Hi everyone,
I’m looking for a sanity check from experienced bakers.
I’m maintaining a 100% whole-wheat sourdough starter in a warm Indian kitchen (around 26–28 °C). Today is Day 17. I’ve attached a pic showing the starter about 24 hours after feeding.
Current routine:
- Flour: 100% whole wheat (atta)
- Feeding: once every 24 hours
- Ratio: 1:5:5
- Hydration: fairly thick (not pourable)
- Covered with a loose lid (not airtight)
What I’m observing:
- Consistent bubbles throughout the starter
- Mild yogurt-like sour smell most of the time - occasional acetone smell near the end of the cycle
- Limited visible rise - no clear doubling yet, more of a slow “creep” increase
- No mold, hooch, or foul smells
I’m trying to understand whether this looks like normal slow development for a whole-wheat starter in a warm climate, or if there’s something structurally, I should adjust (hydration, ratio, timing). 17 days sounds a long time.
I’m not in a hurry to bake just want to be sure I’m on the right track and not missing something obvious.
Thanks in advance. I really appreciate experienced eyes on this.
Hello: The sourdough people will help you, I just wanted to point out that you say, "Limited visible rise - no clear doubling yet...", but, the picture shows it's more than doubled.
That was my thought as well. Looks very active, especially using atta. I would bake with it.
Yes its doubled yes but in 24 hours! It should ideally happen in 6 to 12 hours as per the videos by experts on youtube :-(
17 days to double isn't a long time. Let it double a few times - then use. Enjoy!
Yes I am still allowing it to double all these days...:-). I have reserved the weekend for my big first trial to bake my very first bread...
I am a bit jealous of your 26 degree kitchen. Here on the west coast of Canada the heater is on and its working to get my kitchen over 20.
1:5:5 is a high percentage at day 17. I'd switch to a 2:1:1 ratio and see what happens. ie: 100g starter, 50g filtered water, 50 g flour.
That starter looks ready to me, and the smells you are reporting sound just about right. I'd pull some out and bake with it and see what happens.
If you are not going to bake every day, I'd store the starter in the refrigerator if that is a possibility.
Happy baking.
Hi, thank you so much for your response. So I continued to feed the starter exactly I was doing before till now. Its doubling in about 24 hours. Smells a little acidic after 24 hours. Its not doubling yet in 6 or 12 hours as they show on all those videos on the internet. However, I think I will follow your advice and try to make a sourdough bread in the bread pan first. I am not sure if its ready for a free-standing loaf yet. Or maybe I am too scared to try. One of the reasons is that I don't have a Dutch oven or a proper oven. I have a convection microwave oven so I don't know if it's even capable of baking a free-standing loaf. I would invest in proper equipment as soon as I develop some confidence. As far as the ratios suggested by you are concerned, I will definitely try these on the side in a different container to check the changes. Thanks again.
First things first - as I like to say. Work on the starter first - the rest comes later. If you take the time (which depends on the instruction) it will work. Enjoy!