Barb at King Arthur

June 29, 2020 at 9:37am

In reply to by Andrea Miller (not verified)

Hi Andrea, I know how frustrating this process can be when things don't go according to plan, so let's just check in about a few details that may be holding you back:

1. When you say you're feeding with a 1:1:1 ratio, do you mean by weight or by volume? While there are lots of ways of creating and maintaining a sourdough starter, not all methods will display the same rising behavior. A starter maintained with equal parts by volume (1/2 cup starter + 1/2 cup water + 1/2 cup flour) will be much thinner in consistency than a starter such as ours, which is maintained with equal parts by weight [1/2 cup (113g) starter + 1/2 cup (113g) water + 1 scant cup (113g) flour]. And a starter that is thinner in consistency is going to have more trouble displaying the type of doubling in size we refer to in our recipe, simply because the fermentation bubbles (that cause the starter to rise) travel through a thinner starter more easily. 

2. What type of container do you have your starter stored in? While any food safe container should work fine to store your starter, for our starter recipe it's easiest to see the starter double in a quart-sized wide mouth Mason jar that is taller than it is wide. 

3. Your room temperature seems fine, so I wouldn't worry about employing heating pads or turning on your oven (which might actually end up being lethal to your starter, since yeast will die at 140 degrees). 

If the above issues don't seem to apply to your starter, then patience may be your best approach. Patience really does almost always pay off when it comes to sourdough starters. Some minor changes that might be helpful:

*I would add 25% whole wheat flour to your feeding routine (so 75% AP flour and 25% whole wheat). 

*I would also begin twice a day feedings. 

This isn't the usual alternative routine I recommend for stuck sourdough starters, but it seems to me that after this long with once a day feedings your starter should already have a fairly low pH, so perhaps more frequent feedings will encourage more yeast activity. 

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

Barb

 

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