If you are using 100% rye flour to feed your starter, sometimes your starter can take on a soft reddish tone. As a general rule, as long as it hasn't changed colors it's fine. This is my least favorite of all the sourdough starter problems. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. I used some of my active SD starter this morning to make a bread dough, and I fed it (after removing what was needed) with 1 cup water and 1 cup flour (didn’t weigh it). However, sourdough starters are the most forgiving of any fermentation. Don’t freak out if you smell acetone! Are Dairy Products Good for Gut Microbiome Health? It is the liquid that can accumulate on the surface of your starter when it hasn’t been fed in a while. That’s a lot of flour and water. The bacteria can metabolize carbohydrates from the flour into acids outright, or they can convert the yeast-produced alcohol into acetaldehyde and then into acetic acid. Ask questions, start discussions, share recipes, photos, baking tips, and much more. This is called “Hooch” and it isn’t always purple. If you experience mold on your starter. This smell means that the bacteria in your starter need more oxygen to finish converting yeast-produced alcohol into acetic acid. Want to learn how to make and bake sourdough? Pour the liquid off, discard 3/4 of the starter, then feed it. If you want the starter to visibly rise, decrease the water amount next time for a thicker starter. It’s normal and kind of cool! It does smell very slightly yeasty and normal during stirring. Yeah, maybe a few, but the population is mostly soil microbes from wheat fields. The Top Five Proven Health Benefits of Fermented... Six Ways to Optimize Food Safety for Fermented... 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The cheese smell probably comes from a Clostridium Perfringens infection. It does smell very slightly yeasty and normal during stirring. Most sourdough starter problems are completely normal. Sourdough starter smells like cheese Basically the title, any advice or information would be appreciated. Then get some dried starter from http://carlsfriends.net/ :) (this is free if you send a self addressed stamped envelope, I have been using my batch for years. It’s normal and kind of cool! I have a sourdough starter that is a few months old and recently it started smelling similar to cheese. What Makes Sourdough Healthier and Easy to Digest? I guess because starters raised in different areas impart different flavor profiles to the finished bread that it is natural that they would smell differently in their raw state. Those yeasts originated in the soil in which the wheat was grown. CLICK HERE for our sourdough starter recipe. It still seems to double fine, and nothing appears to be growing in it as far as I can tell, but does anyone have any experience with anything like this happening? Let me start by listing all the things that have no effect on your starter and definitely will not kill it: Generally, sourdough starters will only die from severe neglect. If so, your pH might be above 5 which causes a gassy type of bacteria (Leuconostocs) to have a party for awhile and crowd out the yeast you want. Once you expose them to more oxygen by stirring, discarding and feeding, they can finish the conversion from acetaldehyde into acetic acid. Yeasts metabolize wheat sugars and carbohydrates into alcohol while bacteria start making things sour. Unless you inoculate with a pure Lactobacillus, odds are you're going to get some Leuconstoc in there as well. Come enrich your ecosystem with us! Acetone or Nail Polish Smell. | All Rights Reserved. What starter should not smell like is human gas—that’s a sign there could be bad bacteria in there. You should have a bit of unscathed sourdough starter underneath. good to know! This is normal. It’s all simultaneous since it is a rich, wild, mixed culture. Basically the title, any advice or information would be appreciated. Press J to jump to the feed. I mean...you do know that lactobacilli can produce a cheesy aroma, right? The color depends on the flour and the unique microbes present. We love teaching people how to have a holistic view of the microbial ecosystems that shape our foods, lives and planet. Add in an extra tablespoon of thick flour, like rye flour, to prevent more watery separation. Thank you! Then feed as usual. Just carefully remove the pellicle and all the mold growth you can. They inhabit the same environments, and are found side-by-side in many lacto-fermented products. Thank you! 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In general if it doesn't smell edible, it's not. It also depends on what type of flour you are using. I'm going to assume that this is a wild starter and not one that you purchased. Then there are even wild yeasts that can metabolize organic acids produced by Lactobacillus and other bacteria for energy. We’re on a mission to make microbes, gut health and microbial-made foods approachable, accessible, easy, and enjoyable. If you have a discolored liquid layer in your starter jar, don’t worry. Science Wants to Know A citizen science project aims to chart the microbial diversity present in starters all over the world . I'm wondering if I should be concerned or if it'll just go away with time. If you find a liquid layer on the top, it could be alcohol produced by yeast or it could mean your starter is too watery. This situation is actually quite common when beginning a wild starter, even though recipes rarely address the potential for it to occur. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. It’s always a good idea to move your starter to a fresh jar every three days or so. I get the best results from organic King Arthur whole wheat flour. To revive, move to room temperature and continue to discard and feed every 24 hours. Love the aroma, taste, and texture of homemade bread? So, it’s likely that it just needs some time for the yeast to multiply and establish. Therefore, You’ll get the most species-rich starter by using a mix of flours plus a little wild fermented sauerkraut brine. Once they populate the mixture a little more you should see bubbles. Bubbles form in the starter. My hope is that we can remove the mystery of microorganisms through education, food, and modern imagery so that everyone can embrace microorganisms as our necessary partners in life! If there isn’t enough oxygen the bacteria get stuck in the middle of the conversion process, with a build of acetaldehyde (which smells like nail polish). It still seems to double fine, and nothing appears to be growing in it as far as I can tell, but does anyone have any experience with anything like this happening? So I’m not sure who told everyone that all the yeasts come from the air. If you are not using rye flour, and you notice a more prominent pink discoloration in your starter or on the surface of your starter, you need to throw it out and start over. This smell means that the bacteria in your starter need more oxygen to finish converting yeast-produced alcohol into acetic acid. My sourdough starter started getting funky when I used generic whole wheat flour from giant. It's entirely possible that your starter is behaving perfectly normally, and is accurately reflective of your local microflora. Mine once started smelling almost exactly like dog shit, but it still looked fine. By accessing Our Website you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. What Does Your Sourdough Starter Smell Like? Keep it between 70-80 degrees, keep it out of direct sunlight, discard and feed every 24 hours, take care of any issues that arise in a timely manner and you won’t kill it. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. I have been feeding it about every other day. I'm going to go get some juice. I asked my roommate to smell it and he agreed.

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