Barb at King Arthur

May 18, 2020 at 11:03am

In reply to by Telly (not verified)

Hi Telly, we haven't delved too deeply into the acetone aroma issue here, and I generally find that consistent twice a day feedings at room temperature usually serve to alleviate this problem. However, in your case we're not talking about a starter that has been left in the refrigerator for several months, so neglect does not seem to be the cause. It may be that the timing of your feedings is contributing to this problem, so  if you find your starter is peaking hours before it is due for it's next feeding, it may be helpful to increase the relative size of your feedings to something more like 1 part starter : 3 parts water : 3 parts flour, by weight. Offering your starter a larger feeding will slow down the rate of fermentation, which should allow you to refresh (feed) your starter closer to its peak of rising, or just as it's beginning to fall. Allowing the starter to fall significantly between feedings isn't ideal for starter vigor and health. Keep in mind that a "larger feeding" doesn't necessarily mean that you have to triple the amount of water and flour you are feeding your starter, since you can also reduce the amount of starter by a third, and keep the feeding amounts the same. Environmental temperatures also play an important role in the rate of fermentation, so if it's still quite warm where you're living (warmer than 80ºF/26ºC), this could also be contributing to your starter peaking early, in which case feeding with cooler water and finding a cooler spot for your starter to dwell may also be helpful. Hopefully, with a few days of feeding your starter closer to the peak, the acetone smell will begin to disappear. A stiffer starter may also be helpful, and you might want to experiment with reducing the percentage of starter in your stiff starter as well. I hope this helps! Let us know how it goes. 

Barb

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