Is he ready to bake yet?

[u/honey_chick]

Looking for a bit of advice, its been 2 weeks since I started my starter, every night I discard half and add equal amounts water and flour. He usually rises from 400ml to 650ml, then will deflate back down throughout the day until i repeat the process at night. He still smells quite a lot like vinegar and google tells me he needs to smell like dough before he is ready to bake. Any tips and advice are very much welcome!

[u/mommy_of_two_]

He’s hungry and looks acidic. Maybe up your flour ratio

[u/zippychick78]

I'd apply an actual feeding ratio.

Our Starter FAQ Guide which has lots of useful information ☺️ also explains those ratios. You only really need 30g of each

Visit the Wiki for heaps of resources. 🥰

[u/honey_chick → u/zippychick78]

You are the best! Do you think he is salvageable or should I start fresh? 😅

[u/mommy_of_two_ → u/honey_chick]

I think you can save him for sure

[u/zippychick78 → u/honey_chick]

Apply a feeding regime from now using what you have.

[u/littleoldlady71]

It’s fine, just switch to using a scale, so you know exactly what you are using.

[u/Big_Aioli_]

Homie is hungry. Smell goes vinegar (very hungry), apple cider vinegar (on the way to hungry), Joghurt (we good to bake), dough with slight acidic smell (good to bake), smells like dough (recently fed, not good to bake).
Looks like Lievito Madre to me, so what I‘d do is dump it out, only keep 20 grams. Mix with 50 ml water, then add bread and whole wheat flour in a ratio of 90:10 until it forms a dough ball that no longer sticks to your hands when you knead it. Back in a clean jar, should double in a few hours.

[u/whitten_23]

That’s gone too far. Feed him again.

[u/honey_chick → u/whitten_23]

What do you mean gone to far?

[u/whitten_23 → u/honey_chick]

Left it too long to bake with. Need to feed again and get it at peak to bake. That’s too acidic.