Leslie, the starter you have sounds like a "friendship" starter - these were very popular back in the '80s, and are fed with sugar. They're really not designed to yield a tangy sourdough bread, but are more for cakes and sweet doughs (e.g., sticky buns, etc.). You can try refrigerating your shaped loaf prior to baking; and you can bake it right out of the fridge (if it's risen as much as you want), or wait for it to come to room temperature and rise some more; but either way, using your starter, you'll never get a truly sour bread. Your best bet would be to start another starter, one that's for a more tangy bread; and save your mom's starter for mildly sweet breads. Sound like a plan? PJH

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