Getting my gas in gear!
Today is the day that I begin the most intimidating part of this process, making my starter. Part of my hesitation comes from what I’ve heard from others who have tried to make their starters from scratch. A good friend of mine tried, and she and her husband ended up not feeling so great after eating the bread. Who doesn’t love a little food poisoning?
With that cautionary tale in the back of my mind, I did what everyone does when they need to learn something, looked for a video on YouTube! One of the first videos that appeared in my search was entitled Easy Sourdough Starter Guide: Just Flour & Water! Just flour and water she says, that does sound easy!
I enjoy YouTube as a digital learning tool because I am a visual learner. I want to see how to do something, rather than just reading how to do something. I also find that seeing someone do something provides more information than just reading it. For example, if written instructions for the first mixing of the starter said that it should be lumpy, I wouldn’t know exactly how lumpy is ok lumpy. This might just be me overthinking it, but there is a level of comfort for me when I can see that I’m not messing things up.
Following Natasha’s directions, I mixed up my starter, and this is what it currently looks like. I’m a little nervous that my house is too cool and it won’t grow, but she warned about not putting it in a warm spot, so I’ll just have to trust the process and report back in a few days on how it’s going. Wish me luck!!
***UPDATE!!!!!!!***
This is my starter 14 hours later!!! Look at all those bubbles!! I think she’s alive!! Now I have to come up with a fun name for her. Check back next week to see what I’ve decided on!
I actually happened to use the exact same video for my starter (after having already 1 failed attempt). I am curious to how this goes for you. I ended up having to keep mine in a warmer place to get it to double after day 3. This helped it a lot. I also used half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose flour every time I would feed it. Starters are so tricky!
My first one officially died the other day. I decided to switch my flour up after my starter was doing really well on day 3, and I killed it haha. I restarted last night, so I’m hoping in a couple days I’ll be able to start making some bread!
Definitely be cautious on the food poisoning tale lol. I will say that you may need to try putting your starter in the oven if you seem to have any problems with it rising. My aunt has had a starter for quite a while and swears on keeping track of what temperature your starter is in. Good luck on your journey, I can’t wait to find out the name!
Thanks for the tip Carys! I ended up having to toss my first starter because it was turning pink…..pretty sure that’s not good haha. So hopefully the new one works out better!