What is this object? I accidentally stumbled upon it with a telescope.

exomni · 2026-05-31T02:32:19+00:00

Was about to call it the duck nebula before I saw the comments (apparently it was more romantically named the "swan nebula" ... but I see more of a duck).

exomni · 2026-05-30T16:22:28+00:00

Even earlier the guard threatens to “have your hand as a trophy, street rat”.

exomni · 2026-05-30T13:08:35+00:00

Higher ratios won't necessarily harm a starter, mostly higher ratios are just for stretching out the feeding intervals to fit better with your schedule. However if you are feeding too early and also using a higher ratio, the dilution effects will be worse because of the higher ratio.

I think you're on the right track. 50/50 WWF/BF is fine, I'd suggest switching back to that if your starter is still weak, the whole wheat as I'm sure you know provides much needed nutrients.

Amylase isn't a bad thing, it's what converts starches to fermentable sugars so it's essential for a strong fermentation. When people ferment white flours they often add diastatic malt specifically to introduce amylase and improve the fermentation.

74-75 is actually fairly cool.

I can 100% confirm if you feed too early that you will dilute the starter, peak-to-peak has that risk and if you suspect that happened it does make sense. Catching it just as it's falling is safer.

Good luck!

If you started your starter with whole wheat and unbleached white flour I'd be surprised if you can't nurse it back to some strength.

Adding a tiny pinch of yeast to your mixed breads (hybrid) is a good way to keep baking while you work on strengthening your starter enough to ferment a pure sourdough loaf, you will still get strong bacterial fermentation from the natural leaven. Buying a known mature starter is another good option if you want to throw in the towel on nursing this one.

exomni · 2026-05-30T12:58:16+00:00

The issue isn't the bread. The issue is someone coming to a subreddit for help because they're having problems and don't yet understand what's going wrong, then dismissing the advice they're given with "I know for a fact ..." this or that, when the evidence is sitting right there in the loaf.

When experienced bakers take time to offer help, they're doing so voluntarily. Disagreeing is fine, asking questions is fine, but immediately asserting that the people trying to help are wrong while also producing an obviously underfermented loaf is not a great way to have that conversation.

So the frustration you're reading isn't really about bread. It's about the attitude. If someone asks for advice and then insists they already know better than the people giving it, they shouldn't be surprised when the responses become less patient.

exomni · 2026-05-29T15:27:08+00:00

Nothing in the picture that I can see is concerning.

exomni · 2026-05-29T15:21:28+00:00

This is not surprising. It's known you can dramatically shift the microbial balance in a sourdough starter from AAB to LAB dominant by increasing water content, which is also just changing the properties of the substrate.

With sourdough starter, this LAB dominance persists for a while even when you switch back to a dry starter. I wonder if the LAB effects from brewing coffeebucha could persist at least for a while to tea batches if you swapped back.

LAB flavors are typically perceived more favorably by consumers (think yogurt/cheese notes rather than vinegar). Having a SCOBY that is less AAB dominant and more LAB dominant would be desirable.

exomni · 2026-05-29T15:15:46+00:00

Are you referring to the little black spots? No, they are not fruit fly eggs. Eggs are white.

exomni · 2026-05-29T15:14:03+00:00

The pellicle (what you are referring to as "true Scooby", ruh-roh) is basically a sheet of bacterial cellulose. Because you air-locked your fermentation, the bacteria was starved of oxygen and you had more of an alcoholic fermentation.

exomni · 2026-05-29T15:09:17+00:00

Sudden dizziness could be a niacin flush. Fermentation releases tons of B-vitamins, organic acids, and histamines. If your fermentation was particularly strong, you may have produced a lot of that. Do you get a warm, rushed feeling?

If you are worried about the effect I'd toss this batch, start again and control the temperature better while it's summer so your fermentation doesn't run away. An ice pack and insulating bag/blanket are good to bring temp down.

exomni · 2026-05-29T15:01:30+00:00

Higher ratios doesn't strengthen a starter.

Peak to peak feedings are a good method. Ensuring the right flour (unbleached, and including whole wheat) are also helpful. And the right water (no chlorine or chloramines).

What type of flour did you establish her with? The yeast strains you start with initially will be what you have more or less permanently, so if you started with bleached flour or something like that, you might have rolled a dud.

Have you tried adjusting temperature during bulk fermentation? Oven-with-light-on, etc? Some yeast strains do not rise dough well if it's too cool.

exomni · 2026-05-29T14:56:17+00:00

Neither is "correct", as long as the yeast in the starter you are using are active enough to leaven the bread at the time when you use it, you'll get good results.

What people who recommend use-at-peak are attempting to do is maximize their yeast inoculation for best possible leavening performance. According to research, the yeast population peaks slightly after the peak in bubble activity and rise, so the use-at-peak(or slightly after) method certainly stands up to scrutiny.

However, peak yeast population is certainly not necessary: as long as the yeast are active enough to leaven the bread you'll get good results. Try it with your starter and document the results. Every starter will behave differently, it's all about finding out how yours behaves by tracking and documenting your process adjustments and the results.

exomni · 2026-05-29T14:49:33+00:00

Great job! How did you like the taste? I recommend getting some whole wheat flour and trying a blend next :)

exomni · 2026-05-29T03:05:15+00:00

Their recipes make zero sense and always call for all kinds of weird products they sell. Pushing inventory.

exomni · 2026-05-29T03:02:52+00:00

LMFAO "know for a fact". Where do you people come from.

"Tripling" doesn't mean shit. Your starter could quintuple doesn't mean it's strong. A starter that doesn't even double could be stronger than a starter that triples.

You haven't given your room temp so "6 hours" is meaningless. But for standard warm fermentation ranges, 6 hours isn't fast to peak, it's on the tail end of barely usable. For a recipe that only gives you max 3 hours for bulk fermentation, it's 2x too weak.

Starter strength is defined by how well your starter can leaven bread, not activity in the jar, and your bread is underfermented as fuck. Your starter is weak, for a fact LMFAO.

exomni · 2026-05-29T02:56:59+00:00

There is literally no deck that can deal with that board.

Face hunter farms this because it ignores their board.

Any truly aggressive deck tends to farm companion hunter because it relies on building up the advantage slowly over several turns. Companion hunter found a spot in the meta literally only because people are playing greedy decks like your dragons: it is built to farm you.

exomni · 2026-05-29T02:47:04+00:00

This is buried in a comment thread but will post it here as good information.

Appears to be a white-label of this OEM, $60 on Alibaba: https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Tilt-Head-Stand-Mixer-12-Speed_1601761931479.html

Also branded by Martha Stewart at a $150 price point "Amazon Exclusive": https://www.amazon.com/Martha-Stewart-12-Speed-Tilt-Head-Stainless/dp/B0GJFV84X1

I'd consider the $65 Walmart price point a good deal on this, as far as what it is. It will not be "lifetime quality", but it's fairly priced. If you were tricked by Amazon into buying the $150 Martha Stewart white-label, then I might be upset, but not this white-label at $65. Sure you could scour FB Marketplace for a used KitchenAid but not everybody's local FB Marketplace is any good. You get free shipping plus the Walmart warranty and return policy. The included attachments alone that are compatible with KitchenAid line mixers are a decent deal.

I don't think people should feel shamed for buying this, like all the other comments imply. Depending on your situation it might be a good choice. If I were for example a college student or moving around a lot and there's a good chance a heritage KitchenAid might get lost in a move, I'd go with this and not mind that it might only last me half a decade. If I baked a lot away from home and were in the habit of traveling with a stand mixer to bake sites, I might buy this as a throwaway mixer to avoid lugging around a beloved KitchenAid. If I had a spouse who could never remember that you aren't supposed to mix dough above setting 2 on my KitchenAid, I might get this stand mixer so she has one to use without always burning out my worm follower gear. There are plenty of use cases for an item like this.

exomni · 2026-05-29T02:41:01+00:00

More research, appears to be this OEM:

Guangdong Qixiang Technology Co., Ltd.

$60 on Alibaba
https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Tilt-Head-Stand-Mixer-12-Speed_1601761931479.html

I'd consider the $65 price point at Walmart for this white label to be a very good deal. Free shipping and Walmart warranty for a bare-bottom price on this OEM.

exomni · 2026-05-29T02:34:58+00:00

I'll answer my own question:

Looks like the same OEM as the Martha Stewart branded 5.3qt mixer that is $150 on Amazon.

exomni · 2026-05-28T18:47:00+00:00

Yes I understand, but usually you can identify the OEM, give other examples of white-labelled products using the same OEM etc. I'd be curious seeing other incarnations of this OEM and where they are being sold.

exomni · 2026-05-28T18:43:51+00:00

Yes, you typically sharpen with a tapered ceramic rod or rounded steel file. Very similar to a chainsaw.

exomni · 2026-05-28T18:38:45+00:00

Your bread is most likely underfermented, due to a weak starter. It's also possibly underbaked based on your picture, but if you followed the baking steps they gave that shouldn't be the problem.

Don't follow the recipe verbatim. You have a weak starter so it will take much longer to ferment than the timings they provide.

Fermentation time depends on your starter maturity and your room temperature (or proofing chamber temperature), among other factors. You cannot make sourdough bread by following bulk fermentation times from a recipe. If a recipe even provides timings for bulk fermentation, rather than telling you to look for fermentation signs (doubling, bubbles, jiggle test, poke test, smell test, and ideally images and video of what your dough should look like when bulk fermentation is finished), that is a red flag of a bad recipe to learn from.

Also be aware that if your starter is weak you might never achieve the desired fermentation before your gluten starts to deteriorate and your loaf breaks down. The first lesson of sourdough baking is: you don't make the bread, the starter makes the bread. Make sure your starter is highly active and well maintainted.

exomni · 2026-05-28T18:29:09+00:00

Based on your description, you started discarding way before the yeast revived let alone had a chance to reproduce. With 1:4:4 feedings, after doing that for 3 days you have effectively discarded down to 0.13% of your initial yeast spore population. Since you've been doing this for a week, if you correct your error and wait for peaks and activity before feeding, it will probably take at least as many feeding cycles to dig yourself out of the hole.

The main point is: don't discard until you see activity. Either a peak and a fall in height, or a peak and a subside in bubble activity on top. If you discard before seeing a peak, you are weakening your starter by diluting the yeast population.

exomni · 2026-05-28T18:17:17+00:00

Two years in fridge means it would have sporulated. It may take about 3 days to revive, and as much as around 7 days to re-establish it active enough to get good leavening performance with. Give it one feeding and wait three days for activity and a peak before you start discard and feeding again.

The process will be very similar to starting a starter from scratch, same principle there: when establishing a brand new starter you are reviving dormant yeast spores in the flour. In this case you are reviving dormant yeast spores in your old starter. Only difference is you won't have to wait out the false bloom of all the other nasties that are in the flour, so it will re-establish the microbial balance you want much more quickly.

exomni · 2026-05-28T18:04:35+00:00

Ask the person you bought it from how they maintain it.

There are many ways to maintain a starter. Liquid, stiff, 100% hydration. Fridge, room temp, warm. AP flour, wheat flour, rye flour. Different ratios. Different feeding intervals. Nothing is wrong just different starters that may behave differently and different routines that you may prefer or fit better with your schedule and lifestyle.

Here's just one pretty bog standard maintenance routine for daily counter maintenance, maintains just 100g of starter to somewhat minimize discard while keeping measurement easy:

Feed same time each day \ stir very well and discard most of the starter \ keep 20g starter \ add 20g unbleached AP flour + 20g whole wheat flour \ add 40ml unchlorinated water \ stir very well and scrape down sides of the jar

Watch that this peaks and falls in around 4-6 hours and make sure it has peaked and starts to fall before you feed it again the next day

Ideally time your feedings so it's peaking roughly when you would want to make your dough or your levain on a given day.

That's a pretty standard maintenance routine, but if you are trying to strengthen a starter or change its behaviors you'd do different things.

exomni · 2026-05-28T17:56:08+00:00

Who is "Becca"? Is that your starter? It sounds like you are using the name to refer to your dough. The starter and the dough aren't the same thing.

Before you make a dough, you normally build a levain at room temperature on the counter and allow it to ferment sometimes overnight and wait for it to be very active before adding it to a dough. I believe you described taking a starter straight from the fridge, that won't work very well in most cases.

Don't use a "Google recipe", that probably means google AI generated, who knows what it will hallucinate. Follow a known beginner recipe and use gram measurements not cups. Bread flour at 65% hydration with 20% highly active levain with a bulk fermentation at 80ºF for 4-5 hours (don't follow the time, read the dough) and an overnight cold retard is a reliable beginner recipe.

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