Hi Michelle, I'm so sorry for the delay in responding to your question, and hope you have persevered, since your starter sounds promising to me! However, I'm not quite clear on what day you were on in the creation process when you tried to make your bread, or whether your starter is still rising and falling, or is just bubbling and no longer rising. We don't set much store in the float test for starter readiness or ripeness, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

I would adjust your feedings depending on the way your starter is behaving. If it's just bubbling and not rising, then it may be helpful to try the once a day feedings with 2 parts starter : 1 part water : 1 part whole grain flour, by weight. This feeding routine is meant to increase the acidity of your starter, which seems to pave the way for the wild yeast to kick in.

Once your starter is rising predictably (twice) with this feeding routine, then it's important to go back to the twice a day feedings and gradually shift back to feeding with AP flour and the 1:1:1 ratio of ingredients. That's because once the yeast becomes active it will benefit from more frequent feedings. Ideally you want to feed your starter when it's at its peak of rising, or just as it's beginning to fall. Waiting to feed your starter until it has completely fallen tends to cause the yeast to become more sluggish. If your starter is rising and falling more quickly than you can keep up with and you're not able to catch it at its peak, or don't want to have to feed it three times a day, you can slow things down by offering your starter a larger feeding. You might want to try a 1:2:2 ratio, or even 1:3:3. The aim is to find a feeding routine at room tempeature that allows your starter to rise predictably, and for you to be able to conveniently feed it when it reaches its peak, or just as it begins to fall. If larger feedings sound like they will eat up too much flour, consider maintaining a smaller starter. Once your starter is rising well and has a pleasant aroma, then you can start baking sourdough bread, and refrigerating your starter when you aren't planning to bake with it. I know this is a lot of information to take in, and I don't want to overwhelm you. For more immediate and personal troubleshooting, you might want to consider giving our Baker's Hotline a call at 855-371-2253. We're here M-F from 9am-9pm EST, and Saturday and Sunday from 9am-5pm EST. 

Barb

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