Hi Gretchen, I'm so glad to hear your starter finally took off and is rising well, and appreciate your willingness to share this experience! While I'm not convinced the lid was the cause of your delay in rising, if leaving the lid off seemed to remedy the problem, then by all means go with what works! I would just advise to cover the starter well enough so that it doesn't dry out on top. From my experience the starter doesn't need airflow in order to ferment properly, so it shouldn't do any harm to your starter to cover the container well with plastic wrap or a lid. The caution about "covering loosely" has more to do with fermentation gases building up in a tightly lidded container and causing the lid to pop off. As long as your container allows sufficient head room above the starter level for gases to accumulate, and you open the jar now and then to vent the gases, there shouldn't be any issues. That being said, I encourage you to continue with a process that works well for you and your starter. 

Barb

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