Hi Ava, you didn't mention what type of flour you're feeding your starter, or what environmental temperatures you're dealing with, but with your current ratio of ingredients 1:3:3 (starter:water:flour, by weight) your starter may need more time to ferment properly, unless it's very warm where you store your starter. This ratio of ingredients might work great for a mature starter that dwells in warmer conditions, but may not be optimal for a starter that is still trying to establish itself in cooler temperatures. Since it sounds like you haven't seen any rise as yet, you might want to consider the alternative feeding routine I've mentioned previously, which was recommended to us by microbiologist and sourdough baker, Debra Wink, who observed that lowering the pH of the starter environment seems to help pave the way for the wild yeast to kick in. Here's the plan:

1. Feed once a day. 

2. Feed with whole wheat or whole rye flour, if available. If not, unbleached all-purpose flour is okay. 

3. Feed with a ratio of 2:1:1 (starter:water:flour, by weight). For your mini starter feeding might look like this: 30g starter + 15g water + 15g wholegrain flour, once per day. 

Once your starter begins to rise predictably (twice), it's important to resume twice a day feedings, which will further promote yeast activity. At that point you can also gradually transition back to feeding with AP flour, and increase the water/flour ratio. Ultimately the ratio of ingredients in your starter should be geared to allow you to replenish (feed) your starter when it's at its peak of rising, or just beginning to fall when you're maintaining it at room temperature. Feeding in this way will keep yeast activity high, while allowing the starter to fall significantly between feedings tends to lead to sluggish yeast behavior. 

This is where temperature comes into play, since warmer temperatures will cause fermentation to happen more quickly, while cooler temperatures slow things down. You might want to try a 1:1:1 ratio twice a day for a few days and note when the starter reaches its peak. If it's peaking after only 4 or 5 hours, then offering your starter a larger meal by increasing the percentage of water/flour fed (as compared to starter) to something more like 1:2:2 or 1:3:3 may make sense in order to slow down fermentation. On the other hand, if it's peaking close to the 12 hour mark, then you're fine with the 1:1:1 ratio. 

Don't be surprised if your starter acts a bit sluggish every time you change its feeding routine, as the organisms need time to adjust, but once you've found a good feeding routine that results in your starter rising predictably with the twice a day feedings, then you can consider your starter mature and ready for baking bread. Good luck, and let us know how it goes. 

Barb

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