Hey Juice,

If you mention "suddenly", it may need a closer look.

Sourdough does not change "suddenly" and not without a reason which
often remains mysterious.

All essential information you give is:

- starter was ok
- starter no longer ok
- starter shows hooch

That's normal behavior for a mistreated starter. You probably insulted
it and now it shows you the hooch (finger in starterland).

To give some more information could enlighten the issue which is
probably what you are looking for.

- where and how do you keep your starter
- at what temperature do you keep your starter
- what kind of a starter (or flour you use) is it
- how much do you feed it - ratios of flour in starter to flour addition
- what are the feeding intervals

If you disclose more information along those lines, the reason for the
insult can probably be found.

And note, it is probably not a good idea to insult your starter. They
can take revenge at the most unpleasant situations.

Samartha


ojuice wrote:
> So I got my sourdough starter going about a month ago, and things were
> going very well until this past Monday. Suddenly the starter no longer
> rises after feedings and doesn't have a delicious and yeasty smell.
> Instead it's smelling like pancake batter (nothing, basically), and
> just barely gets a few bubbles after a day. However, this morning when
> I woke up and checked on it, there was a thin layer of hooch on top.
> Does anyone know what's going on with it? Do you think I need to start
> over?
>
> thanks,
> ojuice
>
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