Hi Angela, no worries! There's definitely no reason to start over, and you can simply correct the ratio of ingredients when it's time for your next feeding. All you did was give your starter a relatively smaller meal (more starter, as compared to water and flour fed). This can increase the acidity of the starter, which isn't actually a bad thing at this point in the process, so absolutely no harm done! In fact, if your starter continues not to rise, you may even want to consider the alternative feeding routine suggested to us by microbiologist and sourdough baker, Debra Wink. She found that lowering the pH of the starter environment 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 AP, if available.
3. Feed with a ratio of 2 parts starter : 1 part water : 1 part wholegrain flour, by weight. For example, feed 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 113g) starter + 1/4 cup (2 ounces, 57g) water + 1/2 cup (2 ounces, 57g) wholegrain flour.
Once your starter begins to rise predictably (twice) it's important to resume twice a day feedings (which will further promote yeast activity). You can also gradually transition back to AP flour, and increase the percentage of water/flour back to the 1:1:1 ratio. It's not uncommon for the starter to hesitate a bit when you change its feeding routine because the organisms need time to adjust to changes, but once your starter is again rising predictably then you can consider your starter mature and ready for baking bread. I hope this helps! Let us know how it goes.
May 21, 2020 at 12:17pm
In reply to I am on Day 4 of my starter… by Angela (not verified)
Hi Angela, no worries! There's definitely no reason to start over, and you can simply correct the ratio of ingredients when it's time for your next feeding. All you did was give your starter a relatively smaller meal (more starter, as compared to water and flour fed). This can increase the acidity of the starter, which isn't actually a bad thing at this point in the process, so absolutely no harm done! In fact, if your starter continues not to rise, you may even want to consider the alternative feeding routine suggested to us by microbiologist and sourdough baker, Debra Wink. She found that lowering the pH of the starter environment 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 AP, if available.
3. Feed with a ratio of 2 parts starter : 1 part water : 1 part wholegrain flour, by weight. For example, feed 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 113g) starter + 1/4 cup (2 ounces, 57g) water + 1/2 cup (2 ounces, 57g) wholegrain flour.
Once your starter begins to rise predictably (twice) it's important to resume twice a day feedings (which will further promote yeast activity). You can also gradually transition back to AP flour, and increase the percentage of water/flour back to the 1:1:1 ratio. It's not uncommon for the starter to hesitate a bit when you change its feeding routine because the organisms need time to adjust to changes, but once your starter is again rising predictably then you can consider your starter mature and ready for baking bread. I hope this helps! Let us know how it goes.
Barb