Oh Doug, 'almost foul smelling', did that not give you a clue? You
haven't activated your starter yet. That foul smell is leuconostoc
contamination. If you read the instructions it explains you need to
look out for certain signs.

The Bahrain starter is more sour when treated exactly the same as
other starters BUT its all relative and you can make wonderful not
sour at all bread with the Bahrain starter.

Refresh that starter until it smells sweet enough to eat. If you gag
when you sniff it it's not ready.

Jim


On 12 May, 03:33, wrote:
This starter was advertised as one of their most sour, and boy does it
behave differently than Carl's starter. For one thing, the starter
odor is really different...almost foul smelling. The sponge didn't
seem as vigorous as that created with Carl's starter, but the dough
rose equally fast. After mixing the same amount of King Arthur flour,
water and starter, and mixing, the dough was more sticky than with
Carl's. After rising, the dough was quite sticky and seemed to not
hold it's shape when baked, resulting in a flatter loaf. The taste and
texture was different...not as sour as expected and a very nice and
regular bubble structure in the bread.

This trial was done with only one rising, after activating the starter
yesterday. It will be interesting to try making a stiffer dough, with
multiple risings and a more mature starter. So many variables, and so
little time....

Doug