I am having great success with my starter so far, and I'm on day 4. It's bubbling up nicely, and more than doubling in size every 12 hours. My first question is - is it too active? I have it on a heating pad since the kitchen is on a drafty exterior wall, and the thermostat is set at about 68 degrees during the day, but I have to admit that the bubbling and volume are more than I expected. We're also at about 3,600 feet elevation, in a very dry, high desert climate. My second (and last) question is - I'm tempted to use some of the discard now for some bread, but when I look at the instructions (as if we were on the 7th day), it says to feed it, and let it sit for 6-8 hours before using. Now, I'm an energetic bread maker, but after letting it sit, then mixing the bread and taking it through a couple of rises, I'll be up until the middle of the night waiting for it to bake. If I wanted to start in the morning, how could I prepare the discard for baking? Or is it just ready as-is? I'm strangely excited about how successful this is so far! I just read another blog where the writer warns people to not try their own starter - just to buy one pre-made. It made me worry that I was being too ambitious for my first time out. Phooey I say :o) Thanks so much!

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