I've finally decided to try my hand at sourdough. Being true to form,
instead of getting a nice active started, I decided to go ahead and try
and "capture" my own. Family and friends know that I hardly ever do
things the easy way

I started on Monday by weighing 4 ounces of water and flour in a clean
and sterile 1 quart mason jar. I did nothing for the first 24 hours. On
Wed. through Sat., I discarded about half of the contents and re-fed by
adding another 4 ounces, by weight, water and flour to the mix.

This morning I found that my starter had literally overflowed out of its
"home." What remains is very frothy and has a distinct
"knock-your-socks-off" alcohol-type aroma. I mean it, the aroma made me
a bit dizzy

So, have I succeeded? Should I continue discarding/feeding for another
week? Or should I just throw it out and get a known active, working
starter? Please advise. Thanks.

Spica wrote:

> So, have I succeeded? Should I continue discarding/feeding for another
> week? Or should I just throw it out and get a known active, working
> starter? Please advise. Thanks.

You've probably got what you want. It's time to get small. Keep about 2
oz. and start refreshing twice a day, morning and evening is probably
most convenient. Do this for another 4 or 5 days, then get ready to
bake and store.

When you settle down to a baking schedule, unless you're going to use
it every 3 or 4 days, keep it firm, not liquid. Many bakers keep
liquid starter of course, but I've found a dough-ball stores better and
stays fresh longer. Periodically, it helps to feed your starter a bit
of whole wheat or rye.

Will wrote:
> Spica wrote:
>
>> So, have I succeeded? Should I continue discarding/feeding for another
>> week? Or should I just throw it out and get a known active, working
>> starter? Please advise. Thanks.
>
> You've probably got what you want. It's time to get small. Keep about 2
> oz. and start refreshing twice a day, morning and evening is probably
> most convenient. Do this for another 4 or 5 days, then get ready to
> bake and store.
>
> When you settle down to a baking schedule, unless you're going to use
> it every 3 or 4 days, keep it firm, not liquid. Many bakers keep
> liquid starter of course, but I've found a dough-ball stores better and
> stays fresh longer. Periodically, it helps to feed your starter a bit
> of whole wheat or rye.
>

Hey Will - thanks for the quick response. I had a feeling I succeeded,
but never having done this before, I wasn't sure.

I'll take your advise cut down to 2oz and continue feeding for the next
few days. I'll try and post my baking results later in the week.

Elizabeth