Barb at King Arthur

February 9, 2024 at 11:41am

In reply to by Stewart (not verified)

Hi Stewart, day 3 is still early enough in the sourdough starter creation process that you may not be seeing much fermentation happening yet. Often the early rise you noted is due to a bacterium that gives off carbon dioxide rather than representing true yeast activity. As the acidity in the starter builds, this tends to thin out the texture of the starter, and this is often a good indication that that yeast is about to kick in. Unfortunately, the type of early rise you observed is sometimes associated with a delay in rising. If you feel your starter has stopped rising and seems to be a bit stuck, you might consider this alternative feeding routine:

  1. Feed only once a day.
  2. Feed with whole wheat flour rather than unbleached all-purpose.
  3. Feed 2:1:1 (starter:water:flour, by weight). For example, your once-a-day feeding might look like this: 1/2 cup (113g) starter + 1/4 cup (57g) water + 1/2 cup (57g) whole wheat flour. 

The goal of this feeding routine is to increase the acidity of the starter, which seems to help encourage the yeast to join the party. Once you've seen the starter rise two days in row (doesn't have to double at this point), that's a good sign that the yeast is kicking in, and you'll want to return to twice daily feedings and the 1:1:1 (starter:water:flour, by weigh) feeding routine. I would also recommend gradually switching over to AP flour over the course of several feedings. 

Once your starter is doubling routinely within about 6-8 hours after a feeding, and has a pleasant aroma, then it's ready to start baking bread!

I hope this helps! Let us know how it goes.

 

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