Day 1: evening - rye flour, honey and water
close up Day 1: evening
Day 2: morning - portion of above (composted extra), rye flour, and water
close up Day 2: morning
Day 2: evening - portion of above (composted the rest), unbleached all-purpose flour, and water, aka feeding
Day 3: morning - there are bubbles!!
Close up of Day 3 morning bubbles
Day 3: morning - after feeding
before feeding Day 3: evening - more bubbles!
Day 3: evening - flour and water before stirring
Day 4: morning - more bubbles!!
Day 4: morning - and stretchy!!
Day 4: morning - after feeding
Day 4: late evening final buildup - (There is no photographic evidence of the morning and midday feeding. Suffice it to say that it looked very similar to the previous day. However, I did make crackers from the left-over sludge from the midday feeding) The bowl has to be larger because considerably more flour and water was added than in the previous steps.
Day 5: morning - I had hoped to start mixing bread but the starter doesn't look quite ready:
Day 6: morning - Last night, I backtracked to the feeding stage. There are bubbles but they are not nearly as pronounced as they were and there is not really any yeasty smell. But it still appears to be alive. (I used the extra to make more crackers.) Note that the slip of paper incorrectly says "Day 7". I guess it just feels like it has been seven days since I began this experiment...
Close up of what is left from last night's feeding. The bubbles can just be detected.
Day 6: Evening. The bowl on the left has no yeasty smell and is the consistency of heavy cream. The bowl on the right is how things look just after feeding. I'm beginning to think that the bubbles are simply because of stirring.
Day 7: Morning. With still no smell of yeast, no visible expansion and a texture of heavy cream, I've decided to stop and try this again when the weather is warmer.
