Hi Jodie, I apologize for the delay in responding to your question! I was away for a few weeks. I'm a little concerned that the film you are seeing might be mold. I would try removing the questionable top layer of starter and feeding a portion from the bottom. In addition, I would step up your feeding routine to twice a day and see if this helps get rid of the problem. Do remove an equal portion of starter at each feeding, so the starter remains consistent in its composition. Try to feed your starter again when it's at its highest point of rising, or just beginning to fall, which will keep yeast activity vigorous. Allowing the starter to fall significantly between feedings tends to lead to sluggish yeast behavior. If it's still in the 90's where you live, you may want to try feeding your starter with a smaller portion of starter as compared to water and flour, which helps to slow down fermentation. For example, you might consider feeding with 1 part starter : 4 parts water : 4 parts flour (by weight). For our starter routine, this would look like: 28g starter + 113g water + 113g flour. You didn't mention how you're covering your starter container, but it's fine to cover it securely with plastic wrap or even a lid. The reason we say to "cover loosely" isn't because the starter needs airflow in order to ferment properly (it doesn't), but because fermentation gases can build up in a tightly lidded container and cause the top to pop off. Plastic wrap will flex, and even a lid should work fine, as long as you have sufficient room above the starter level for gases to collect, and open the jar now and then to vent the gases. I hope this helps! Let us know how it goes.
August 28, 2020 at 8:29am
In reply to Dear Mallory, My 8 week old… by Jodie Bogoevski (not verified)
Hi Jodie, I apologize for the delay in responding to your question! I was away for a few weeks. I'm a little concerned that the film you are seeing might be mold. I would try removing the questionable top layer of starter and feeding a portion from the bottom. In addition, I would step up your feeding routine to twice a day and see if this helps get rid of the problem. Do remove an equal portion of starter at each feeding, so the starter remains consistent in its composition. Try to feed your starter again when it's at its highest point of rising, or just beginning to fall, which will keep yeast activity vigorous. Allowing the starter to fall significantly between feedings tends to lead to sluggish yeast behavior. If it's still in the 90's where you live, you may want to try feeding your starter with a smaller portion of starter as compared to water and flour, which helps to slow down fermentation. For example, you might consider feeding with 1 part starter : 4 parts water : 4 parts flour (by weight). For our starter routine, this would look like: 28g starter + 113g water + 113g flour. You didn't mention how you're covering your starter container, but it's fine to cover it securely with plastic wrap or even a lid. The reason we say to "cover loosely" isn't because the starter needs airflow in order to ferment properly (it doesn't), but because fermentation gases can build up in a tightly lidded container and cause the top to pop off. Plastic wrap will flex, and even a lid should work fine, as long as you have sufficient room above the starter level for gases to collect, and open the jar now and then to vent the gases. I hope this helps! Let us know how it goes.
Barb