A friend gave me a starter, from her starter, a few weeks ago. I fed it for a few days and then made bread with it. It did not rise as much as her's or the recipe I followed, but it did rise and tasted ok. I have been feeding it once a day about 50g AP flour 50g water (taking out about 1/4 cup to discard first). I made a second loaf about a week later and it was FLAT and dense. Major bread fail. The last 2 days my starter has smelled very strong like nail polish remover. Did I ruin my starter? Do I need to feed it more or less? How long after feeding my started should I use it to bake? I seem to get different answers everywhere. I am new to baking and was really excited to receive the starter. I am determined to make it work. Thank you for any advice you may have.
January 26, 2021 at 5:00pm
A friend gave me a starter, from her starter, a few weeks ago. I fed it for a few days and then made bread with it. It did not rise as much as her's or the recipe I followed, but it did rise and tasted ok. I have been feeding it once a day about 50g AP flour 50g water (taking out about 1/4 cup to discard first). I made a second loaf about a week later and it was FLAT and dense. Major bread fail. The last 2 days my starter has smelled very strong like nail polish remover. Did I ruin my starter? Do I need to feed it more or less? How long after feeding my started should I use it to bake? I seem to get different answers everywhere. I am new to baking and was really excited to receive the starter. I am determined to make it work. Thank you for any advice you may have.