Hi Lou, we recently put together a full Sourdough Baking Guide that includes a helpful video demonstrating what your starter will look like when it's ready to bake. (The amount of time it takes before it's ready to bake will vary from starter to starter.) Here's what we say in the guide: "Your new starter is ready to bake with when it's reliably becoming very bubbly and doubling in size within 6 to 8 hours of feeding. (This is why it's useful to feed your starter in a clear, straight-sided container, so it's easy to track its upward progress.) Ripe starter will be viscous, not thin; and if you taste a tiny bit, it will be nicely balanced between rich flavor and acidity."

As for your question about doubling your starter, you can build the volume of your starter slowly once you're close to getting ready to bake; increase the volume of flour and water that's added in the last two or three feedings before you bake. Aim to use a ratio of equal parts starter-flour-water by weight for best results. Good luck! Kye@KAF

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