Barb at King Arthur

January 15, 2022 at 2:54pm

In reply to by Janet (not verified)

Hi Janet, there are different ways you can go about this, depending on how active your starter is. If you feed your starter quite regularly, you could try just giving it a larger feeding as follows: 4 ounces/113g (1/2 cup) starter the 8 ounces/226g (1 cup) water and 8 ounces/226g (2 scant cups) unbleached all purpose flour. It won't hurt your starter at all to feed it in this way, however it will take a bit longer for it to ripen.

On the other hand, if your starter has been neglected in the refrigerator for an extended time and you're planning to make a recipe that is entirely naturally leavened (no added yeast) then you might want to offer your starter a few feedings at room temperature prior to baking your bread. These "revival" feedings can help restore your starter's normal activity level, and ensure a stronger rise. For this scenario you might want to feed your starter once or twice with the normal feeding routine: 4 ounces/113g starter + 4 ounces/113g water + 4 ounces/113g AP flour, allowing the starter to ripen fully between each feeding. When your starter is doubling within 6-8 hours, that's a good sign that it's ready to add to your bread recipe. However, you'll still need to increase the quantity of your starter, which you'll want to do during the last feeding before you plan to bake. It will work fine to use the same ratios of starter/water/flour that I recommended above to build your quantity of starter, just allow for a little more time for your starter to ripen. I often choose to feed my starter this way if I'm planning to let my starter rise overnight and bake the next morning, as this method of feeding buys you a little more time to sleep. This can be particularly helpful in the summer on a warm summer night, since there's more of a risk that your starter will rise and fall before you are ready to bake with it. 

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