Barb at King Arthur

March 4, 2024 at 11:37am

In reply to by Donna (not verified)

Hi Donna, it sounds like your starter is doing great, but over time, if your starter is falling significantly between feedings, this can lead to more sluggish yeast activity. Ideally when you're keeping your starter at room temperature you want to feed it when its ripe (at that high point of rising, or just beginning to fall), which helps to keep the yeast more vigorous. However, if your starter is ripening in 6 hours, you definitely don't want to be feeding it 4 times in 24 hours! Of course, you don't have to keep your starter out at room temperature all the time, and many bakers find a combination of refrigeration and a day or two of twice daily feedings prior to baking works well for them. If you really want to keep your starter out and feed only once a day, reducing the percentage of starter as compared to water/flour you are feeding it, can help slow down fermentation, as can a cooler environment. You may also be interested in checking out this blog post about how bakers use the Sourdough Home to allow for less frequent feedings. 

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