Hi & Help; Just starting on the path of baking bread and have some questions. Started my sourdough starter (KA Starter) on Saturday moring and finished late Sunday moring. During the process (followed the directions) my starter seemed to get stiffer after each step. When I was to divide and give some of the starter to a friend, the Starter was quite elastic and very diffcult to divide. At each step there were lots of bubbles, so it seemed to be working correctly. Could not bake on Sunday, so I set the Starter in the ref. in pryex bowl covered with wax paper. The Starter was so stiff / elastic, I do not believe I could have placed it my new (KA) Sourdough Crock. Would like to bake my first loafs of Sourdough Bread tomorrow (Tuesday, Michigan Snow & Cold all day, good time for baking). Just looked at the Starter and it still seems to be quite stiff/elastic still but it has fallen some and there seems to be some light fuzz on some bubbles. Questions: 1) Should the Starter be stiff/elastic or more fluid, if fluid, how do I get there? 2) What temperature should the Starter be to start making the first dough balls? Thanks, When the starter is first fed it will be very thick and elastic. It gradually gets thinner as it uses up the available food. A thick rubbery starter is a happy starter. You can make a thinner starter by using equal parts by volume instead of equal parts by weight of flour and water, but most of our sourdough recipes are designed for the thick gloppy one. The starter should be room temperature when you use it. Mary @ King Arthur Flour

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