Hi Rhea, maintaining your starter with 1/2 cup each of starter, water and flour will result in a more liquidy starter than the one we recommend, which is maitntained with equal parts by weight of starter, water and flour. A typical feeding for our starter would consist of feeding 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 113g) starter with 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 113g) water and 1 scant cup (4 ounces, 113g) flour. The kind of rising behavior you have observed seems normal for a starter that is thinner in consistency. This is because the starter doesn't have enough body to hold the fermentation bubbles in place (which is what causes the starter to rise); instead, they tend to travel through the starter and collect on the surface. Try feeding your starter more flour, and see if the rising behavior in your starter improves. If you're worried about using up too much flour, you could reduce your feedings by cup in this way: 1/4 cup starter + 1/4 cup water + scant 1/2 cup flour. Just be sure your starter container is sized so that the starter isn't spread out too thinnly, which isn't good for the starter. I would be sure there's at least an inch of depth to your starter right after feeding. I hope this helps! Let us know how it goes. 

Barb

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