I’d love your thoughts on my sourdough starter dilemma -
I tried a couple of starters but they weren’t very active after almost two weeks, so started over with a more robust flour mixture (50% dark rye, 25% whole wheat, 25% AP). After a couple of weeks of once-daily feedings, the starter routinely more than doubled and looked quite active with a distinctive fermented smell.
I used it to make an “artisanal” loaf of 90% AP/10% whole wheat bread in my Dutch oven. Had no trouble and the bread turned out picture perfect - nice rise, great crumb, crispy crust. I was thrilled.

However, the smell and taste of the bread just wasn’t that appealing to me. It’s hard to describe - kinda vinegary/fermented, but not in a good sourdough way. I was hoping for more of a mild, almost sweet smell that l love in both artisanal white and whole wheat loaves.

I’m wondering if the smell is a function of using dark rye flour in the starter, perhaps not feeding the starter often enough or something else?

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