Barb at King Arthur

April 26, 2020 at 9:22am

In reply to by Liz C. (not verified)

Hi Liz, I'm sorry I wasn't able to reply more quickly to your sourdough SOS! I think if I were 3 weeks into the process and my starter was otherwise performing well, I might be tempted to take a healthy-looking portion of the starter and feed it diligently in hopes that no more pink would appear, especially if I only saw a tiny pink spot. On the other hand, it's never wrong to be careful, and the pink spot was likely an indication that your starter was in a weakened state. In future, once your starter begins to rise predictably, the wild yeast benefit from more regular feedings, so you'll want to aim to replenish your starter when it's at its peak of rising, or just beginning to fall, rather than waiting until it fully collapses. This usually means you'll need to start feeding twice a day when the starter is stored at room temperature, unless you're following a recipe that has a very low percentage of starter, as compared to the amount of flour and water you're feeding it (which will slow down fermentation). More frequent feedings at this point may also help protect your starter from becoming vulnerable to outside invaders. Good luck, and let us know how it goes! 

Barb

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