What is this on sourdough starter?
I have a sourdough starter which I feed roughly once every 2-3 days (throw away 95% of it, refill with water and flour). Sometimes I forget and wait 5 days between feedings, and by that time it often has developed what looks to me like mold on the top. It looks super interesting and I'd really like to know what it is. A picture is below. It's grown like this a few times, and the starter keeps rising and producing good bread, so it's definitely still alive and well.
Best Answer
That is Kahm yeast. Not harmful but can leave a bad taste in bread made with it. Remove 20g from the bottom and continue from there. Possibly from contaminated flour.
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The science: a sourdough starter is a symbiotic community of lactic acid bacteria and wild yeast. Both yeast and bacteria feed on the carbohydrates present in flour when hydrated with water and allowed to ferment.What is the sourdough starter just add magic?
The Starter was a little dough made of yeast and water that was put aside to make the next batch of bread in the Sourd'Au recipe. But with each batch the Starter grew stronger until it was indestructible. This was made by Clint and Folsom Wesson.What is the bacteria in sourdough starter?
In the world of sourdough starters, the two most important microbes are yeasts and lactic acid bacteria.What do blisters on sourdough mean?
Blisters on sourdough are caused by the C02 slowly leaking from the surface of the dough. This occurs during a long, cold ferment. Along with blisters, a long, cold ferment will also increase the depth of flavor in your dough and give you that true sourdough flavor.What does mold look like on a sourdough starter?
When developed on food (like sourdough starter) mold has a discolored and fuzzy appearance. One of the defining factors of mold is the fuzz. You wouldn't consume any part of a moldy strawberry - and the same goes for your sourdough starter. If it shows any signs of mold it needs to be thrown away.Sourdough Starter and Leaven Explained | Are They The Same Thing?
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Answer 2
I don't see anything that has grown there, except for the starter itself. The starter used to be more expanded, its skin dried up in the expanded state, then it fell back down and the skin tore in places and wrinkled up - this is what you are probably picturing as a growth. It also trapped some gas bubbles (the round warts). There also seems to be a layer of hooch formed under the skin. Where the skin is torn, a single untrapped bubble is also visible at roughly (45°, 0.2r).
If you had actually had a mold growing, I would have advised against baking with the starter, because it is unsafe, even if the bread rises.
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