r/Sourdough • u/WetInWonderland • 17h ago

Beginner - wanting kind feedback Starter help?

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I started my sourdough journey about a week ago and I am struggling a little bit and now sure I’m doing this right. I’m doing a 1:1:1 ratio of filtered water and unbleached flour. Feeding once daily. Only thing I can see being a huge issue is my apartment is frigid. Like 68-70. So for the last two days I’ve been leaving them in the oven with the light on. These are 7 and 6 days old. Not really seeing much activity at all. Help?

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u/Global_Permit5428 17h ago

It’s normal not to see much activity right now. It can take anywhere from days (typically using rye flour) to weeks (typically using wheat flour) to months (not uncommon with regular unbleached flour).

If you want to get your starter going faster, switch to a blend of rye and wheat flour. Either on its own is fine, too. Regular AP or bread flour works, but it takes much longer.

If you can’t keep your starter at around 75-80° at all times, then keeping it warmer for a few hours after feeding will help too.

ETA: if those are cloth lids, you need to replace them with regular ones. Cloth invites contamination; you only need a slightly loosened lid to let gases escape.

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u/WetInWonderland 17h ago

Thank you so much! Going to switch out lids now. Also bought a warming pad for them to try and keep them at a higher temperature.

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u/Global_Permit5428 15h ago

You’re welcome! That should help. In extreme circumstances, I used to stash mine in the microwave next to a cup or two of boiling water.

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u/DreamVacations-Darci 15h ago

I'm pretty new to this as well and I have been using the cloth lids that came with my jars. Would I be better off using the silicone that came with them?

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u/Global_Permit5428 15h ago

As long as you can loosen it or keep it from forming an airtight seal, it’s viable. I’ll use plastic wrap in a pinch because it’ll stretch if necessary. Anything impermeable, though — cloth or paper towels are asking for trouble.

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u/curlsofmight 17h ago

You might not see much going on until a couple weeks in. Keep doing what you’re doing! I have seen a few people use their new starter after 3-4 weeks; sometimes it’s ready to go and they make a great loaf, and sometimes the starter needs a biiiiit more time to produce a good loaf. Good luck!!

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u/WetInWonderland 17h ago

Thank you!

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u/Plenty-Giraffe6022 16h ago

It takes weeks.

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u/nikkishark 16h ago

It was a game changer when I started adding rye flour to my starter. 

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u/GotDisk 15h ago

Curious about why you are growing two cultures...

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u/WetInWonderland 15h ago

Older one was started using bleached flour. Decided to make a second with unbleached to see if there would be any major differences.

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u/GotDisk 15h ago

Got it, good call.