These will help to put your mind to rest. I don't think it had anything to do with bleached flour. What starter should not smell like is human gas—that’s a sign there could be bad bacteria in there. Sounds like you are very lucky to have a very active starter first off. I wasn't home wednesday and thursday and I left my starter (which i had just fed) on the counter (cause I didn't know I wouldn't be home). Feed it over two days to revive the starter, especially if you store the starter in the freezer or refrigerator. Fresh, fruity, and yeasty aromas will vary from starter to starter. I've been mixing in water and "strong bread flour" around a 1:1 ratio (100g of each, slightly more water to make the mixture wetter). Or have I created a death dough to kill us all? I love all those smells (except the cheesy-that is very unpleasant to me). So, what does that even mean? 8 years ago. Ask Question Asked 1 year, 8 months ago. I don’t measure the pH of my starter though, so I can’t speak to what that number is telling you, and I’m not sure that measuring pH is necessary. I have my starter going now, it is stil young, but has a pleasent smell of mild cheese, or what I expected sour dough to smell like. When I came home, it was still a little bubbly but when I smelled it, it smelled like warm funky garbage. Starter can smell anything from yeasty/beery to sweet,overripe fruit to almost a dirty sock smell (but NOT cheesy-that is a different bacteria infesting the starter).

Active 1 year, 8 months ago. My starter smells like warm garbage! Vinegar Smell from Sourdough Starter. My first try at sourdough starter ended up like yours after a few days, so I tossed it. First time attempting to make a sourdough starter without inoculation, and it smells like plastic, with perhaps a slight hint of gasoline.

My starter smells like warm garbage!

Hopefully you have read the beginners blogs by SourDom that you can acces from the right hand panel of the Home Page on this site.

Keep fresh-smelling and pale sourdough starter even if it has not bubbled. From what I’ve read, sourdough starter should be at about a 5-5.5pH. Sometimes it smells like fingernail polish,sometimes like vinegar,sometimes it is so sharp it burns your nose when you sniff it. Keep in mind, when troubleshooting your sourdough starter, ... At some point your starter will smell like this. I love all those smells (except the cheesy-that is very unpleasant to me). Viewed 16k times 3. Smell your sourdough starter before each use.

According to the recipe, by day 3 or 4 it should smell "sweet, a bit like cider". My question is about how long it takes to form bubbles after I mix in fresh flour and water. I ended up getting organic flour and bottled water, and after a week it sprung to life. Mine smells like putrid vomit.