Getting Started - again! (part 3)

So after yesteday's disappointment I had a look at Mike's Sourdough Home - troubleshooting page and decided to follow his advice on the subject of the floating liquid.  This entails using a ladel to remove the liquid from the top and replacing it with plain water. and being patient - again! So imagine my delight when I looked at it this morning and found the same puddle on top but closer inspection revealed a very slight bubbling.

Day 6 - its not over yet

Day 6 - Lunchtime - puddle gone!

Day 6 Tea time - a layer of bubbles

So things are now looking a lot more positive.  I think I will leave things undisturbed for tonight and then feed again tomorrow - I bet you can hardly contain your excitement!

Getting Started - again! (part 2)

Well, a lot has happened over the weekend! The starter took off, bubbled away merrily and seemed to be increasing in size see pictures below. Filled with enthusiasm and probably not in full posession of the requisite level of patience for this business we decided on day 3 to give it its first feed... and that is where it all started to go wrong. There was a bit more bubbling but by the next day the starter was covered in a puddle of liquid.

Day 2 More bubbles

Day 3 Lots of bubbles

Day 3 After feeding

Day 4 Oh dear!

Day 4 Fed again

Day 5 Still not looking good

Thinking back I tried to work out what could have gone wrong. I used water out of the kettle which was room temperature. And the same type of flour. Closer examination of the flour bag revealed that I had used an older bag which I usually keep just for dusting when making bread. Its a bit past its sell by date and didnt really want to waste it. So I then turned for advice to the Sourdough Home Website. Mike seems to have a lot of knowledge to impart here although he seems a bit pessimistic about the chances of an old duffer like me being able to get this thing working. However, I was encouraged by the news that the liquid is called "hooch" and is alcohol being produced by the yeast and not a problem but possibly suggests it may need feeding again. On Sunday afternoon, I gave it another feed. This time with the freshest four and left it to do its thing.
This morning we have a jar with the same amount of starter and the rather ominous puddle on top again. So what happens now? Mike seems to think that this is no biggy, give it another feed. I'm contemplating starting from scratch again. Just to give you the full picture the only slight diversion from the recipe was the use of black non-organic grapes instead of green organic. Any thoughts anyone? 

Getting Started - again!

Keen followers of this blog may have noticed that posts have been a bit few and far between of late!  Well practically non-existent if I am honest.  I was mulling over a few things the other day and decided that it was about time I remedied the situation.  So here we are again and my text today is, appropriately enough, "Starters".
I was watching Paul Hollywood's excellent bread making programme the other night and was inspired to have a go at making a Sourdough Starter.  I have to confess that the possibillity of consuming a helping of his Summer Puddng made wth White Chocolate and Raspberry sourdough bread was a major selling point!  The other selling point was that I was in charge of entertaining our daughter who is still on holiday and a bit of culinary science seemed to fit the bill perfectly.
So kilner jar at the ready, we mixed strong white flour, 5 grapes and an eaqual amount of water and sealed it up as per his very simple method.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 2 Bubbles!

So, we have a jar sitting by the range in the kitchen containing our starter.  I checked it this morning and it has started to bubble very slightly so fingers crossed.  I will report progress!  (yes I really am that desperate to find something to talk about until the weather clears up and I can get on with the first beekeeping inspection of the year)  So stay tuned!