Barb at King Arthur

May 30, 2020 at 8:27am

In reply to by Angela (not verified)

Hi Angela, either way should work at this point, but your instincts are spot on — once the starter begins to rise predictably then you do want to return to twice a day feedings, and it is ideal to feed the starter when it's at its peak of rising or just beginning to fall to keep yeast activity high. Allowing the starter to fall significantly between feedings tends to result in sluggish yeast behavior. 

I would gradually transition to feeding with AP flour (some bakers have reported another lull in rising when they switch to AP flour), and also increase the water/flour percentage to line up more with the 1:1:1 ratio, by weight. Observe the time it takes for your starter to reach its peak carefully over a few days. Your goal is to find a room temperature maintenance routine that allows you to replenish (feed) your starter twice a day when it at its peak of rising, or just beginning to fall. Sometimes when the weather turns warm fermentation happens faster, so offering your starter a relatively larger meal (less starter, compared to water/flour fed) can help to slow things down. For example, if you find your starter peaks after only 4 or 5 hours, then you might want to try a 1:2:2 or even 1:3:3 ratio of starter:water:flour, by weight. Using cooler water for feedings can also be helpful when the weather heats up. 

Once you've found a feeding routine that works well for you and your starter and it's rising predictably, then you can consider your starter mature and ready for baking bread. You can also refrigerate your starter at this point; just be sure to give your starter a few hours after feeding and before refrigeration to allow some bubbling to occur. When you take your starter out of the refrigerator, a day or two of twice a day feedings at room temperature will help increase the populations of wild yeast and friendly bacteria, which will rev up your starter in preparation for baking bread. 

I hope this helps! Let us know how it goes. 

Barb

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