Hi Melissa, most likely what happened with your starter is that it fermented more rapidly when you fed it with hot water and this probably resulted in more acidity developing, so that the next time you went to feed it you detected more of a sour aroma. It's not uncommon for a mature starter to smell vinegary at times, so I wouldn't worry too much about this. While the hot water may have killed off some of the organisms, it sounds like your starters are still rising well, so no worries there either. A feeding or two at room temperature will likely restore your starters back to their normal aroma, but as long as they don't smell unpleasant I wouldn't worry too much, since the aroma will change depending on what stage in the fermentation process it is in, and how frequently you've been feeding it. A starter left in the refrigerator for a week will likely smell a bit more vinegary than one that has been maintained at room temperature for a few days.
September 9, 2020 at 11:12am
In reply to Hi! I have some questions… by Melissa Williams (not verified)
Hi Melissa, most likely what happened with your starter is that it fermented more rapidly when you fed it with hot water and this probably resulted in more acidity developing, so that the next time you went to feed it you detected more of a sour aroma. It's not uncommon for a mature starter to smell vinegary at times, so I wouldn't worry too much about this. While the hot water may have killed off some of the organisms, it sounds like your starters are still rising well, so no worries there either. A feeding or two at room temperature will likely restore your starters back to their normal aroma, but as long as they don't smell unpleasant I wouldn't worry too much, since the aroma will change depending on what stage in the fermentation process it is in, and how frequently you've been feeding it. A starter left in the refrigerator for a week will likely smell a bit more vinegary than one that has been maintained at room temperature for a few days.
Barb