Sourdough Starter - Troubleshooting/FAQs

So you’ve decided to make your own sourdough starter - but it doesn’t seem to be quite right for some reason. Check the list below and see if this can answer your questions - or if you have a question that’s not listed here; contact me!

Sourdough Troubleshooting

My sourdough doesn’t pass the float test! Help!

Okay so the float test helps you determine whether your starter is definitely ready to use for baking. It consists of dropping a tiny bit of it in a glass of water - if it floats, it’s go time! But often we find that the starter sinks, along with our hopes of baking an amazing loaf that day. What could be the issue? Spoiler alert: more often than not, it just needs feeding. (Just like you and me when we’re not really cooperating!)

• It probably just needs feeding again. The starter is usually baking ready a few hours after being fed. So you could simply try discarding a tiny bit of the starter, add another 60g of lukewarm water and 60g of flour, and try again in a couple of hours (or tomorrow).

• Your starter is not in the right temperature. You want it to be warm and cosy at just over normal room temperature, not too cold or too hot. Could this be the issue?

• You might want to try a different type of flour. This one has really made a huge difference for me. There’s a chance that the flour you’re using is not strong enough (that the protein content is not very high). Check the flours you have in your cupboard, or get a new one in the shop, and try to find the one with the highest protein content you can find.

My sourdough smells bad or has a layer of brown liquid…

Sourdough will go through different smells, don’t worry about that too much - that usually depends on how recently it’s been fed and how ready for use it is. If it smells bad, it needs feeding. If there’s a layer of brown liquid in your starter, which is called hooch, again, that is a sign the starter needs feeding. You want to discard as much of that hooch as you can (try to just tip it out, and then feed again).

My sourdough starter has gone mouldy!

The great thing about sourdough starters is that they can withstand a lot. Basically, you can salvage them most of the time just by feeding them again. However, the one time you sadly have to just say goodbye to your starter and return to day 1, is if you find any mould in it. That starter cannot be used. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news! But don’t give up! My first starter went mouldy and I tried again, and my second attempt is still the starter that I am using for all my sourdough bread! A way to avoid mould in the future is to keep the starter away from other food as much as you can (obviously unavoidable when you keep it in the fridge later on, but don’t worry about that), especially fruit bowls.

Have you tried making a sourdough starter? How is it going? Message me on Instagram @TheFromScratchBody!