Barb at King Arthur

May 15, 2020 at 9:52am

In reply to by Savita Purushwani (not verified)

Hi Savita, I'm sorry for the delay in responding to your question, and hope your starter is beginning to rise predictably by now. I'm not sure what you mean by "oily," but sometimes the starter surface can have a layer of liquid (called "hooch") on top, which can make it look shiny. Your starter seems to be behaving normally, although it may have hit the dreaded lull in rising that sometimes occurs around day 4 and can go on for several days. As you'll see if you read through previous comments, this lull occurs quite frequently, and seems to be linked to an early burst of activity caused by a type of bacteria that gives off carbon dioxide. The presence of this bacteria is also often associated with a subsequent delay in the wild yeast kicking in. This isn't an unsurmountable problem, and even if you continue feeding your starter faithfully according to our starter recipe, eventually the organisms will figure things out, and your starter will begin to rise predictably. You also have the option to try the alternative feeding routine I've suggested many times to deal with this lull in rising. This plan was recommended to us by microbiologist and sourdough baker, Debra Wink, who noticed that lowering the pH of the starter environment seemed to help pave the way for the wild yeast to kick in. Here's the plan:

1. Feed once a day. 

2. Feed with whole wheat or whole rye flour, rather than unbleached all-purpose (if possible). 

3. Feed with a ratio of 2 parts starter : 1 part water : 1 part flour (by weight). For example: save 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 113g) starter and feed this 1/4 cup (2 ounces, 57g) water and 1/2 cup (2 ounces, 57g) wholegrain flour. 

Once your starter begins to rise predictably (twice), then it's important to return to twice a day feedings, which will further encourage yeast development. You may also want to gradually transition to feeding with AP flour, and increase the water/flour percentages to more like a 1:1:1 ratio by weight.  Your starter may hesitate a bit each time you change its feeding routine, as the organisms need time to adjust, but once your starter is rising predictably once again, then you can consider your starter mature and ready for baking bread. 

I hope this helps! Let us know how it goes. 

Barb

 

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