Barb at King Arthur

May 14, 2020 at 10:32am

In reply to by Elizabeth Sims (not verified)

Hi Elizabeth, I'm sorry I wasn't able to answer your question in a more timely fashion, but hope you've continued on with your feedings and things are going well. If all goes according to plan, it takes about 10 days for a starter to fully develop, so I don't think it's ready quite yet. In terms of overflowing your jar, it may be helpful for you to discard more starter each time you feed it. Our sourdough starter recipe calls for discarding a cup (8 ounces, 227g) of starter with each feeding, and replenishing the remaining 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 113g) with 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 113g) water and 1 scant cup (4 ounces, 113g) flour. In addition, it sounds like you may be feeding with very warm water or perhaps live in a warm climate, so using cooler water may be helpful in slowing down the rate of fermentation. Once you begin twice a day feedings, ideally you want to replenish the starter when it's at its peak of rising, or just beginning to fall (which keeps the yeast active). Keeping your starter somewhere in the low to mid-70's will likely accommodate a twice a day feeding routine more easily, while warmer temperatures sometimes require tweaking your feedings to lower the percentage of starter as compared to flour/water fed, which helps slow down fermentation. 

While I certainly don't want to assume you're having troubles, sometimes an early vigorous rise can be caused by a type of bacteria rather than wild yeast, and the presence of this bacteria can be associated with a subsequent delay in the wild yeast kicking in. If your starter has suddenly stopped rising and is now just bubbling, this may be what's going on. This is a fairly common occurrence, and definitely not insurmountable, so no reason to be overly concerned. If you're patient and continue feeding according to our starter recipe, eventually the starter will work things out and begin to rise predictably. If you get frustrated and want to try an alternative feeding routine, that's also an option. If you read through earlier comments, you'll see that I've mentioned this plan many times. The gist of it is to lower the pH of the starter environment, which seems to help pave the way for the wild yeast to join the party. Here's the plan:

1. Feed once a day. 

2. Feed with whole wheat or whole rye flour, rather than unbleached all-purpose, if available. 

3. Feed with a ratio by weight of 2 parts starter : 1 part water : 1 part flour. For example: 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 your starter is rising predictably (twice) with this feeding routine, then you'll want to begin twice a day feedings (which will further promote yeast activity). You may also want to gradually transition to feeding with AP flour and increase the flour/water percentage so that it lines up with the 1:1:1 ratio, or whatever ratio of ingredients allows you to replenish at the peak, or just as your starter is beginning to fall. 

Don't be surprised if your starter hesitates each time you change its feeding routine, as it takes time for the organisms to adjust, but once your starter begins rising predictably again, then you can consider your starter mature and ready for bread baking. 

I hope I didn't throw too much information at you! Let me know if you have any follow-up questions. 

Barb

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