Noobie - Trying to grow my own starter, questions inside

[pythonic]

I am following the instructions from Slice.
http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/11/how-to-make-sourdough-starter-day-0.html and I am on day 5 right now.  I started with KAAP and have been feeding it the same.  

Right now my starter smells like glue, is that normal?

Should I keep it in the hottest part of my house to speed things up?

There is also no guarantee the wild yeasts I catch will taste good in my dough right?

Nate

[Bill/SFNM]

There is also no guarantee the wild yeasts I catch will taste good in my dough right?

Nate

Correct. And even if they taste good, they may not have adequate leavening power.

[pythonic]

So I'm like 2 more days away from incorporating my starter into my final dough.  I was thinking about using 3% starter by final weight of the doughball.  Is that a good place to start?  Are there any special things I need to know for the fermentation process?  I plan on doing a 48 hour cold rise.

[Bill/SFNM]

Why a cold rise? My cultures are mostly inactive at temps below 60F.

[pythonic]

Oh I didn't know that would be an issue.  I'm using a New York style formulation for this btw.  How long a room temp rise should I be aiming for?  If I want to do cold rise I could always add just a little ADY to it right?

[Bill/SFNM]

Others will have to chime in about NY-style. For my Neapolitan-style pizzas, I bulk-ferment the dough for about 43 hours @ 62F and then proof individual balls for about 5 hours @ 72F. If you are doing a cold rise with ADY, the only role of the starter is to add whatever flavor is contained in the amount you add at the beginning. The whole point of the starter is for the wild yeast and bacteria to metabolize ingredients and the by-products of metabolization to add complex flavors to the mix. They do little if any of this in the refrigerator.

[pythonic]

Ok, I did not know that the fridge would defeat the purpose.  So I guess I will try a 24hr bulk ferment, form into balls and bake 24hrs later.

Nate

[Bill/SFNM]

Nate,

Every starter has different characteristics so you will need to do a lot of experimenting to find what regimen works best for the one you have captured. Through trial-and-error you'll learn how your pizzas turn out as you make changes to the temperatures, times, and amount of starter. Having a way to control the temperature is not a requirement, but can be extremely helpful in figuring this all out. A few degrees difference over a few days can make a big difference in the final crust.

[bfguilford]

Nate:

I experimented with starter in a NY style, with some success. Here's the thread: http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,21530.0.html

As you'll see, I tried both refrigerated fermentation (very little activity in the fridge, but they baked up nicely), and around 60-65 degree fermentation.

Hope that helps some.

Barry