u/Mental_Buffalo_2302

does this look okay to use? it’s been in the fridge for about a week and a half (I have added to it a few times). I have no idea why, but last time I put discard in there, I decided to give it a little mix haha

it has a strong odor, but I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily a bad odor, just strong. there’s a little bit of liquid (hooch?) on the bottom which is what made me question it. I think me stirring it has me questioning it even more now 😅😂

edit to add: I am not looking to activate it for baking, was just going to take some out and let it come to room temp to use in discard recipes. :)

how do these look?! I picked up a starter from a bakery (I know, I cheated) on Thursday. I fed her a couple times. them Friday night (around 530pm) I mixed 200 grams of starter, 700 grams microwaved water, 1,000 grams of flour, and 20 grams salt. let sit for 30 mins then did 4 sets of stretch and folds. popped it in the fridge overnight because I was worried about over fermenting and wasn’t staying up to let it ferment on the counter for 4 hours.

Saturday morning I took it out of the fridge and let sit on the counter for a couple of hours (think I maybe shouldn’t have done that). I then separated into two loaves, folded, rolled and did push & pulls. then I decided since it’s my first time I might as well try a jalapeño cheddar loaf 😆 so I incorporated those in to one of the dough balls. I let them rest for 20 minutes then did a few more sets of push and pulls. put the regular loaf into the fridge for 2/3 hours then baked. jalapeño cheddar loaf was in fridge overnight then I baked this morning. I let the regular loaf cool on the rack for a few hours then the jalapeño one 2hrs (I got too excited and wanted to check it out).

of course I am not the best with feeding ratios currently so I have a ton of discard. decided yesterday morning I might as well make it even more crazy for myself and make some sourdough bagels hahaha then this morning decided while my jalapeño cheddar loaf was baking I should get some sourdough chocolate chip banana bread going..🤣

let me know what you guys think! they were a little more dense than I prefer but overall I think amazing for my first time ever?! jalapeño cheddar I think I should have dried that stuff out before incorporating because it is a tiny bit “wet” inside but still tasty.

I can’t wait to keep experimenting! ☺️