TROUBLESHOOTING: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF MY STARTER . . .

. . . IS STILL COMPLETELY SOFT AND HASN’T REALLY STARTED TO BUBBLE, EVEN AFTER A FEW DAYS?

Sometimes a starter will grow more slowly than usual; it seems tired and doesn't produce many bubbles. This could be the result of a multitude of factors, such as the quality of the flour used to maintain it. Before deciding to throw out the starter, or to begin a new one, you can try to “revive it.” Here are a few ways to do that:

• If you have been feeding your starter only white flour, try refreshing it using organic rye flour, ideally type T150 or T170. Add a few drops of honey.
• For a small portion of the water that you use to refresh the starter, substitute fermented fruit water (see page 42).
• If the temperature is cool, try putting the starter in a warm place after you have refreshed it.

. . . PRODUCES AN UNPLEASANT SMELL OR BECOMES MOLDY?

Over the days, weeks, and months of using a starter, you end up developing the ability to detect the health of the starter by its smell alone. The way it smells when it is healthy is often similar to the smell of yogurt. It is a pleasant, agreeable, milky, and almost fruity smell. But it can happen that one's starter starts to give off a very disagreeable odor!

A starter that smells bad or, worse, has developed moldy spots will end up in the garbage; it is important not to take a risk, so this is a time to establish a new starter and to make sure to take very good care of it this time around!

. . . DEVELOPS A CRUST ON THE SURFACE?

When you are first developing your starter, it is stored in a jar, and you need to cover the jar, not leave it open. You don't have to go as far as sealing the jar. You just need to put a lid or a small saucer on top of it to protect it and keep it from developing a crust.

If, however, a crust does form, all you have to do is to integrate it into the starter the next time you refresh it, starting by dissolving it in the water that you use to feed the starter. Do not forget to cover your container.

. . . HAS SEPARATED INTO TWO PARTS?

When a starter is stored in the refrigerator for a longish time, you will sometimes observe a separation in the jar, with dough on the bottom and water, sometimes dark-colored, on top. This most often happens when the starter has been stored for too long without being fed.

There is no need to throw away the water that is floating on top; all you have to do is mix the whole thing together in the jar with a spoon and then quickly refresh the starter!

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF MY DOUGH . . .

. . . DOESN’T RISE?

During the fermentation stages, it can happen that you will be disappointed because you don't see many signs of the fermentation you are looking for. This can result, most often, from a starter that is too sluggish or room temperatures that are too low.

• Always make sure that your starter is active enough when you are using it to make bread. It is important to be patient and not to use a starter in the first days of its development, even if it seems to be very active. A wild yeast starter is the product of a balance of microorganisms, and that balance cannot be attained until several days have gone by. Thus, it is essential to respect this process.
• Before starting to make bread dough, check the state of your starter by testing it. The flotation test explained on page 40 will allow you to make sure that it is active enough and ready to form the basis of bread dough.
• During the winter, room temperatures can be very low, which will slow down the fermentation of your starter. To address this issue, put your dough in a warm place, for instance near a radiator.
• The rising times shown in the recipes are merely meant as a guide. The best way to produce successful wild yeast bread is to respect the time it needs for rising. This time is unique to each starter, even if we can indicate rough averages. If it seems as though the dough is not rising enough, it is better to prolong the rising stages than to rush things and be disappointed in the end.

. . . IS TOO SOFT AND STICKY?

A dough that is too soft and too wet is often hard to handle, especially when you are just starting out.

• Never pour in all the water at once right from the start, especially if you have not yet mastered the handling of your flour and haven't learned all its qualities. There is no point in over- hydrating a dough if you are then going to end up with a mass that is impossible to shape. It is important to start gradually and to hydrate the dough a little bit at a time so that you can adjust the quantity of water as needed as you go along. In this way, you can obtain a dough that you can easily work with.
• Try to salvage the dough by adding in extra folds. This might help a little in giving the dough more stability.
• Use a pastry cutter to handle the dough, and avoid, as far as possible, adding too much flour while you are shaping the dough.
• Before you put the dough in the oven, after letting it rise at room temperature, put the pan into the fridge for a few minutes so that you can then score the loaf more easily and the dough will not sag too much during baking.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF MY BREAD . . .

. . . IS TOO DENSE?

When you take the bread out of the oven, it looks good, but when you slice it, you find that the crumb is too dense and heavy. This could be the result of a starter that was not active enough, a dough that wasn't hydrated enough, or not enough rising time.

• Was the starter active enough? Did it pass the flotation test?
• Hydrate the dough more thoroughly the next time, but go gently; you don't have to flood your flour to get an airy crumb.
• Respect the rising times. As noted above, every starter is unique and has its own rising speed!

. . . IS TOO ACIDIC?

The bread is pretty to look at, but when you taste it, it's very acidic. This has to do with a starter that was too acidic, which could be due to storage in the fridge or to the use of a firm starter, which can lead to the development of too much acetic acid.

• Use a liquid starter, in other words, one that is hydrated with equal proportions of flour and water. Using a firm starter, when you thought you were using a liquid starter, could sometimes come from having fed the starter using volumes rather than weights. It is important to always weigh your ingredients to make sure you keep the proportions the way they should be.
• Use a starter that you refreshed several hours before making the dough, and then store it in a warm spot and not in the refrigerator.

. . . PRODUCES A STICKY AND UNDERCOOKED CRUMB?

When you cut it open, the bread leaves traces of dough on the knife and the crumb is sticky or seems undercooked.

• Respect the necessary rising and baking times. Personally, I prefer a well-browned bread to one that is undercooked, with a pale crust and a doughy, sticky crumb, which is unpleasant to eat, especially if it contains a lot of rye.
• Let the bread cool and stand after baking; don't slice into it right after you take it out of the oven.