Hi Matt, it's very promising that your starter is rising consistently, so it sounds like you may just need to tweak your feeding routine a bit to achieve a more robust rise. Ideally you want to feed your starter when it's at its peak of rising, or just beginning to fall, which keeps yeast activity vigorous. Allowing the starter to fall significantly between feedings tends to lead to sluggish yeast behavior. If you notice your starter tends to peak after only 4-5 hours, and then sink before it's due for its next feeding then you may want to offer your starter a relatively larger meal (less starter, as compared to water and flour fed, by weight), which will slow down fermentation. For example, you could try a ratio of 1:2:2, or even 1:3:3 (starter:water:flour, by weight). Alternatively, if your starter is very slow to rise, increasing the percentage of starter and offering a relatively smaller meal will speed up fermentation. In this case, you might try a 2:1:1 ratio. 

The goal is to find a twice a day feeding routine that allows you to replenish your starter when it's close to its peak of rising, which will keep yeast activity strong. Keep in mind that temperature also plays a significant role in the rate of fermentation, with warmer temperatures speeding things up, and cooler temperatures causing fermentation to slow down. If you live in a part of the country where the temperature in your home varies considerably from one season to the next, adjusting the ratio of ingredients in your starter seasonally may be helpful in keeping it active and able to perform at its best in your baking. 

One more consideration has to do with the consistency of your starter. I trust that when you say you're feeding your starter with a 1:1:1 ratio you are referring to weight measurements, but I have had more than one baker report that they were feeding 1:1:1 by volume (say, 1/2 cup each starter, water and flour). If you happen to be feeding this way it will result in a much thinner starter consistency, which will have more difficulty holding the bubbles in place (which is what causes the starter to rise). In a thinner starter the bubbles pass through more quickly, so you don't see as much rise and are more likely to see the bubbles accumulate on the surface of the starter. Another factor that could play into this is the protein content of your flour. If you happen to be using a lower protein AP flour this will absorb less liquid than our AP flour, and could be causing your starter consistency to be a little on the thin side. If this is the case it's fine to add a little more flour to your starter to achieve the correct consistency. Look for the starter to be a thick, but easily stirrable paste right after feeding, and then as it rises and ferments it should become more like a thick pancake batter, with bubbles throughout. If allowed to fall completely it will thin out considerably and may have frothy bubbles on the surface. 

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

Barb

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