What's that liquid in my starter?

One of the first problems that seems to surface with newcomers to the sourdough world is a brownish liquid on top of, or sometimes as a layer inside, their sourdough starter. What is it, is it dangerous, why did it form and what can one do about it?
See all of the videos, as well as tools and supplies you may need, on the website, www.SourdoughSimpleton.com.
The Sourdough Simpleton is designed for the newcomer to the world of Sourdough baking. I am a novice, myself, and am writing this from a perspective that I found hard to find as I navigated the straits of sourdough, encountering terms and techniques along the way that defied a simple explanation. The videos on KZbin are supported by a website, www.sourdoughsimpleton.com, and by a Facebook Group, bit.ly/FBSourdough

[@hakuji4829]

Very helpful. As a newbie the separation definitely makes it feel like I did something wrong or that it might have died or worse, not be safe to use.

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

Indeed, that was my thought process when I was starting, and that was one of those questions that started me doing these videos and website. Thanks for your comment.

[@reneetmp]

Thank you!!! I knew it wasn't bad to have liquid but I needed to confirm what it meant (it's hungry!!!) Great explanation

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

You are quite welcome. Please do check out the other videos in the series, and subscribe to the channel if you've not already. Visit the website at SourdoughSimpleton.com and Facebook page at bit.ly/FBSourdough

[@nicolemillalafsilva9859]

Thank you so much for your video and for explain the liquid, thanks for your help

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

My pleasure, glad you enjoyed. Please do check out the other videos on the channel, and subscribe if you've not already.

[@seanchach4673]

For some reason it’s starting to develop this hooch not long after I fed it

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

Hooch is formed when there is no longer enough food for the sourdough microbes. What are the quantities you are using for the starter?

[@Raeanna-pp4tm]

me as well...1/4 water and 1/4 flour everyday

[@geneclayton2393]

Thanks, got my starter back on track

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

I am glad that helped you. Check out the other videos, never know what you might find! Thanks for sharing.

[@tmaffeo]

Ty so much this was so helpful and yes I subscribed and looking forward to other videos from staten island ny 🌻🌻🌻

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

Thanks for the response. Do check out the others one the channel, including a very simple recipe for crackers I just posted.

[@PeaceLoveUnityRespect]

Thank you, sir 😊

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

Most welcome!

[@HustleSlow]

This is super helpful, thank you so much! Mine was developing this after less than 24 hours so I think I'm not feeding my starter enough.

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

Glad to be a help. Do check out the other videos in this series, and subscribe if you've not already. And join us on Facebook at bit.ly/FBSourdough and share your thoughts. Thanks for the comment.

[@23flowerpower]

I started my starter today and it’s been maybe 12 hrs and I already have the liquid! I guess I’m not feeding it enough either.

[@cuernavacadave]

I emptied half of my starter last evening and had a cup of it left, added 1C flour and 1C water and it never raised last night and has the hooch just below the surface again. What am I doing wrong?

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

When you measure the flour and water, and essentially everything else in sourdough but let's stay with flour and water, you need to measure it by weight, not by volume. A cup of water weighs about twice as much as a cup of flour. That liquid you see may just be the excess water. So, take 100 grams of your starter, 100 grams of flour and 100 grams of water, mix them in a new container, and see if they rise over a 6 to 10 hour period, depending on room temperature. You can go from there to discard and refeed the growing starter until it is fully active. You can see more about weighing instead of volume at my video on the topic: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6vChKyAmKtnqs0

[@davidsteeves8052]

Thank you, will give it a shot!

[@nedcramdon1306]

A channel on just sourdough. That's pretty unique!👍

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

Thanks, please do check my videos and subscribe to the channel.

[@hermitwatcher8997]

My starter is so watery! It looked good days 1 and 2 and had bubbles but when I fed it today it was drowning in hooch. I drained off the hooch and set on my stop with the oven and and covered with a towel. I’ll feed it before I go to bed. I know there are cultures in there and it smells sweet and a little sour. I don’t have a strong sense of smell since covid and my cancer treatments.

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

Be sure that you are measuring the ingredients by weight, not volume. You might stir up the old starter, take 100 g of it, and mix it with 100 g of flour and 100 g of water. Let it sit at 75°F for about four to six hours, and it should be near doubling in volume. Take a portion of that starter and repeat the process at least twice. What you should have then is an active starter that you can use to bake. Let me hear your results.

[@MerouaneHdd]

and i thought i added too much water for day 1. it was just 50g of both but i guess ill need to add more flour next time. thanks for the help!!

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

When I first saw that layer I was puzzled as well, and asked someone I know that was making sourdough, who did not know what it was, either. It forms when your starter is hungry, so feed it a bit more and more often, and you should be fine. Having said that, a little hooch can just be stirred into the starter, and enhances the sour flavor of the final product. Thanks for contacting me, please do subscribe to this channel, and check out the Facebook site at bit.ly/FBSourdough and the website at www.sourdoughsimpleton.com

[@thomasgronek6469]

The hooch is converted to acetic acid by acetobacter. That is what gives the sour flavor to the sourdough. Thanks for the video.

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

@Thomas Gronek - thanks for the comments. Yes, that certainly is one of the factors that helps give sourdough its unique flavor. I hope you enjoy the others in the series, and have subscribed as well.

[@thomasgronek6469]

@@SourdoughSimpleton yes. I've done so, thanks again.

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

@@thomasgronek6469 Thanks.

[@motog4-75]

Can the hooch turn in to a vinegar? I have been bottling my hooch up for a long time. Got approx 3 - 4 litres. Was thinking of distilling it. As an experiment. Hadn't looked in on them for months. Left them a the back of a cupboard. So checked on them today & they all smell, look & taste like a malt vinegar . What are your thoughts?

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

Well, hooch does have the elements of vinegar, as well as alcohol. The name "hooch" refers to early distillations of sourdough waste liquid into an alcoholic beverage, called "hooch" after a Native American term.

[@shobarbaba]

Hello! there’s a clear liquid layer at the bottom of my starter, what does it mean?

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

While hooch can sink to the bottom, that is unusual. If it is clear, and there is no "off" smell of the starter, you could try to stir it together, feed the starter, and see how it goes. I have had a layer of hooch in the middle of my starter, so, I suppose, anything could happen. If there is any doubt, such as with bacterial contamination, would likely scrap it and start over.

[@kristenskillen389]

My starter lives on my counter 24/7

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

If I used it more often, and if my wife did not like a clean counter, might have it there as well!

[@gerald3670]

What if my hooch is on the bottom?

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

You know, I've seen a hooch layer in the middle of the starter, but never at the bottom. It should rise to the top. If you are using equal quantities by weight of flour and water, and feeding on a regular basis, you likely won't have much hooch. If it sits for a while, hooch can develop, and, I guess if it can be in the middle it could be at the bottom!

[@alannatp]

Same issue.

[@iraa4743]

does the jar have to be glass?

[@MarcLeavey]

Not at all. People also commonly use ceramic or pottery or plastic. One avoids metal due to the reactivity with components of the starter.

[@iraa4743]

@@MarcLeavey oh thank you I'll be using regular plastic jar

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

@IRAA - You might enjoy the video I posted last week addressing this question.

[@valeenoi2284]

Well, after 4 days, my starter is not rising, it's not being doughy texture... I am about to just give up.

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

Valeen 78 - before you give up, check out my newer video, "Honey, I Killed The Starter" at kzbin.info/www/bejne/p6rWe4h3hNSsfJI - Pop over to the Facebook page, bit.ly/FBSourdough and post what you are doing, and will see if there are steps you can take to get back in business. And, if you've not yet subscribed to this KZbin channel, that would be appreciated as well! Thanks for your comments.

[@valeenoi2284]

@@SourdoughSimpleton I think in your latest video, you are talking about a "dormant" starter which used to thrive, and trying to revive it. I haven't even gotten to the first batch yet. As I said, after 4 days, mine is very watery and not doughy like almost every other video I have watched. I'm going to discard almost all of them tomorrow morning, and start with 50 gr starter, which has been bad, and do 50 gr/50 gr flour/water and build up again, watching it if it rise at all. Right now, the allegedly bad batch produces CO2 but no rising. It's been doing this for 4 days although on the second day it was doing somewhat better. I feel like my place, which is humid, is causing all these projects to fail as I haven't had much success with my pizza doughs either.

[@MarcLeavey]

@@valeenoi2284 Yes, room temperature and humidity are factors. Dropping back to a 1:1:1 mix should work. Keep us all posted with your progress.

[@kellyvb9881]

Well if you followed his advice and poured out the liquid that was on top SHAME on you. DONT DO THAT!

[@MarcLeavey]

@@kellyvb9881 Again, it clearly depends on the amount of hooch and the intended bake. Once the starter is revived and active, there will be no hooch at all.

[@peacefulpear8]

What happens if you just feed it and stir it in with the liquid on top? 😬 (w/o discarding)

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

Many do stir in the hooch, it gives more of the sour taste characteristic of sourdough. It is really a matter of personal preference and what is right for the recipe

[@peacefulpear8]

@@SourdoughSimpleton oh thank goodness. I thought I might have ruined something. Its my first time trying any of this and the starter was $14.00. I know it may not seem like much to some for me to spend money on such a thing is very rare and I hope I don't need to on any regular basis.

[@soybeandud4732]

I did the same with a $5 starter and found out you can make your own starter free (almost), with just flour & water, no need for a starter. Oh well, next time.

[@aliyahlaabiddesir6355]

The more it's hungry the more it stinks?😫 because right now it smells deadly.

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

Hooch is a byproduct of the sourdough yeast metabolism, and it nominally contains alcohols. It can smell like alcohol, or even acetone - like nail polish remover. When it's been a while since the last feeding, the smell can be quite pungent. Now, if it smells like rotten eggs, you may be in trouble!

[@angelahart2064]

It's hooch It's like alcohol And you haven't been feeding yet so it developed Hooch

[@SourdoughSimpleton]

Yup, that's pretty much was the video describes. But people still ask about it when starting out in sourdough baking.

[@kellyvb9881]

If you don't know what the liquid is you have no business trying to make this, ALSO, NEVER, NEVER dump out the liquid. It's an IMPORTANT part of the starter. ALWAYS mix it back in. This guy is very misinformed on starter.

[@MarcLeavey]

Never say never, and never say always. You certainly can stir the hooch back in, but if there is a lot of it, and you don't want to emphasize the sourness, pour some off. It really depends on what you are trying to make. I have seen an inch of hooch accumulate on a neglected starter, and that is just too much for my taste for a given bake. Hooch is a byproduct of the starter, not integral to it, and is entirely absent from an active starter. Thanks for your comment.

[@terrisserose]

Sir, your comment is wild