hm....to tell the truth I have never checked the temp of my starter or my oven with/without the light or my bread dough or the starter as I was getting it going ! My house is 68 all winter and then in the Summer we keep the thermostat on 78. Whatever time of year it is all seems to do just fine. I have never made an exception for my bread dough other than to place it in the oven with the door propped open with an oven mitt. That is how it is today with the dough I am currently making. It has to rest at "room " temp for 3 hrs...with stretch and folds every 30 min for the first 2 hrs and then leave it alone for one hour. Then shape and let rise one hour at room temp then retard overnight and bake direct from fridge in 500 degree pre-heated pots tomorrow. I just checked my oven temp with the light on and it is 73. That is where I do my apple yeast water and my starter after I feed it and that is where my first and only , current , stater got going. One of the things they caution is not to over feed your starter...as in until it doubles don't feed again. I followed the method I linked 4 yrs ago and didn't have a problem. I know others on the Fresh Loaf have had to try about 3-4 times to get one going. I used rye flour from my local health food store and bottled water ( that is important when getting it started) and King Arthur white AP flour. It could be that is the problem with your first starter is over feeding. As to the second starter I wouldn't worry at all about "bad" stuff growing at this point. The tiny bubbles and concept of "bad" are not a problem at this point. Simply carry on and move it to a slightly cooler place and feed/discard and definitely stir well and give it air via a loose cover. It should be fine. As to the other one after 6 days if it has bubbles and has a fine odor I sure wouldn't discard it either. I would take out half and feed it and leave it where it is about 75 for 24 hrs and see what is what. As to apple yeast water just chop up 100g of apple and put it in the quart jar with 2/3 full filtered water...it does love the 80's so use your oven with light. Stir very well every couple hours all during the day for 3 days - 4 days. It is ready to rise bread. The apples will always float and the water will be VERY fizzy ! You can hear it ! It does need a lot of attn and warmth the first 3-4 days and then it is completely care free and can be in the fridge for weeks at a time and not used. Once you get your other starter going....and I do urge you to go to TFL and read some of the discussions on getting a starter going...I will tell you how to store it when not in use for lengths of time...when I am gone on a bicycle tour I leave mine unattended in the fridge for months. Keep us posted. c http://www.thefreshloaf.com/search/node/debra%20wink%20starting%20a%20sour%20dough%20starter read the first two articles by Debra Wink...linked above and then the link below...you will know more than I do when done :) Debra's way always works !! c Here is a link that might be useful: TFL...link to a lot of discussions

Coconut, I use bigas and levains interchangeably. The Biga I make is a "wetter" mixture and the levain is stiffer. I used 1 1/2 cups of flour and a cup of water in the biga and stirred it with a wooden spooon. The levain had only a 1/4 cup of water and I kneaded it. Since I was making a double batch of bread and had lots of sourdough starter I made one of each to see if one would be stronger than the other. They both performed about the same. Goldgirl, when the bread is cold I wrap each loaf in papertowels and then into freezer bags. The paper towels keep the bread from being soggy when it defrosts. Cloud Swift, No I don't use a couche. I had one years ago. Not sure what happened to it. But they really aren't necessary to get dough to hold its shape. I just space the loaves out on a large pastry/dough board, dusted with flour and cornmeal, sprinkle the loaves with flour and cover each one with plastic wrap. I use a peel to transfer the dough to the stone in the oven.

I would suggest you give the starter another 4 days to a week to "age" a bit. Then first making sure you have enough to keep some back, take out what you need for your recipe about 3-4 hours after it has been fed. [You don't want to use all your starter in your recipe and have none left to keep in the frig - do you? Then you would have to start all over again.] Prepare your recipe just after the starter has expanded all it's going to expand. It will just go down hill from there. When you add the recipe ingredients to it, it will recognize the feast you are giving it and go to town on that. It is alive, you know? Teresa

Ginny, you will find all kinds of different advice. Here is how I use my starter. When I take it out of the fridge to feed it, I take 2 ounces of the discarded starter (60g) and mix it with 225g of flour and 225g of water. Stir well cover and leave to double. Once it is doubled, I add it to 1000g of flour , 680 to 750g of water, and 26/27g of salt. So based on when you want to make your bread. I would make the preferment now. It should have doubled in about eight hours. Then you can make your dough and put it in the fridge for an overnight longer fermentation. Bake tomorrow. Take the dough out of the fridge about 3 hours prior to shaping. It needs to come to room temperature and start to rise again. Then you can shape and proof and bake. If this is the first time you are using your starter, you might want to add a pinch of yeast just for insurance. Or just take your chances. ~Ann Here is a link that might be useful: Sourdough Bread This post was edited by ann_t on Fri, Nov 14, 14 at 16:51