Hi Margaret, you may have noticed a bit of a theme going on if you've read through some of the previous comments. Many bakers complain of a lull in rising that occurs around day 4, that can go on for several days, although your cooler temperatures may also be playing a part. If you have a microwave, you might want to try boiling some water on the stove, pouring it into a pyrex cup, and then placing the water and your starter in the microwave. The microwave serves as a nice little proof box this way, and if you add fresh boiling water every few hours this should keep your starter nice and warm (although please don't worry about recharging the boiling water at night while you're sleeping!). If you're able to keep the rising environment in the 70-75 degree range, that should be sufficiently warm. If this doesn't get your starter rising more predictably, then you could try the once a day feeding routine I've outlined in previous replies. Hooch isn't necessarily a bad sign, so don't worry too much about it at this point. Also, if you're following our starter recipe I would try storing it in a quart size jar that is taller than it is wide, which can make it easier to see the "doubling in size" we refer to. Let me know if you don't see any progress in the next few days and we can troubleshoot again!
March 20, 2020 at 4:14pm
In reply to I'm on day 7 of my starter,… by Margaret Morris (not verified)
Hi Margaret, you may have noticed a bit of a theme going on if you've read through some of the previous comments. Many bakers complain of a lull in rising that occurs around day 4, that can go on for several days, although your cooler temperatures may also be playing a part. If you have a microwave, you might want to try boiling some water on the stove, pouring it into a pyrex cup, and then placing the water and your starter in the microwave. The microwave serves as a nice little proof box this way, and if you add fresh boiling water every few hours this should keep your starter nice and warm (although please don't worry about recharging the boiling water at night while you're sleeping!). If you're able to keep the rising environment in the 70-75 degree range, that should be sufficiently warm. If this doesn't get your starter rising more predictably, then you could try the once a day feeding routine I've outlined in previous replies. Hooch isn't necessarily a bad sign, so don't worry too much about it at this point. Also, if you're following our starter recipe I would try storing it in a quart size jar that is taller than it is wide, which can make it easier to see the "doubling in size" we refer to. Let me know if you don't see any progress in the next few days and we can troubleshoot again!
Barb