Print PDF
Favorite
Email
Step 3Oh good god, it's bubbling.
Things are going to get a little weird for a while for the next few days. Just stick with it and we will make it through.
Okay, so you've been feeding your start for something like 1-5 days now and you're starting to see bubbles. Great!
It's also starting to smell a little weird. Great!
Keep feeding that thing on the 12 hour cycle from step 2 and press on.
Bacteria have invaded your starter and are pigging out on it right now. Gross, but good. More importantly, wild yeast is getting in there and doing the same. The bubbles come from the yeast and bacteria doing their job. The wild yeast comes from the flour you're using as well as the air in which you are living. That's why the starter may start rising even without help from commercial yeast. Neat, right?
Eventually your starter will start to develop that distinctive "sour" smell associated with sourdough. The yeast is doing its job and there is less bacteria.
Your ultimate goal is to get the starter to double in size between feedings.
Don't expect it to rise like active-dry commercial yeast though. It may take anywhere from 3-8 hours to double and start to fall.
Okay, so you've been feeding your start for something like 1-5 days now and you're starting to see bubbles. Great!
It's also starting to smell a little weird. Great!
Keep feeding that thing on the 12 hour cycle from step 2 and press on.
Bacteria have invaded your starter and are pigging out on it right now. Gross, but good. More importantly, wild yeast is getting in there and doing the same. The bubbles come from the yeast and bacteria doing their job. The wild yeast comes from the flour you're using as well as the air in which you are living. That's why the starter may start rising even without help from commercial yeast. Neat, right?
Eventually your starter will start to develop that distinctive "sour" smell associated with sourdough. The yeast is doing its job and there is less bacteria.
Your ultimate goal is to get the starter to double in size between feedings.
Don't expect it to rise like active-dry commercial yeast though. It may take anywhere from 3-8 hours to double and start to fall.
| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
"Actually, all doughs contain at least some bacteria. So why aren’t all breads sour? In doughs made with bakers’ yeast (the kind you buy in the store), the yeast outnumber the bacteria. Since both compete for the same sugars, the yeast win out, and the bacteria don’t have a chance to produce their acidic by-products. In sourdough, yeast and bacteria are more closely balanced, so the bacteria have a chance to add their flavors to the bread. "
http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/bread/recipe-sourdough.html