Some other signs your sourdough starter is being overfed are: sourdough starter not bubbling or rising. not smelling yeasty. starter is runny.
How do you know if sourdough starter has spoiled or gone bad? The main indicator if a sourdough starter is still good or not is if it will still rise and fall after feeding it fresh flour and water. If it does, it's still alive!
As a general rule, the less sourdough starter you use, the slower your dough will ferment - resulting in a more sour flavored loaf. The more starter you use, the faster your dough will ferment - resulting in a less sour loaf.
SEVERE NEGLECT: If you neglect your starter long enough, it will develop mold or signs of being overtaken by bad bacteria. Mold can appear in various colors and is typically fuzzy in appearance. Bad bacteria is generally indicated by an orange or pink tinge or streak.
Here are a few indicators that your sourdough starter is ready: Rise and Expansion: A well-fed and active starter will rise and expand in volume after feeding. It should show noticeable growth, with bubbles forming on the surface and throughout the mixture.
stir your starter in between feedings - try stirring it twice in between feedings and really give it a chance to get oxygen into the mix. This will help to activate your starter without too much effort.
It's not a good idea to use a sourdough starter right after feeding. Ideally you should wait at least 2-4 hours.
The discard is just the sourdough starter you're not currently feeding or baking with. It's called discard because it often gets "discarded" during feeding. If you don't "discard" some starter during feeding your starter will just grow and grow and grow until you're staring in a remake of The Blob.
7. Is a sourdough starter supposed to be liquidy (or runny)? It's not a problem if a starter has a loose and runny consistency, as this texture is a byproduct of a starter's hydration and the flour used for feedings.
If at one point your starter was all bubbly and happy, and now it's not rising anymore, it's possible that it needs a few extra feedings to boost the yeast development. Assuming you understand how temperature and ingredients can effect the rise of your starter, try feeding it 2x per day and see what happens.
A mature sourdough starter can last for several weeks to months if kept in a refrigerator without being fed.
You most definitely can bulk ferment sourdough too long. If you leave the dough to ferment for too long, it will become "over fermented". Over fermented dough will lose its structure and become a soupy, sloppy mess that you will not be able to shape.
Ideally, sourdough should be the consistency of warm peanut butter. When it's just been fed, it should be quite thick. It's actually ok if it seems a little dry. As the starter ferments, it will absorb the flour and thin out just a little.
The cause of this watery starter is under-feeding or not feeding frequently enough. Decrease the amount of old starter and increase the fresh flour and water when you feed. Complete your refreshments at least twice a day, you can use the fridge to store it once established.
It should also look very bubbly and slightly foamy at the surface. The scent is as important as the look. Your starter should have a strong, but pleasant acidic aroma — this will yield that tangy flavor. One popular way to know that your sourdough starer is ready is to try floating a bit of it in water.
It will need a lid or cover, but not something airtight: Sourdough starter emits gas, and a sealed canister can explode. If you have intermittent baking plans, you may want something that can be lidded more tightly and stashed in the refrigerator.
Storing your sourdough starter in the fridge will require feeding around once a week. It can, however, be stored up to two months in the fridge without being fed.
Generally a starter can stay at room temperature without feeding for a maximum of 3 days. After that you will need to give the starter few feedings before you can use it again. This is because it will become less strong and it will need time and food to become strong again.
As part of the feeding process, most bakers discard some of their sourdough starter before adding fresh flour and water to the jar. This is done to refresh the acidity levels (think sweet vs. sour smell) and to manage its overall growth in size. This technique is crucial for successful sourdough bread.
The very short answer is, your sourdough starter generally will be at its peak anything between 4 and 12 hours after feeding. The optimum time to use it will be when there are lots of bubbles at its surface and it has has physically risen to its peak level, just before deflating back down again.
Your starter will be very bubbly, double or triple in size after feeding, will smell like yeast bread, and will be a bit frothy on top (you'll see bubbles and activity on the top of the jar).
For the best results, feed your starter two days in a row before baking. If you're not using it immediately then store it in the fridge.
If you do go with an airtight lid, you'll want to "burp" the container every now and then so the gas doesn't build up inside and cause it to explode. The perk of a glass jar is you can see what's really going on inside your starter, not just on the surface.