The usual causes
- It is too cold. Wild yeast loves warmth. Below about 20 °C everything slows down a lot. Move the jar to a warmer spot in the kitchen.
- It is still very young. In the first days little happens, or it smells odd. That quiet phase is normal and not a sign of failure.
- The flour is the wrong one. Wholegrain rye or whole wheat usually gets a young culture going faster than refined white flour.
- The water holds it back. Very hot or strongly chlorinated tap water can slow a young starter. Lukewarm water is the safe choice.
- Feeding is irregular. A starter needs fresh food in a steady rhythm to stay active. Long gaps make it sluggish.
- You are checking too early. Every kitchen, flour and season sets a different pace.
How to check what is going on
- Mark the level. Put a rubber band or tape on the jar at the starting level. A rise is only a rise if you can see it against a mark.
- Look at the glass from the side. Bubbles inside the mixture count, even if the top does not move yet.
- Feel the jar. If it is cool to the touch, it is probably too cold for the yeast.
Change one thing at a time. Warmer spot first, then flour, then rhythm. If you change everything at once you will not know what helped.
When to throw it out
Pink or orange streaks and fuzzy mold are the real emergencies. In the first days a stinging, ammonia-like smell is also a reason to start over. Throw the starter out, clean the jar thoroughly and begin again. Everything else, like liquid on top, a slightly sour smell or a quiet day, is fixable and usually normal.
The feeding rhythm, the kick-start trick and a troubleshooting table that matches every symptom to its fix are in the Starter Kit. The Starter Colleague app tells you what to do each day.
Get the Starter Kit — €16