Troubleshooting Your New Sourdough Starter 

My sourdough starter is finally successful and is now sitting happily in my fridge. Before watching Bettie’s video, my fifth attempt at making a sourdough starter was dying by day three, as usual. I had tried following five different tutorials on RU-vid, but I couldn’t figure out what was going wrong. My starter always produced hooch on top, became too watery, or had hooch in the middle. After watching Bettie’s troubleshooting tips and successfully reviving my starter, I’ve concluded a few points that might help others living in tropical climates (like Malaysia) where it’s around 30°C even indoors: 01. Maintain a Thick Pancake Batter Consistency: My starter had hooch on day three and stopped growing, becoming very watery. So, I poured out half of my starter (the hooch was in the middle) and added flour and water to achieve a thick pancake batter consistency. 02. Keep it in the Coolest Room: I didn’t store it in the kitchen because the kitchen temperature exceeds 30°C. Instead, I kept it in my bedroom, where the temperature is around 28-29°C. 03. Feed More Often: I didn’t follow the standard feeding schedules found in tutorials from temperate climates. These didn’t work for me, even a Hong Kong-based tutorial failed. 04. Discard Extra Starter: I always discard extra starters to avoid having too much. I keep around 25g of starter and feed it with 50g of flour and 50g of water, maintaining the sticky thick pancake batter consistency. 05. Don’t Stick to Online Tutorial Timelines: Everyone has their own unique environment, which differs from others in various ways, including room temperature, flour gluten content, and the bacteria around the starter. Because of these differences, I didn’t follow the exact timelines provided in the tutorials. Instead, I observed my starter and waited until it could double in size every time I fed it, made a sizzling sound when scooped and passed the floating test. These signs indicate that your starter is stable and alive, meaning you have successfully created a starter! When I saw Bettie’s video, I was about to throw away my fifth starter. It had hooch in the middle and had stopped growing. I discarded some of it (keeping it at about two days' worth) and doubled the amount of flour and water to keep it at the sticky thick pancake batter consistency. I didn’t measure precisely because my scale was broken. The starter revived on day three after this adjustment and stabilized by day six, doubling in size every time I fed it. Bei Bei (my starter's name) is now very active and two weeks old. I’ve tried using Beibei to bake sourdough bread, but my bread flattens like a flying saucer because the starter is more active compared to factory-dried yeasts. I’m currently struggling to achieve a balloon-shaped sourdough bread, but I’m not giving up. I’m confident I’ll succeed if I keep trying! Thanks again, Bettie, for sharing your video!

YES! You managed to answer all the questions i still had after watching endless number of tutorials. Thank you!

I'm so grateful for this! Having made bread for a year or so with yeast I finally decided to try sourdough, but I was despairing about my starter because after several days the only thing it did was to produce the hooch. Now I am wiser having watched your video, so I will persevere. Thank you Bettie!!

SO HELPFUL! I started a starter 5 or so weeks ago and was ready to throw in the towel. I was starving my starter as it turns out. Baker Bettie, I'm so thankful for your time and help! My starter is happy and active and ready for baking... Take care, Grady! Nashville, TN

The best explanatory video I have seen so far! Thank you! I was really worried. My starter was all doubling and bubbling for the first 3 days and then it all ended in 4th and 5th day (and mine has been super hungry all the way, it formed hooch every 6-8 hours). Now it is just sitting there a little bubbly, not rising and still getting hungry all the time. I guess I'll name it little weirdo!

Thank you for stating that everyone’s environment is different because I have been struggling to get my sourdough starter going. I have used filtered water, temp at 75 degrees Fahrenheit, using whole wheat flour and bread flour and no activity. I will have to wait a little longer. My sourdough starter started with a bang by the second day but has not done anything since. I will try to be patient. Once again, thank you for the encouragement 😍

I was worried that something was wrong with my starter because the first day I used purified water and saw a ton of activity, but the second day I accidentally used tap water and after that the activity died down and I thought I had killed it. It's reassuring to hear that that is just the yeast and the bacteria trying to balance each other out and I should just keep going! 👍 Your videos have been very helpful Bettie, thank you!! 💖

Thank you thank you thank you I’ve been super worried about my cheesy starter and there is very little help on the interwebs!!! I will just keep working on her!!!

After trying for a few months I was ready to give up. I read somewhere about using rye flour. It was amazing.

RU-vid read my mind in suggesting me your video! You answered literally all my questions! Thank you so much for this, I will persevere!

So basically, getting my sourdough started is like watching a fungal/bacterial war. And once it starts smelling pleasant, the yeast has won.

Thank you. I've learned a lot from you and thank you for putting this information out for folks like me. My starter got put in the fridge & now it doesn't want to grow. I'm doing your 1:3:3 daily feedings and weighing everything like you said, then leaving it out. I'm not "exact" but within a gram or 2. I used up the last of my unbleached flour a few days ago. All I have right now is white bleached flour. My starter sits there & bubbles a tiny bit but that's it. My home is about 70 degrees F most of the time. When I first made the starter, it bubbled up & over the jar rim to the point that when I removed the lid one day, the hard crust actually cut my finger! Now, nothing... :(

My only question is do I discard and feed starter if it has not doubled in size or just feed without discarding? U have covered all my other questions I'm eeeeexxxxxtremely grateful. Mine did that on day 2 it doubled bubbly goodness then on day 5 it's flat lined. (I had tossed 2 that done this so I'm so grateful for your video)

Thank you! I'm on day 5 & was getting worried, but you alleviated that for me. I seem to be right on track with my starter.

Thanks Bettie, I just started a batch today, I had to throw out a batch I started a year ago, because it went too sour, and have been baking with yeast, I hope to get this going really well, I've not done sour dough since my teens, I'm hoping to get a good batch going. Thanks for the easy to follow instructions.

I just started my first starter a couple of weeks ago and the first two days it really stank awful, and I mean awful, even nauseating, but everyday afterwards it smelled less awful and a bit more yeasty, by day 6 it just smelled a bit acid, and from then on it just smells a bit like yeast and yogurth, actually kinda nice. I used it on day 9 to make a sourdough loaf and it turned out great, amazing poof, great taste and smell, so unless it contaminated somehow all you need to do is keep feeding it correctly until it matures :)

Hi Bettie, I love your videos on sourdough bread making, thank you. I am having difficulty with the crumb of my bread, it is very dense in texture, the flavour & crispness are fine but the crumb is very dense. Can you help me please?

Thanks for the tips! But what to do I do if my week old sourdough starter smell like nail polish remover?

I'm nervous about mold. How do I prevent it? Should I be changing out my container with feedings?

I wish I could give this video a thousand likes, it was AMAZING!!! Thank you!

Hi bettie Please answer few confusing issues 1- at equal parts of water and whole wheat flour My starter get very liquidy after 6 days 2: room temp is 27 c 3: after 7 th day i did the float test and all sank,it was so watery 4:bubble activity is very good and after 5 day it rose and fell down as well and on 7 day it rose and stayed like more then tripple . Now im making my 4 starter,also i thought chlorinated water was the problem so now im using mineral water Thanks

I like keeping mine in the microwave. It’s pretty warm, about 73 from October-April. The rest of the year, our house is warm enough for it to just be on the fridge.

Thank you for this very clear & easy to navigate series!

Thank you so much for this! I gave up on my first starter after 21 days lol and then bought dehydrated starter and forgot to feed it after it doubled for me, so after letting it sit out for 24 hours I fed it again , what should I do to jump back in or do I start over??

Thank You for the information. It's very helpful and encouraging.

I fed my starter (day4) 4 hours ago, its producing hooch already. I guess I will increase flour/water ratio tomorrow morning.

Put my water in the proofer to keep it warm and warm it up and i think that was the big game changer for me.

Bob's Red Mill Organic Rye + King Arthur Bread Flour, 50/50, at 100‰ hydration. You will be AMAZED!

🍀🍀🍀🍀 YES!!! So much is clear now. Thanks for being thorough.

Hi Betty! First off, thanks for your videos. I found your pie crust masterclass very helpful and I'm currently having a lot of fun with this sourdough series. I have an issue with my starter : I feel like it's way more runny than yours... Is this normal? Other than that I think it's doing alright (as far as I can tell according to your videos / other info I got online). Thanks for the help!

Hi just found you site and I really enjoyed watching you explain things . My problem with my sour dough starter is it will rise about half but not double in volume is there something I can do to increase this and it never passes the float test any suggestions will be appreciated so much. Thank you

the video helped a bunch. Thank you dear.

Hi Bettie, helpful video and write-up on your website, my question to you if you can; my wife's starter smells very pungent almost the entire house starts having this strong vinegar or stinky smell ( even my neighbour came out to tell me there was this smell going around. we live in apartments here, she has two starters one in the fridge was started in April 2020 and we have one on the kitchen top from 1st of May 2020. she has a diary log of when she feeds them. I have read that the starters need to be a temperature range of 70-80 Fahrenheit, which is around 23-26 degrees celsius. However, we live in Singapore and the ambient temperature of our house hovers around 28-31 degrees. April Starter: feed cycle was once a day ( ratio was 40g flour & 40g water this was her initial start) every day till she placed in the fridge on the first of May 2020 thereafter she has been feeding it once a week. May Starter: feed cycle is currently on a once a day cycle ( ratio of 40/40g water n flour) Any advice that you can give in regards to the smell, as i know the fermentation process will have the smell but not the entire apartment. Kindly advice us if we need to adjust something or we are missing something here. Also if you need more information from us as well would be appreciated as well. Thanks!

I am on my second batch with rye . First batch molded. Oven light was to warm . Second batch day10 mold again?

Hi Bettie , thanks for the great content ☺️ I have one question , my starter is already 14 days old🥳 every time I feed it it double in size in about 12 hours then after additional 3 it go back to its original size and have a lot of bubbles on top is it ok? It’s also very liquid more than what I see here in RU-vid

So my starting a sds is kind of foggy. I know my room temp is low at 61 degrees fahren. Yea it takes longer. And it finally rises up. But its having too much fun up there and does not want to fall back. From ur hints, could there be too much food for this temp?

Day 6 no growth. Day 1-3 didn’t do anything. Day 4,5 and now six discarding and feeding. Doing a 1;2;2 ratio with a mix of whole wheat and unbleached bread flour. I’m so discouraged, not sure what to do. This is my second starter, I had to toss my first. I’m pretty good in the kitchen and just can’t seem to get this right

Brilliant - thanks - I'll be patient.

I'm so frustrated, because I had my starter working really well, but I had to travel and due to flight delays I spent more than 2 weeks away. When I came back my starter was moldy, so I threw it away and started over again, but I can't make it like it was before. It was so active and bubbly. I've tried with wholegrain flour, but it's still not the same. 😢

Thank you very much for your awesome videos!! Where could I get your nice glass jars with the wooden lid?

When is the time to bake with it? What to do with the rest?

Does the size of my jar matter like a 68 oz jar versus a 20 oz jar?

So when it smells like alcohol should I feed it right away or should I wait till the time I made it so each 24 hrs?

My starter is on day 10 or so, bubbling but not much rising. I keep it on a heating pad at 74-76 degrees and every morning there is a somewhat solid layer on top. Is that normal? underneath the layer it is very thin with small bubbles. What should I do?

Very helpful, thank you!

When is the best time to use the starter? During it highest rise where is really bubbly, medium rise where it went down abit or completely rested, where there are bubble liquid separation?

I’ve made 20 loaves that had fantastic spring. And now isn’t starter seems weak. ? Should I do a feeding pattern for a couple of days to make it stronger again.

Thank you, this was very helpful. I subscribed, liked and rang the bell.

Bettie, I was told that we can put sourdough starter into the freezer if not going to use it for a long time. I did just that. Now I've taken it out of the freezer, thawed it and fed. No movement. Have I killed it?

Thank you so very much... This is a great help...your a gem..🌹

Great video! Thanks

Super helpful info, thank you!

Hi Betti, i have started sourdough starter from scratch and it is one month old now. I've given some of it to my friend. He keep on feeding and he successfully bake sourdough out of it. However, recently the starter behave differently- it smell like very sourly like vinegar or spoiled dishes. it doesn't rise even after feeding and it is very slimy. Is it the water too alkaline? Or it it because of environment? Not sure what had gone wrong, please advise 🥹

Hello, I am on Day 20 and I have been feeding my sourdough starter once a day with Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Flour and Bottled Water (between 85F-90F) at a 1:3:3 ratio (25/75/75) from Day 4. I keep it in my Brod & Taylor Proofer at 75F. My starter has been consistently doubling in 7-8 hours for, at least a week. However, it is not doubling in the 4-6 hours. Is there anything else I could be doing to get my starter to double in volume quicker? Or should I stay the course and just give it time?

Hi Betty! My sourdough is at Day 6, it tripled before this feed and now it's no longer bubbling and has a petroleum-like smell. I understand that it's just going through a false start and I will need to continue feeding it. The question I have is, now that there is no rise or fall (other than just some bubbles in the paste-y mixture), how do I then know when do I feed it again till it gets over this phase? I am not confident in knowing when should I feed it again.

Hello! Once my starter is active, and I have used it to bake, how long should I wait until I feed it again? Should I feed it immediately? Or wait for 8-12 hours?

I had ordered a powdered starter from Amazon and I prepared it letter for letter per instructions. At first what came about was the proposed starter was a stiff paste and I left it alone as it said and nothing happened. So, I added water to it and still nothing.

1:41 can chlorine in water prevent it from growing?

I know you posted 3 years ago, so I don't expect you to answer this question, but my starter, throughout day 5 so far, has been super runny. I'm adding equal parts water and flour, and when I add it to my starter, it gets thick like yours is, but then the next day when I go to discard and add, it's super runny. I don't have much hooch on the top of the starter at all when I go to feed, but maybe there's more hooch that just hasn't quite made it to the surface? I thought also, maybe I'm not using the correct flour. It's 100% whole wheat *pastry* flour, so maybe pastry flour isn't the best? I dunno. Just talking this out.

Hey. I started my starter a few weeks ago. It appears to be going well. Sometimes, I forget to feed the starter every 12 hours. I’ll go from 8:30 am on one day to 8:30 am the next. I’m hoping that isn’t a problem. Also on the side of the bowl is a thick layer of hardened flour. Do you think would be a problem for the starter? Should I start over again? If I do need to start over again can you use the discard in the fridge to get that going? Thanks!

I'm on day 6 or 7 and I consistently get some bubbles but never can get it to rise AT ALL. 😢

Okay so I think my starter has gone bad then. It’s day 3 & when I went to go look at it, I saw some dark peach (almost salmon colored) spots on it. It wasn’t fuzzy so I wasn’t sure if it was mold or not. But I guess it is??

Does the layer of liquid sit on top but below the bubbles?

Should the jar have the lid on it when you are trying to establish the starter ?

Brilliant, nothing more to say.

Great info!

I got some starter from a baker friend. my plan is to keep in the fridge so that I do not have to feed it everyday, but rather when I intend to use it. Is this traditionally a good plan? when I feed it, should I also discard part of it? What't the best way to preserve and use this gift. Thanks!

i have a starter which I already used and made two loafs of bread but i left some of it in the jar, so do i keep feed it and put it in the fridge. So what should i do next do i keep feeding everyday ?

Help! I’ve had my starter for two months now and this morning I accidentally put a cup of tap water to it 🤦‍♀️ the starter it’s self has about two cups in it. Did I ruin it?! What can I do to fix it!?

I have been trying to get a starter made for 8 days now. My first feeding was after 48 hours and it looked like it was going to work. After that, it has been flat. No activity. Should I start over? I am using EinKorn flour. I am trying EinKorn flour in different recipes. The last time I attempted to start a starter, I gave up. I MUST be doing something wrong.

I don’t know you would describe yeasty smell. Mine smells like spoiled like acetone. Maybe vinegary I don’t know. Def not sweet smell

Questions answered! I'm not gonna poison my friends and family with bad sourdough starter. Whew! 😆

My starter is at day 4 and its stop moving, shld i just feed it round the clock or just wait till it active and feed it?

Is it true that if I use a super young starter, I would get sick? That it is poison to us. Is that true?

Hi bettie im having trouble with my starter i feed i overnight and in the morning its still not active i do your 1_3_3 feeding with rye do you have any tips

I’m on day ten I have bubbles and foam and it doubles in volume but it’s a lot thinner than yours looks

my starter is developing well but the hooch has appeared at almost the bottom of the jar, instead of at the top. is this ok? any suggestions? thanks :)

Is there a difference with a starter at altitude? I’m at like 5k feet

My sourdough starter is rising and it seems active but when I do the float test it sinks. I’ve been trying to get this going now for over a month. Should I just start fresh? It’s so frustrating.

That was useful tanx

What dose it mean if it smells like bad poop,yet it has good bubbles ?this starter is 3 weeks old and feed once a day.

First 3 days my yeast bubbling very well but today 4th day it does not grow like yesterday. Instead just very little bubble but no increases in volume. Smells the same as before .. Why?

My starter appeared to have the bubbles and the nice sour and yeasty smell after 7 days - and it appears airy and light but when I try to take some of it to use for leaven and grow it separately - I don't get a rise or growth despite waiting hours for it. It also doesn't seem to bubble up once its in the leaven. What could I be doing wrong ? I tried twice now and it keeps failing. Please help !

My starter has a dry and thick skin on top and I don’t really know how to fix it. I remove the skin everyday and then I feed my starter, which results in the starter going all bubbly and nice.( it’s not bubbly with the skin on top). The next morning the skin is back again and the bubbles are gone.:( The smell is kind of like vinegar but sometimes like very strong alcohol. This is my first starter and I would very much like some help.

heyyy how about if my starter has bubbles but it wont rising, its day 4. Should I continue feeding it??

I have followed your instructions right down to the last gram using my scales and making sure the water is at the right temperature 32oC. But I feel I have failed as I am up to day 27 and my starter doubles and bubbles well, but sinks in the float test therefore I believe its not strong or ready yet. Is that taking too long? Is there anything else I can do? Or should I just start again? I would appreciate your advice.

Is it the same process with gluten free starter and bread ??

My starter is very slow at the moment but I will continue to feed as normal - but I am already on day seven and nothing seems to work, although it did at the beginnning. Do I carry on with 1:2:2 ratio or, as you say in Day 4, 1:3:3 ? Many thanks.

Hi! So I am new to the sourdough thing and just trying it out for fun, and I had what’s called hooch like you explained in the video, we fed it this morning, and the height hasn’t died down… What does that mean…?

Hi, the temperature in my city during the last weeks is around 100°F (38°C). If 77°F (25°C) is the ideal temperature for levain to grow, how can I start my sourdough?

hi Bettie, I started my sourdough starter with bread flour with 1:1:1 ratio. I wanted to change the flour to whole wheat now that I've seen your video. Is it wise to just keep going or I better start over? I am now on day 6. thanks!

I'm on day 10 and followed instructions to a T and mine still won't double in size.

Slight smell that reminds me of the white school glue of elementary days... last place i lived it worked fine...smelled like sweet beer.and bubbled up after couple weeks. Im no linger living by the ocean.. very dry here. First two times it went pink on sides of jar...maybe something in water here? I had it out on counter with a plastic lid resting on it... feeding it same amount of flour and water every day.. looks like runny pancake batter. Made pancakes once when amount got too much for jar...been 2 weeks Smellin like school glue...not sure if its still doing its thing...surface bubles couple days.... now in fridge jntul i can figure out weatger to restart or keep feeding elementary school sour blues

Got the bubbles but does not pass the float test.

Everyone is saying using whole wheat or rye works the best, so I tried spelt. I've tried it 3 times with different methods, all failed. While the white flour worked for a few times....

How do I know my starter is ready to use?

the hooch on my starter is like on the middle, not on top and idk what to do

Hi, may I know what do you mean by keep feeding the starter? I have done a batch yesterday and I could see bubbles in there. But I was curious and I stirred it, I realised it's quite runny in texture. What should I do?

My starters smell is pleasant, looks like batter. My friend told me to feed morning and night. Am I diluting my starter? I see no growth other than what add.

My starter is alive in the second day Is that normal ?