Barb at King Arthur

May 3, 2020 at 8:09am

In reply to by Allison (not verified)

Hi Alison, it might be time to try the alternative feeding routine suggested to us by microbiologist and sourdough baker, Debra Wink, who found lowering the pH of the starter environment can help pave the way for the wild yeast to kick in. Here's the plan:

1. Feed only once a day. 

2. Feed with wholegrain flour, if available. If not, unbleached AP is okay. 

3. Feed with a ratio of 2:1:1 starter:water:flour, by weight. For example, you could save 1/2 cup (113g, 4 ounces) of starter and feed this 1/4 cup (57g, 2 ounces) water and 1/2 cup (57g, 2 ounces) wholegrain flour.  

Once your starter begins to rise predictably (twice) with this feeding routine, then it's important to start feeding twice a day (which will further promote yeast development). You'll also want to gradually shift over to feeding with AP flour, and increasing the flour/water percentage to line up more with the 1:1:1 ratio. You may notice some sluggishness each time you change your starter's feeding routine, as the organisms need time to adjust, but when your starter is rising predictictably once again, then you can consider your starter mature and ready for bread baking! I hope this helps. Let us know how it goes! 

Barb

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