Something in the Air, Day 2

Only half a day into the sourdough experiment, I'm seeing a lot of action and I'm convinced it's going to work. The mass has gained a half cup in volume: The bottom third looks the same, then there's a layer of "hooch" (a liquid that smells like the beginnings of beer), topped with two thirds of the batter looking nice and airy, bubbling off some potent gases. I've stirred it down; I'll feed it tonight and then put it into the refrigerator until I need to bake with it.

The only question is, what's doing all the work in this starter? Is it the bacteria, or is it the yeast? My sourdough colleague across town says 3 days at 65 degrees will let the yeast do the talking and keep bacteria activity to a minimum. Even though my starter smells yeasty, I'm starting a second batch and putting it into a cool closet for a few days to compare the activity and smell.