How to Fix Your Sourdough Starter When It WON'T RISE

“My starter won’t rise…HELP!” (Said everyone who bakes sourdough at one point or another 😊)
There are two fixes you can try if your sourdough starter just won’t rise. In the video I’ll explain which fix is right for you.
Here’s where to get my free Sourdough Starter Guide that I mentioned in the video - grantbakes.com...

[@GrantBakes]

Get my sourdough starter guide here: grantbakes.com/sourdoughstarterguide

[@chrissiewindsor]

Thanks Grant, good of you. Here comes Fifi2 !!

[@EricaRossini-s3b]

I followed your advice and my starter is fixed. It’s almost double in size and it’s been less than 12 hours since last feeding. Thank you so much 😊.

[@albeati]

So you mean, every time I want to use my old starter, i will do "restart" (new jar) and jst wait for it to rise so i can use right away or this new jar "restart" is now my new starter? Then how is the old discard (off and on rising) will be of good use? Pls respond. Ty

[@9000ftElev]

I went to the website you showed but to learn the magic of his sourdough starter method, you are required to sign up for his newsletter. I don't need to receive any more crap than I have. Thanks anyway.

[@phiacastillo]

Hi Grant! I did the reset and it worked!🎉 it doubled in size after 8hrs after feeding it. Now, my question is, is it ready to use for baking?

[@ginarichi7308]

I can’t freaking believe it!! 4 months I tried to get that thing to grow!! I tried everything!! I almost gave up. Yesterday I found your video. I gave one last ditch effort. I woke up this morning and BAM!! There it was!! DOUBLE AND THEN SOME!! I was so excited and happy I had to wake my husband up to tell him!! lol. Thank you so much!!!!!! I’m so grateful!!

[@ZsuzsaKarolySmith]

This made me laugh so hard! The fact that you were so excited you woke up your husband to tell him - what was his reaction? 😂

[@martiagogor6641]

This worked perfectly for me! Repaired one with reg flour and another with rye. Can I keep the discard in the fridge and continue to restart a batch from that ?

[@astridbrislan6391]

Same here. I woke up at 3:19am and had to text my friend with a photo as proof!!!!!😂

[@Mynameisbemaia]

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@JacksonGorilla]

​@@martiagogor6641 You can, we just started some new ones a few days ago. We used the discard we had in the fridge for about a year now with no feedings. The starter discard that you put into the fridge should be from a fully active established starter (at least that's the advice we got) when you end up using it it should only take a few feedings to get it going again.

[@sellersdozen]

After watching this, I fed the heck out of mine last night after 2 WEEKS of no activity but it smelled amazing(ly sour). IT MORE THAN DOUBLED OVER NIGHT I WAS STARVING IT 😭😭 Anyway, that was the first time it ever doubled! ‘Preciate you!! 🙌🙌

[@charlesdarnay5455]

GREAT TIP. It never would have occurred to me that I was keeping too much of it previously. Tip #1, resetting the starter with a small amount and keeping only 25g until feeding it the night before using it, fixed my sourdough problems completely. FWIW, I started out with a mix of rye and whole wheat to get my starter going, it only took 3 or 4 days, and ever since, it doesn't seem to matter what flour I use for the overnight feeding: it always rises overnight. And no more discards either. Two other tricks I've learned is to use slightly warm water for the overnight feeding, just a little warmer than lukewarm, and to add the 50g water to the 25g first, stir it in, and then add the 50g flour. It works every time, even when my kitchen is cold. Simple fixes for predictable and consistent results. THANK YOU, Grant.

[@melissaculp681]

Wow its almost as if you were reading my mind. That's exactly what I am dealing with now. I started my starter with 1 cup flour and 1 cup of water and then every discard I was told to divide the starter in half, discard one part and feed the other and to keep doing this according to the recipe. It's a bit on the colder side in my house but the starter is a bit like a thicker pancake batter now that I have kept it in the oven. I have been reading all things sourdough and there's a lot of back and forth information - I was feeding it 1:1:1 but read I want a 1:1:.5 so I started feeding it 1 cup of flour and half a cup of water. I moved it to its forever jar and banded it to watch for growth but nothing has happened. It is bubbly tho. I just don't know how much starter I am supposed to have at this point. Mine lives in the oven because it's about 15 days in and I didn't want to get it going and it not be ready enough to have it slow down. I am about to do a feeding now and discard as I have been but now I am trying to figure out if I really get rid of all this starter before the feeding or keep going as I am

[@charlesdarnay5455]

@@melissaculp681 If you can, try switching from 1 cup measurements to weight measurements instead, using a digital scale. They are not expensive and the measurements are way more accurate. 1 cup of flour does not weigh the same as 1 cup of water, but 50g water and 50g flour are equal. Works great!

[@melissaculp681]

Thank you!!

[@basbleupeaunoire]

Ah! Thank you for reminding me that I used to make sure the water was a certain temperature.

[@phiacastillo]

What is the water temp you use? ​@@charlesdarnay5455

[@krazmokramer]

Yeah...I'm there. I just did my first divide and discard on your Sourdough Starter Guide. Day 3 looked active SOMEWHAT. Day 4 nada. Four hours after 50g/50g/50g and still nada. I have been very precise with the measurements and clean utensils. I'm being patient but...I WANT TO BAKE!!!

[@ThatGuy-dj3qr]

I struggled for a loooong time with my starter going "off" while being stored in the fridge. I found very little for my issue online and had to sort it out on my own. Basically my starter was becoming very acidic, making a toxic environment for the yeast (meanwhile the bacteria were thriving). One big reason for this is that I don't bake regularly, so the starter was in the fridge for long periods of time. I would end up with a watery slurry, and even after adding flour to stiffen the starter, it would go watery again without rising. On mutiple occasions I found it faster to create a new starter from scratch than to revive the old one. Are you ready for the fix? Solution: If you have this issue, abandon the 1:1 (water:flour) guideline and switch to a stiffer starter. A stiff starter can have up to two times as much flour by weight compared to water (2:1 ratio of flour:water). A stiff starter (drier environment) is less hospitable for bacteria, so it gives yeast a natural edge. A stiff starter stores much longer in the fridge and it will more than double when you let it rise because it has more food per volume than a 1:1 starter. Hope this tip helps someone out there.

[@Lizzynewto]

Thank you for this I threw mine out - I am kicking myself after reading this! Ahhhhh

[@teacup3133]

Thank you!

[@jackiekatzev7521]

Dealing with this right now! How much mature starter did you leave?

[@ThatGuy-dj3qr]

@@jackiekatzev7521 Of this hspprns I start anew with flour and no old starter. Things usually start bubbling by the third day and that way you're not dealing with any of the acidity problems.

[@jackiekatzev7521]

I left over a few grams of old starter and it looks promising so far! It was pretty dry, I added a few grams of it to a new jar with a 1:5:5 to dilute as much as possible and it’s bubbling so far! Thanks for the tip

[@angelwings2977]

Hello Grant, love your name. I had ordered a sourdough starter from Amazon with no instructions whatsoever and I had tried to work on the starter but to no avail. I was blessed to have come across your channel and as soon as I follow the instructions that you carefully explained. Immediately, my starter started to come alive overnight and grew triple in size and is now ready to be used! I am so happy and this is the very first time I have ever done a sourdough starter I can’t wait to watch your other videos. You’re a great teacher. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Dulce 👩🏻

[@cristinanogueira8687]

My starter was slow to double and I almost gave up around day 7, but I stayed patient and on day 9 I had an active sourdough starter!! Thanks, Grant, this is the first method that has worked for me.

[@HeyYouShouldSmile]

Did you feed it, or did you just leave it alone?

[@anfalaa527]

U gave me some hope 🥹👍🏻 i will tey it too

[@lesyaklein9788]

OK I'm day 4 so I should go at least a few more days? it's bubbling but not rising more than whatever I feed it

[@sarahmotlong949]

Am I missing if I should do something different if this is the case for me too? Day 7 no doubling just bubbles….

[@Arika_VR]

You are amazing. I was struggling to revive my 3yr old starter. I usually keep my starter in fridge and feed it once a month, never had any issues. But this time My starter was bubbling but not rising, I followed your tip and fed 50g flour and only 40ml water to 25g starter. Kept the jar in oven with light on. It doubled within 12hrs. Thank you so much.

[@raquelbigby5501]

I just discovered this by accident. Yesterday I took out my sourdough scraping's that had been in the frig for over a month. After I mixed 50 gr 50 gr to about 10gr of starter in a new jar , it sat for 16 hours because i forgot about it. It had tripled in size, I just backed it today and it looks great

[@GrantBakes]

Exactly! It’s what works 😊

[@hazzeleyezz85]

Did you put it in the fridge or leave it out?

[@raquelbigby5501]

@@hazzeleyezz85 After I mixed my starter from scrapings, I put it back into the refrigerator and just before I go to bed, I take it out and put it on top of the frig. When I get up it ready for me to start mixing my bread dough. If I mix the starter in the evening with warm water, then when I get up in the morning its past its peak.

[@Geet0088]

​@@GrantBakesAfter this, till when do we have to do evening feeding and when can we make bread?

[@zacharysherry2910]

Well... You did just teach me why I've never seen the abbreviation for "refrigerator" written down before 😂

[@frankphillips7436]

Thank you sir! It’s almost like you saw my starter. Mine had doubled repeatedly over a couple feedings. Then I got greedy and kept 150g and fed it 75g rye flour and 75g water. That’s when everything stopped.

[@suzettelee1971]

Thank you Grant! My SS is a pig! It loved 50g of flour and water each with 25g of SS, after 3 days, SS doubled. Bake on.

[@neeyatiadhikari2079]

Can I bake after day 3? Today I am in my day 3. How long do I need to feed? My SS has rose and looks great but is it too early to bake or must I keep feeding?

[@BhaiLebun]

Do you leave outside or in the fridge after feeding?

[@ArdenKuhn]

Thank you for this. You helped me reset my starter successfully. Plus, the tip on bubbles vs doubling was invaluable.

[@mauniep6456]

Exactly! My starter has lots of bubbles but no rise!

[@erberry1]

Grand I absolutely can't thank you enough. I put my sourdough starter in the refrigerator, just a couple of tablespoons and it stayed there the entire summer. I never touched it. There was a lot of Hooch that I did pour off, but it only took two feedings and its back. I bet my first sandwich loafwill be nice and tangy. Thanks for all you do, and all your knowledge. I don't even go to any other sites anymore. I've learned so much from you and all the frustrations of making sourdough I no longer have.

[@ΑλεξάνδραΑυτσίδου]

Thank you very much!! I had the same problem and was throwing my starter away and starting it again! I was disappointed at first but then I saw your video! Guys just give your starter time and do what the video says ! You will see that it works!! Thank you again!!

[@JAO-bb5]

Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you! There are a zillion video's on sour dough bread-making. I had failed, with dense loaves 2 years ago & gave up. I decided to try again last week when I got a new starter, but I could see the same issue. That is, weak starter. FINALLY this sweet video on how to fix the starter!

[@koreancookie331]

Thank you! 1st week newbie here 🙋🏻‍♀️. Watching your video helped me realize I had too much starter. I was following someone else’s recipe of 1 cup flour : 1 cup water and storing in my oven with the light on. Every 24hrs, discarding 1/2, and repeating. It was starving! Not rising/falling and a layer of hooch. When I reduced and used your proportions. Also, placing in my microwave with door open. It really came alive visually! You saved me on expensive flour $ being wasted! And I learned 😁!

[@eleanorbalsiger9963]

I have read so much on this and your video explained and helped me so much that I am going to start all over again for the 3rd time. Your instructions were different than everybody else’s. Thank you.

[@mo4050]

Recently, my sourdough starter was not active (didn't rise much) and smelled too sour. I tried your method and it seems my starter has been reset properly. Thank you!

[@reneejohnson5041]

Thank you SO much! This helped tremendously! Now, please tell me how I can grow my starter to a larger amount so I can bake more loaves? I especially just want to keep a Strong, robust starter on hand. TIA

[@basbleupeaunoire]

This helped a lot. More than some other guides, you're advising us to go by what the starter looks like, not just when the next feeding is supposed to happen. You also cut the feeding amounts by half. Thank you! I was hating to 'waste' all that discard when my starter was just getting started again.

[@lostinmyspace4910]

I made the sourdough starter, did the discard, and doubled the amount of new flour to water perfectly, but still no rise. Is it the fact that I used Gold Metal brand all purpose flour with bottled water which has additive chemicals like magnesium, and chloride stuff in the water instead of spring red natural water? I discarded and sed twice already using a kitchen scale for accuracy, kep the mixture on the counter, snf ot getting results. It's 12 days in. Thanks! THUMBS UP!!!

[@kathyschultz1063]

Oh man! I'm going to try this. I just started my SDS about five days ago and I noted on some days it will rise and on other days it will not. I'm going to try your method, thinking that I'm leaving too much started in the jar before feeding. Thanks Grant!

[@cherrie1188]

Help! This works so well and am grateful...what do I do when the second feed tripled within four hours??? I'm not complaining, however, I cannot bake at the moment so I placed it in the fridge. Yikes! Still a "newbe" and learning with the help of your great tutorials. Appreciate your help. Thanks!

[@GrantBakes]

Wonderful! What a great problem to have :) I would just keep the start in the fridge and then feed it 4-5 hours before you're ready to use it in your recipe. Thanks for the comment.

[@suran396]

Also, if you have a bread machine, go ahead and make a bread machine loaf, then re-feed your starter. For us home cooks, it's OK to have a good-but-not-great loaf when circumstances call for it.

[@Shawna795]

This worked, I tried with 2 different flours and they both doubled overnight 🙌❤️❤️❤️

[@shawnatroyer1411]

Thank you. My daughter showed me how to revive a starter... it did SO amazing... but then seemed to die. I'm going to try your tips (though I'm also concerned my tap water is less than ideal)

[@sharonmcmichael4690]

Perfect help I needed as a newbie gifted with SOURDOUGH STARTER! First week was fun then caput, so thank you for timely help!

[@susanbeal4322]

Thank you so much! This video is very helpful….. I tend to collect starter and have too much in the jar ….and then the double in size is delayed. Thx

[@GrantBakes]

Hey, Susan! Thanks for the comment. That happens to me all the time. My "true North," so to speak, is to have around 25 grams of starter in my jar in the fridge. More or less is fine, but that's what works for me.

[@colleey4d]

When fixing a sick starter, do you feed once it starts to fall? And for doubling, if the top is rounded, do you count the very top when seeing if it’s doubled? Or only what is on the sides of the jar? My starter has a very sour smell so I’m pretty sure it’s active, just sluggish. I can’t honestly remember if it’s ever doubled….

[@kenyastephens4576]

I came looking for a solution to my sourdough not rising after 6 days of consistent feedings and no discard. It did have bubbles initially but was the week progressed it got watery and no longer any bubbles. I was NOT going to start over so I gave it a big feeding of wheat flour and a little water to make the consistency like thick pancake batter. I said I would give it 24 hours and then make a decision from there. Well as nature would have it doubled in size 10 hours later. "Tom" was just a little hangry 😂 😊 editing post: I did a float test as suggested and it sank so I made discard buttermilk pancakes 🙌🏾🙌🏾 fed and now waiting....

[@munirahyasmin9161]

Hi, my starter (i am using all purpose flour) never rise since day 1, so I reset it using 1:1:1 (all purpose flour: water: barley flour).. just starting yesterday and 2 feeding, my starter already start to double!!! MasyaAllah, thank you so much... Waiting to start use it... Thank you!!! This is my first time!!!

[@IamIceQueen7]

Mine always gets sluggish around the change of season and currently I’m struggling so I’m thinking on my next feed I’ll give it whole wheat as my starter is all white and have been for a long time ! Hope it helps and thank you for the video

[@dianesanborn3038]

Grant you are awesome. I did exactly as you suggested and I completely got my starter reactivated. So now waiting to Stretch and fold a third time. I’ll cold proof it as I’d been doing and have fresh baked sourdough in AM. Thank you for all the great tips you’ve given me since I started my sourdough journey 6 months ago!

[@GrantBakes]

Thanks!! I’m glad it’s been helpful.

[@dianesanborn3038]

@@GrantBakes the proof is in the bread… 🍞😉😋

[@MariaMolleja-on6om]

How did it go??

[@nitashah0]

Super helpful. I use your SD bagel recipe and it is fantastic but it's been very sluggish and not rising. Will try this method

[@leslieoviedo7823]

Saved my brand new starter! I've been avoiding sourdough bc I hate disappointment 😅 after 7 days of many bubbles and no rise on my very first starter, I tried option one and it doubled 12 hrs 🎉 I suppose the volume I had wasn't being fed because it still made really great pancakes and waffles

[@Lizzynewto]

Love your comment st the end it was actually 207 times 😂 Joking no idea - but it was a lot! I still appreciated the video! Thanks 😊

[@GrantBakes]

You’re probably right!

[@amypeete5897]

It worked!!!! Took two days but my starter doubled in size!

[@thedavineempress]

I had the same issue with my first i did the float test seemed right 🤷🏻‍♀️put it in fridge overnight and stretched it folded and let rest again for several hours but didnt rise.... I really want this too work but lawwdd its a hell of a mission.

[@jsnbkr66]

Worked perfectly. Thank you for helping my resuscitate what I thought was a goner!

[@AliciaSweetz]

I’ve been trying for three weeks and idk if it will work but I’ll give it a try

[@phiacastillo]

Im on day 7 with rye starter. The first 4 days, its was active and doubling its volume but day 5 to 6, it has some big bubbles/pores but not rising as much. As of day 6, fed it in every 12hrs and nothing changed. It was just flat with some tiny bubbles. Today day 7, im doing your method. Hopefully I get a good result. Im about to give up 😢

[@BreannBenson]

Thank you this helped reset my starter! It was so hard to just lift the top off to smell

[@Sbannmarie]

You have to use rye flour to starter?

[@katelyn8573]

Someone gave me a little starter (or some of their discard) so I started doing you no discard method and refrigerating it until I am going to bake and feeding it what I need for the recipe ( 100g flour, 100g h2o for 200g starter) the first time that worked great the second time its not doubling. I left about a tbsp both time like recommended. I am using einkorn flour but again first time that worked great. How can I fix it and help it rise

[@emmasmythe1432]

Thanks for this starter rescue. I have some of a starter batch, given tome by a friend, that has been in use for 14 years. Wow! Anyways, on the rare times that I try to bake with it, it doesn’t double in size overnight. After watching this video, I realized that I hadn’t been feeding it properly or often enough while storing it in the fridge. Your method worked and revived the starter but when I began the process of your no knead recipe, using 25 grams of starter, 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water, it didn’t rise at all overnight although it does have some bubbles. What should I do now? Thanks for your help. 🙂

[@jungminshon3355]

Made it after having failed 10 times. Lukewarm water helped. Thanks. Please answer even if it is a bad case of starter making.

[@GrantBakes]

It sounds like you fixed the problem. I'm assuming the warmer water helped the starter to wake up a little bit.

[@jungminshon3355]

1. How do you maintain the amount of starter? U use it all and start making sourdough from day 1? 2.Do I have to dump all when mold appears on the way of making the starter?

[@thairinkhudr4259]

@@jungminshon3355 some people say if there's mold, you should throw the whole batch out, because even a little can spoil the whole batch.

[@DRAGONFLYmanor]

@@thairinkhudr4259🌚yeah

[@nicolesam9568]

My sour dough starter is on day 13 and there’s only bubbles no rising nothing is it active yet? Also when can I start using the discards in recipes if it’s not rising but has bubbles?

[@user-ny6ck2ud5t]

This video is so helpful thank you so much , I am staring at my starter without any hope it seems dead because I had to freeze it 😬 now I am trying to make it alive again

[@maxvitakisel]

Thank you for the video! My starter was very active and I baked wonderful breads and then all of a sudden my starter stopped rising. I followed your instructions and fed it whole wheat flour and it doubled. Now do I keep feeding it with whole-wheat flour for a little while or all purpose flour? Because I did the same proportions with all purpose flour in another jar and it only rose 1cm.

[@ellapyves1331]

All purpose flour has a lower gluten content than bread flour, and you need the gluten to hold the air bubbles. That might be why you’re having trouble with the starter.

[@shurushka28]

For option 1, do I leave in out on the counter to grow or put it in the fridge?

[@jeffreyjbyron]

Saved my starter! Question: what is the best way to discard? Throw in the trash? compost? garbage disposal?

[@colleey4d]

Fry it up in a pan, season with garlic salt and Parmesan

[@bayleymacintosh5622]

​@@colleey4d or add some zaatar, salt, chives !!

[@juanitaj5248]

are you talking about leaving it on the countertop or in the refrigerator

[@linacoy3606]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!! This videos was so helpful, 5 days later and I have a very active starter and is on the rise 😅 thank you again

[@Joddrick00]

If this works I will be very excited. I’m really struggling with my starter Daisy 😂😂

[@dawnkestner4960]

Question- do I leave starter out on counter why I wait? Thanks for the video!

[@toilettduckk]

Thank you! I have wasted so much time and flour trying to get the starter going. I finally found your KZbin videos, took my unsuccessful starter and followed your instructions. In less than a week, it was rising perfectly. :)

[@DinoReject]

Didn't realize I'd be getting sourdough advice from Rick Grimes, but ain't mad about it 😂💚 thank you for the help!!!

[@Ambermarie1]

This was super helpful and worked! However, do you recommend continuing feeding with whole wheat flour? Once i went back to my 1:1:1 with in bleached flour like i had been doing all along, my starter isn’t rising as much and takes a long time. 🤔 kind of stumped. Thanks for the video!

[@teresapalmer2749]

Thank you for sharing. I started my starter three days ago and it actually doubled in the first 24 hours. After that it hasn't done much. It gets a little watery. It doesn't smell bad or anything. It does bubble a little bit but that's it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[@GrantBakes]

I say just keep going following the plan you're using. Three days is a very young starter and it needs more time to gain maturity. Trust the process :)

[@teresapalmer2749]

Thank you. I will keep going. 🙂

[@KathyS-b8k]

So I am resetting my starter, never made bread but it was 6 days and doubling when it stopped doubling. So how long do I discard and feed with 50/50? Do I use the same recipe till it is floats with a float test and becomes predictable?

[@claireb5083]

Doing this now, will let you know how it goes. Thank you

[@shahedachoudhury8029]

I'm on day 3 and day 1 and 2 raised beautifully today it like died and I'm so upset!! Plus I ran out of rye flour and couldn't find it in stores so ordered it on Amazon in the mean time added organic flour. I'm so upset it stopped working but let me try all of this and see what happens!

[@carmen6364]

Since I wont be baking after the second feeding once it doubles , so I feed it again and put it back in the fridge or let it sit on counter few hours and then put into the fridge ?

[@dashamarkovich7447]

Thank you. This seemed to work for me but how many times do we do this before we can start feeding it the normal amount we did before and start baking with?

[@neeyatiadhikari2079]

Same. Did you find an answer ? I have the same question. Today I am in my day 3.

[@dawnkestner4960]

Thanks for the great video! But I have a question - while in the process of resetting the starter. Do I leave it out on counter? Thank you!

[@sjones3120]

I’ve had my starter for a couple of years, feeding it with organic white bread flour on a ratio of 1:1:1, but noticed that it had slowed down. I fed using your technique with rye flour but now I’m not sure what the hydration of my starter is! Is it still 100%? Thanks

[@sharonkutney7665]

Should the starter sit on counter at room temp or go in fridge to get it going? Thanks much!

[@neeyatiadhikari2079]

I did exactly what you said: 25g, 50g, and 50g. My starter rose. Today is day 3. How long should I continue this process? When will I know my starter is ready for baking? Please reply because I was really looking forward to bake this weekend I want to make Focaccia but I don’t want to be impatient either.

[@glnblnd]

This video is great. I have a question that I think is slightly different than your suggestions. I’ve tried several times now to start from scratch. Day 3 I get great activity doubles in size. Do the normal discard and feeding. But after that I get nothing. What am I doing wrong?????

[@GrantBakes]

A new starter will often stop showing normal signs of activity around day 3 or 4. Many people think it "died." It's just a normal part of the process. The starter needs to work out the colony of yeast and bacteria before it starts behaving normally. So, just keep going! That's completely normal.

[@trudareynolds8592]

You really made me feel more confident I could actually tell when my starter was ready. Thanks!

[@Kitsamii]

Is resetting / refreshing your starter in a new jar not just the same as discarding and feeding it? Mine was rising really well, loads of bubbles, doubling almost trippling in size upto day 11 and then suddenly nothing, next to no bubbles, no activity, no doubling.

[@hanneliegray3702]

Thank you for this video! My sourdough came alive!

[@martiagogor6641]

It doubled on the same day! Can I start baking with it or does it need more feeding?

[@naffity]

After you do the first step of taking 25g out of the old and putting it in a new jar w 50g water + 50g flour, it rises within 24 hours.. Then you mentioned around 2:20 to take out everything again except 25g and do 50g water + 50g Flour again. Once you get to that point, and it has doubled in size do you keep feeding it? If so, how many more days should I feed it? Or is it considered an active starter already?

[@PrepressBaddie]

My day 2 and 3 of my starter were SO active. Day 3 it overflowed out of the jar. Day 4 was less activity and here we are day 7 with no activity 😢 did I do something wrong? Maybe I need to do the 25g/50/50 method? Advice?

[@GeniveAllen-Garcia]

What if my starter more than doubled in size on day 3; I discarded and fed and kept on now for 9 days; day 4-5 it went flat again and never doubled again.. but now smells sweet with a hint of sour and acidic..totally different smell and it’ has bubbles on top and some on sides, with a little resistance..

[@kayleep3329]

If I’m away longer than 10 days I usually feed my starter twice before baking, removing most of it to a discard jar before repeating feeding it. Next time I may leave it out longer to rise. Is it ok to feed starter night before & leave it on counter for say 12 hrs before using? I often do this. Thanks, 😊

[@GrantBakes]

I think that's perfectly fine, Kaylee. If you leave it out 12 hours or more it may "pass its peak" and start falling down again. It just depends how active the starter is. It's all about adapting :)

[@elevatelivevirtualtraining]

are we suppose to increase the amount of flour and water that we add each time.

[@susannahbeaumont8058]

When you're waiting for it to double in size, do you keep it in the fridge or on the counter?

[@jeffreydeyoung3849]

Should I cut back on the water a few grams if the starter gets frothy bubbles. Or use a stronger flour?

[@karleighdye6403]

Ok so I had my active starter in the fridge and not won't rise after it's been fed 3 times and let out on the counter. I also used a different flour from plain flour to bakers flour then plain again as I thought the flour was the problem. Trying to reset now 🤞🏻

[@GrantBakes]

By “active starter” what do you mean? Has the starter risen to double in size in the past after you’ve fed it?

[@karleighdye6403]

@@GrantBakes yes I had make sour dough with it in the past but now after feeding it doesn't rise

[@deanawells4395]

Can artisan bread flour be enough to refresh a starter back to robust or I must use wheat flour?

[@ISRLisaFeldmann]

You saved my starter. Thank you so much!

[@MottiTadmor]

Thanks for your great vids! quick question - I have an opposite situation - my starter doubles, sometimes triples in size, but recently it doesn't smells "fruity" as it did before and I don't see as many bubbles anymore, it just increases in volume... it feels wrong to me, should I start from scratch?

[@michellep8189]

I am on day 8, as instructed, I have removed 25g starter to a new glass jar and fed it 50g water/bread flour 2 days ago but still no activity. It however smells like sourdough now, and the rancid smell finally gone but any advice on what I am doing wrong? 😢

[@poodlepup1]

hello ... hope that you reply to my message.... i am in the process of first time using a starter method.... i am at day 7 it has been a little frustrating as it has only raised little each day... using 50gms whole wheat flour and water.... what would you suggest I do as i do not have that thick stretch in the starter or the large bubbles... and it definitely smells sour... many thanks.

[@queeniebee4846]

Would this method work on a starter that has yet to establish itself? I have been working on my sourdough over now for two weeks! Lots of bubbles and one good rise, and then back to no rise and bubbles. Very frustrated 😂. I did bake a loaf of bread with that what I’m assuming was a false rise, and it didn’t turn out too bad actually . Obviously not as good as with a mature starter. Help please 😊

[@JackOusley]

Thanks for the advice, mine has been not really growing.

[@sandra906]

I did the starter guide and my starter grew with no issues for day 6 - day 8 but it was very sticky or hard? It has bubbles, double size, etc. How many days after day 6 should I keep feeding it to know it’s ready?

[@pauletteouellette9526]

I had to do a reset and followed your instructions. It's vert thick. Is that normal? Also, I'm assuming your leave it put or the fridge?

[@TheDivera]

Can i add potato water instead of pure water to get better starter rise or drop of honey? First starer i ever made rise like crazy second day and second one 5-th day doesn't really move. I fed twice daily. Same temperature in apartment, same amount of flour and water 😢

[@Fighing4happiness]

So i started with that 25g and did the water and flour and it hasnt doubled but has a thin layer of liquid on top what does that mean? Should i start over?

[@ednacrafts9979]

I’m going to try this . Was wondering what I was doing wrong.

[@edithaguilar80s]

My sourdough starter is 6 days old, and I started it with whole wheat flour and bread flour, and is just not risen I do see a few bubbles but it won't rise, help can I at these point add only white bread flour and water or should I keep doing both flours? Ty

[@candisellis185]

What if the beginner sourdough starter was super active on day 3, but day 4 and 5 fell flat?

[@83syun]

Me too .. how do you fix it? 🥺

[@victoriashibkiy1343]

This happens all the time when you make a new one just stay consistent

[@intothefirecrime6523]

Its called a false start. Just keep discarding and feeding.

[@nickisabelle724]

The first 3 species of bacteria to grow are NOT the sourdough bacteria you want. But they're faster. So they cause the 3-4 day rise. Then the sourdough bacteria starts taking over which is why it slows down for a few days. By day 8+ the correct bacteria will be much more prevalent given the correct environment.

[@thisguy2973]

After 7 days in, my starter STILL has never doubled. Testing my patience….

[@Bebud-z6v]

Hi! I started my sourdough starter 20 days ago and it doubled up on day 3 but ever since it hasn’t risen at all. It smells good, doesn’t separate and has small bubbles. Would this work in my case or should i do something else?

[@kathyogden7208]

So I did the 2525 and 50 g of starter it rose up it doubled do I put it in the fridge now that it worked ,because I’m not gonna bake for another week do I feed it before I put it in the fridge is what I wanna know

[@mjseavers]

I've heard I should feed it 1:1:1 . . .so once I try this method and it begins to double is that the ratio I should follow? For example, if I have 1/4c starter I feed it 1/4c flour and water. I hope this makes sense. I'm a newbie 😊

[@JBC100]

Hi Grant...my situation is, the first culture ( whole wheat 50g+ water 50g) rises double @ 24hrs...then when I use 50g of first day culture +50g flour +50g of water it also double in @ 12 hrs...so can I use this 2nd day culture as " Leavin"? Is it necessary to only use after 7 to 10 days of sub culturing?...

[@sickerton]

Once revived what regiment is recommended to keep it going and when can we transition back to regular flour? I'm using King Arthur's wheat & regular flour

[@GrantBakes]

I keep 25g of starter in the fridge and only take it out to feed it the night before I want to make bread. Once you receive your starter you can start following that same process. Once revived, you can also choose to feed the starter whichever flour you prefer.

[@sickerton]

@@GrantBakes 🙏 Thanks! I appreciate it! I downloaded your PDF! I plan on starting one from fresh w/ your direction. One more question, sorry I see it calls for Rye? Can we substitute w whole wheat? Just need to know If I'm making a grocery trip lol Thanks for all your help in the community.