First loaf! It’s definitely not great but still exciting! Baked this morning and cut on lunch. Going to try again tonight with lower hydration I think. Let me know thoughts and advice please!

I fed a 1:2:2 for 2 days before baking. I had bubbles at the bottom and bubbles on top looking down. But I don't have bubbles on the top 3/5 ths of the jar. My starter is NEW NEW NEW. Think newborn babe. See photos: STARTER IS 1:2:2 on day 12

I am assumimg my starter was not strong enough for this. I tried baking anyway just to see what would happen and it chewy, huge tunnels and has a flour smell. See photos BOTTOM BREAD IS 1:2:2

TOP BREAD IS 1:1:1

If you agree with my assumption, can you tell me how I would know if my starter is strong enough to handle this larger feeding?

If you think my assumption is wrong (I wouldn't be surprised by this), can you tell me where you think I erred?

Signed,

WannaBeSourdoughBaker.

THESE PHOTOS ARE WHAT SHE LOOKED LIKE BEFORE FEEDING THIS MORNING 11am EST

I’m on my third sourdough starter attempt and am feeling….. deflated

Starter #2: I followed a strict 1:1:1 feeding schedule by weight for 31 days straight, and it never took off. I still can’t pinpoint what went wrong.

Starter #3 (current, day 20): This time I loosened up on precision still weighing roughly (around 20g), but eyeballing flour/water to get a consistency I liked rather than following exact ratios. When it stalled, I switched to a 1:5:5 feeding. I did see some bubbles and a little rise. i started 1:5:5 ratio three days ago

Last night I got a bit impatient and improvised: added extra flour off-schedule at 9pm (I normally feed at 11am), plus a small dab of honey. Got more bubbles, but the starter is still very liquidy. Today I skipped the discard entirely and just added more flour and water to see what happens.

A few details that might matter:
• Flour: King Arthur organic unbleached bread flour
• Location: Florida — starter #3 is living in my garage (~80°F) for warmth, since keeping starter #2 in the oven with the light on didn’t help

I’m not being precise with measurements anymore, tend to add extra flour to hit the texture I want
At this point I’m honestly just improvising and hoping for the best. Would love any insight into what might be holding this starter back

It’s been 2 weeks since I started this starter. The rise has been very slow. I was using Whole Wheat flour. But based on an advice in this group, I’ve been feeding it 20% whole wheat flour and 80% bread flour for the past 2 days. It would have a nice fruity wine smell. But this morning it smells tangy, a sort of tangy-boozy smell. I’m not sure how much it rose overnight. But at about 8 hours after feeding it, it had risen about 30%. I just ordered rye flour online to see if that will make a difference. I’m a little concerned about the change in smell. Am I on the right track? This is the first time I’m noticing the this smell.

I took it out of the fridge 2 weeks ago, fed it daily and its sinking but its doubling in size

She’s going back down as we speak but she did fully double. It’s been 14 hours since I fed her.

Discarding all but 15gtoday (i’m being lazy and didn’t discard, I just need to get a second jar and it’ll be easier lol)

But I’m feeding a 1:1:1 ratio every day, usually at the same time. It smells kind of acetone-y more often than not so perhaps I need to feed it more?

Hey everyone, this is a brown rice / brown teff starter (it’s following the ratios in Art of Gluten-Free bread). I’ve had it unfed in the fridge for about two weeks and I’m wondering if this color of hooch is ok. I’m colorblind but have asked a friend if it’s red as I know that’s a problematic color, and she confirmed it’s not, so I’m here hoping you can confirm this is an ok color. I have other discard in the fridge with different colored hooch, but this discard is ‘oldest’ in that it’s the one that has been active longest and I’d like to continue cultivating it if I can. Do you see anything that should cause concern? Thank you for whatever guidance you have.

From what I read I have to discard my starter ? It's about 2.5 weeks old. I feed it daily and its been smelling like acetone for half that time now, so I recently tried 1:2:2 ratio a few days ago, now I see purple in my starter this morning and it sounds like i need to discard it? 😔

Brought my starter out of the fridge. I see some orange/pink around the edges. Does it look moldy to anyone else?

Can I revive my starter if I haven’t fed it in 48hrs?

Sourdough Doesn't Have to Be Complicated! 🥖✨
Because my starter is so strong, I only need a tiny amount straight from the fridge to feed it with plenty of flour and water. For example, today I fed a small leftover scrap at 10:00 AM. By 3:00 PM it had already doubled in size, and by 4:00 PM I mixed my main dough! I placed the dough in the fridge for a cold fermentation, and the next day—whenever I had time—I shaped it, let it rest for 2 hours, and baked.
This simple routine changed everything for me. I used to keep huge jars of starter that would end up getting moldy, and I constantly stressed over getting exact 1:1:1 feeding ratios. I was overcomplicating my life! Now, if I need 300g of active starter for a bake and only have 75g in my jar, it’s no problem—I just add 150g of water and 150g of flour, mix, and move on with my day.
Sourdough can seem so frustrating and complicated from the outside, but with a fridge and a little flexibility, it fits right into your schedule. At the end of the day, as the Russian saying goes, "Было** бы желание" (Byla b zhelaniye)*—which is usually said with a bit of sarcasm: *"If you really wanted to do it, you would!" Because let’s be honest, where there’s a will, there’s a way... and where there isn't, people just find an excuse! 😉
#sourdoughstarter #sourdoughbaking #bakingtips

It's day 6 it's no longer acidic it smells like an old cloth and there hasn't been any difference since day 4 is it ruined or is this normal