Hi Lucy, it all depends on how your starter is behaving. If it's predictably doubling in size about 6-8 hours after a feeding, and has a pleasant aroma, then your starter is ready to use in a bread recipe. However, it's not uncommon for the starter process to take a bit longer than this recipe indicates, and often it takes around 10 days to 2 weeks to develop a fully mature starter. Once the starter smells pleasant and is bubbling nicely (even if it's not yet rising significantly) you can still use it in recipes calling for sourdough discard, just don't expect much rising power until your starter is doubling predictably. 

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