return to its initial level, with a thinner consistency, so you may be missing some of the bubbling and rising if you're not able to observe your starter throughout the day. I would continue to feed your starter once a day with equal parts starter, flour and water by weight, but once you see the starter predictably rising after a feeding, you'll want to switch to twice a day feedings at room temperature. Once you see the starter rising predictably with the twice day feedings, then you should be good to go. Good luck and let us know how it goes!
Barb