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Sourdough starter mishap


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Old 27-10-2013, 14:26
Inspiration
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So having seen Mr Hollywood make Sourdough bread on TV the other day I decided to have a crack at it myself. Seemed like a nice little baking challenge.

So to make the dough starter I threw the flour and water together and added the cut up grapes, popped it all into my new kilner jar and left it in the kitchen. And sure enough after 24 hours I began to see some life developing and it had gained very slightly in size. I was quite happy with it.

Woke up the next morning, walked into the kitchen.. oppppps. Jar was now covered on the outside in the mixture. It was all over my kitchen work top and had dripped down onto the floor too. There was no longer any room in the jar either. The mixture had literally tripled in size overnight and had forced it's way out of the top of the jar.

What I hadn't realised is you need to take the lid off each day to release the build up of gas from the yeast activity. I hadn't done this.. so the jar was literally full of gas and it's blown up. Thankfully the jar survived.

But my question is, the mixture stinks. It smells. Granted having gone all over my work top the smell was perhaps a bit more potent than it would have normally been. But still.. it honked. Is that normal?

Has anyone out there made sourdough this way? Is it safe to take the lid off on a regular basis to let the gas out? I really don't want another exploded jar. The stuff gets everywhere.

Also is it ok to use red grapes if green aren't available?

Annoyingly the recipe made no mention of releasing the gas daily!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/so...ter_with_45126
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Old 27-10-2013, 16:40
wmoore
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Instead of trying to make your own. Find a independent bakery and ask them for some of their starter. keep it in a large container and keep it fed.
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Old 28-10-2013, 11:12
Lainiomonkio
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So having seen Mr Hollywood make Sourdough bread on TV the other day I decided to have a crack at it myself. Seemed like a nice little baking challenge.

So to make the dough starter I threw the flour and water together and added the cut up grapes, popped it all into my new kilner jar and left it in the kitchen. And sure enough after 24 hours I began to see some life developing and it had gained very slightly in size. I was quite happy with it.

Woke up the next morning, walked into the kitchen.. oppppps. Jar was now covered on the outside in the mixture. It was all over my kitchen work top and had dripped down onto the floor too. There was no longer any room in the jar either. The mixture had literally tripled in size overnight and had forced it's way out of the top of the jar.

What I hadn't realised is you need to take the lid off each day to release the build up of gas from the yeast activity. I hadn't done this.. so the jar was literally full of gas and it's blown up. Thankfully the jar survived.

But my question is, the mixture stinks. It smells. Granted having gone all over my work top the smell was perhaps a bit more potent than it would have normally been. But still.. it honked. Is that normal?

Has anyone out there made sourdough this way? Is it safe to take the lid off on a regular basis to let the gas out? I really don't want another exploded jar. The stuff gets everywhere.

Also is it ok to use red grapes if green aren't available?

Annoyingly the recipe made no mention of releasing the gas daily!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/so...ter_with_45126

Hi!

I love my sourdough starter, it's like a family pet! And brilliant if it's got so much activity it's fizzing out of the jar. Yes, the smell is perfectly normal, especially in the first few days and everyone's will smell completely different depending on what bacteria it takes from the air. Mine went through a 'baby vomit' stage which was so gross but after talking to a chef friend of mine, she said it was fine and to imagine that it's all the bad bacteria dying off as the good bacteria takes over. It quickly mellowed to something which smelled like paint stripper / acetone then it started to smell very yeasty and then like beer. Just keep going - if after a week or so, it's still honking then something isn't right and you'll need to start again but keep going!!

And yes, you can use red grapes instead of green.
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Old 28-10-2013, 17:46
Inspiration
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Thanks for the replies. Think i'll give it another go and just open/stir daily a few times and keep it in a plastic bag incase it does decide to go thermo nuclear again. I'll also persist even if it honks for a few days.

Out of interest what size jar did you keep yours in?
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Old 30-10-2013, 11:33
Lainiomonkio
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I keep mine in a plastic mixing bowl and loosely covered with clingfilm. I move it into a jar if I'm going away and put it in the fridge but it seems to like the bowl.
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Old 01-11-2013, 08:28
Inspiration
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Ok take 2.. and different results again it seems.

Prepared it Tuesday night and decided i'd open the jar lid on a regular basis to let the gas out to avoid it blowing up like last time and i've stirred it a few times too. Wednesday it seemed happy enough. Thursday it was gassy whenever I lifted the lid like a bottle of pop and it had risen about an inch or so and had bubbles. But come Thursday evening it had dropped right down again and now all I seem to have is the mixture at it's original level that seems quite liquidy, no bubbles, the grapes floated to the surface with a layer of liquid on the top and not much seems to be happening.

I'm due to 'feed' it tonight so should I just stick with it? Or did I leave it too late to feed?
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Old 02-11-2013, 11:41
Inspiration
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Well I fed it.. and no real indication of life today.. liquid on the top.. so i've added just flour and i'll see how that goes. Tempted to start again as i've purchased a bigger container.. just need to find some organic green grapes. Easier said than done! But it's quite fun experimenting with it.
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Old 02-11-2013, 20:24
dj1471
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If it frothed and bubbled then it sounds like it worked fine - how does it smell?

Natural yeast is much more laid back then commercial yeast, you won't get an aggressive reaction when you feed it

These are the instructions I followed when I made my starter some years ago, it has some good info on what to expect and how to care for the starter.
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Old 02-11-2013, 21:42
WombatDeath
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just need to find some organic green grapes.
I'm watching the Bake-Off masterclass (episode 3) and Paul has a brief section on sourdough starters, in which he uses a grated organic apple instead of the grapes. Maybe that's easier to find?
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Old 03-11-2013, 22:46
Inspiration
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Update, all seems fine now! Smells slightly cidery and is bubbling. Also grew by about an inch today. I'll feed again tomorrow as I can't bake until mid week but so far so good. Alternative is to put it in the fridge but I don't think feeding it again will do any harm. Thanks for the replies.
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Old 04-11-2013, 14:28
Inspiration
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Another update (this is turning into a blog!) .. fed again today. I now know what the starter should look and smell like. Mine smells like a really nice smelling cider (amazing considering it honked not so long ago) and the mixture is frothy, bubbly and thick like a batter. It was a shame to have to throw half of it away to feed the rest.

One thing I would recommend to anyone wanting to try this is go for it. Experiment. I feel like i've learnt so much in this process. I hope to bake my first sourdough loaf either tomorrow or wednesday depending on how the starter is looking.
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