I actually found a little post-it note in one of my old recipe books that said the date of my first sourdough starter: October 11, 2010, which was right at the beginning of my homesteading adventures here on this blog.
If it floats, it is ready to be used. Place in refrigerator. Pour the remaining starter into a jar and tighten with a lid. It sounds like your starter is close but if you can get some whole grain and make it into flour I think this is the best way to get it going. It doubles pretty easily, probably closer to triples. An active starter will produce pockets of CO 2, as well as alcohol, which is less dense than water, and will result in buoyancy.This buoyancy is a good indicator of a very active starter that will go on to produce a decent rise. I’ve made them, bought them, devoured. The starter doubles in size within a few hours after feeding, it smells yeasty, and gets bubbly. Sourdough bread can be a challenge to any bread baker. Sourdough captured my imagination way back at the beginning of my homestead journey. After reading a few blogs, I was told to test my starter by throwing a spoon fool in a bowl of water and if it floats is good.However, I did that and realised my started actually sank rite down, thou I had been feeding it regularly and it Making a homemade sourdough starter from scratch couldn’t be easier.
(Some bakers claim to use starter that’s decades old. If it sinks, it is not active and needs to be fed. Active, but not ripe, sourdough starter. Well, as long as the baked good you’re making has a strong enough flavor, unfed sourdough starter can be substituted into a sweet recipe successfully. Note: For the float test, drop a small amount of starter into a glass of room-temperature water. Passing the float test is a good indicator that your starter is ready to use, however, it is not a perfect science. If it sinks, the starter is not ready. One US woman won a Wyoming State Historical Society award for her 122-year-old starter!)
If it sinks, you are going to have to keep waiting. When you want to use it again, bring the starter to room temperature for an hour or two, and then feed the starter (Step 3 above). You know I’ve used my weekly sourdough starter in bagels, pretzels, and English muffins, but what about sweets items? If it floats, the starter passed the test!
Hi Everyone, Im new into baking and I've tried a few versions of a simple sourdough bread. I don't know if the starter is the reason I'm not getting much rise, but it seems weird that it never passes the float test… It's beginning to expand, and has many more bubbles. With proper care, your sourdough starter can live indefinitely. Stir the starter gently, then measure out ½ cup starter and pour this into the water.
If this happens, feed your starter … Adjust the recipe to accommodate for the water and flour in the starter already. With about a week of diligent feedings, you’ll be able to transform plain water and flour into a bubbly leavening that you can use to make bread, pancakes and other recipes. Measure 1 ½ cups lukewarm water in a small bowl. The same starter at 1 p.m., 5 hours after feeding. While it takes a little bit of patience and about a week of your time, making a sourdough starter from scratch is one of the easiest (and most fulfilling) kitchen projects you can tackle.