I'm having a Crisis of Starter. Been making this recipe, successfully, for 2 years. I have to keep my starter thicker than you do, because otherwise it just wouldn't rise that much in the oven -- even tho my starter is strong. Used rye flour to increase the tang. All was good.

Last month, my starter, which used to peak in 4.5 hours like clockwork, began taking 12 hours! Nothing had changed in terms of ingredients, utensils, environment, etc. I tried many things, like starting a new batch from a cupful of the old, how often I fed it, where it sat, and it is still taking a solid 12 hours.

Okay, so I'll just adjust my schedule for bread-making then, right? Well, even tho the sponge behaves the same, and the kneading behaves the same, I can tell when I shape the loaves that the spring is just not there and I am baking sourdough discs now, not loaves.

So, before abandoning sourdough completely, I want to try adding packaged yeast to this recipe (as opposed to going to the Rustic Sourdough recipe). I'm thinking that I'll add it when I add the flour/salt to the sponge. I know salt is a yeast stopper, but I don't want the sponge to rise too fast either and risk losing flavor.

Thoughts?

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