Barb at King Arthur

May 7, 2020 at 11:46am

In reply to by Jil (not verified)

Hi Jil, I apologize for the delay in responding to your question, and hope by now that your starter is rising well! You didn't mention what type of jar you have it stored in, but if it happens to be in a wide bowl or Tupperware container then it may be more difficult for you to see the type of "doubling" in size we refer to. For our sourdough starter recipe, a wide-mouth quart-sized Mason jar works well, and will make it a bit easier to recognize when your starter is rising. That being said, it is quite common for sourdough starters to go through a lull in rising that can go on for several days, and you can't really consider your starter "mature" until it is rising predictably. Patience will generally pay off, so you can either continue as you're currently doing and wait until the starter begins to rise in a predictable fashion, or you can try to jump start the process by switching to an alternative feeding plan recommended to us by microbiologist and sourdough baker, Debra Wink, who has found that lowering the pH of the starter environment tends to help pave the way for the wild yeast to join the party. While this plan does ideally involve using wholegrain flour, I think you could also try it with unbleached AP flour. Here's the plan:

1. Feed only once a day. 

2. Feed with whole wheat or whole rye flour, if available. In not, unbleached AP flour is okay. 

3. Feed with a ratio by weight of 2 parts starter : 1 part water : 1 part flour. For example: 113g starter : 57 g water : 57 g flour. If you wanted to maintain a smaller starter, which is a good way to save on flour, at least until your starter is rising well, then a feeding would look like: 30g starter : 15g water :15g flour. 

Once your starter begins to rise predictably (twice), it's important to switch back to the twice a day feedings, which will further promote yeast activity. You'll also want to increase the percentage of flour/water fed to line up closer to the 1:1:1 ratio, by weight. You may see more delays along the way, but once the starter is rising predictably again, then you should be good to go! 

I hope this helps! Let us know how it goes. 

Barb

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