Hi Devon, I'm sorry it has taken so long for me to respond to your question, and hope by now that your starter is rising like a champ. I don't think changing your container caused your starter to stop rising, although it may be a little more difficult to see it rise if you have it stored in a wide bowl or Tupperware container. To see the type of doubling behavior we reference it helps to have your starter stored in a jar that is taller than it is wide. For the quantities listed in our sourdough starter recipe, a quart-sized Mason jar works well. If you're still having trouble getting your starter to rise, you might want to try the alternative feeding routine suggested to us by microbiologist and sourdough baker, Debra Wink. She observed that lowering the pH of the starter seems to help pave the way for more robust yeast activity. Here's the plan:
1. Feed once a day.
2. Feed with wholegrain flour, if available.
3. Feed with a ratio by weight of 2 parts starter: 1 part water :1 part whole grain flour. For example, you could save 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 113g) starter and feed this 1/4 cup (2 ounces, 57g) water and 1/2 cup (2 ounces, 57g) wholegrain flour.
Once you see that the starter is rising predictably with this feeding routine, then you want to increase the frequency of feedings, which will benefit the yeast populations, and gradually return to our regular feeding routine. Since some bakers reported that the starter hit another lull in rising when they transitioned back to the twice a day feedings with AP flour and the 1:1:1 ratio, you might want to stick to feeding with whole wheat or whole rye flour at first, and gradually increase the percentage of AP flour, until the starter returns to rising predictably. It's not uncommon for the starter to perform a bit sluggishly when you change it's feeding routine, because the organisms need time to adjust, so it won't hurt to take this transition a bit more gradually. I hope this helps! Let us know how it goes.
April 23, 2020 at 1:26pm
In reply to My starter is about 6 days… by Devon (not verified)
Hi Devon, I'm sorry it has taken so long for me to respond to your question, and hope by now that your starter is rising like a champ. I don't think changing your container caused your starter to stop rising, although it may be a little more difficult to see it rise if you have it stored in a wide bowl or Tupperware container. To see the type of doubling behavior we reference it helps to have your starter stored in a jar that is taller than it is wide. For the quantities listed in our sourdough starter recipe, a quart-sized Mason jar works well. If you're still having trouble getting your starter to rise, you might want to try the alternative feeding routine suggested to us by microbiologist and sourdough baker, Debra Wink. She observed that lowering the pH of the starter seems to help pave the way for more robust yeast activity. Here's the plan:
1. Feed once a day.
2. Feed with wholegrain flour, if available.
3. Feed with a ratio by weight of 2 parts starter: 1 part water :1 part whole grain flour. For example, you could save 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 113g) starter and feed this 1/4 cup (2 ounces, 57g) water and 1/2 cup (2 ounces, 57g) wholegrain flour.
Once you see that the starter is rising predictably with this feeding routine, then you want to increase the frequency of feedings, which will benefit the yeast populations, and gradually return to our regular feeding routine. Since some bakers reported that the starter hit another lull in rising when they transitioned back to the twice a day feedings with AP flour and the 1:1:1 ratio, you might want to stick to feeding with whole wheat or whole rye flour at first, and gradually increase the percentage of AP flour, until the starter returns to rising predictably. It's not uncommon for the starter to perform a bit sluggishly when you change it's feeding routine, because the organisms need time to adjust, so it won't hurt to take this transition a bit more gradually. I hope this helps! Let us know how it goes.
Barb