Hi Mary, a ratio of 1:4:4 means that you feed your starter with 1 part starter : 1 part water : 4 parts flour (by weight). While this is not generally the feeding routine we recommend for creating a starter, or even for standard maintenance, it can be helpful when you're maintaining your mature starter at room temperature during the summer, and find that it is peaking long before it's due for its next feeding. Feeding your starter a relatively larger meal of water and flour tends to slow down fermentation and can allow you to line up your feedings closer to the peak (which helps to keep yeast activity vigorous). 

You're totally correct that your maintenance routine doesn't have to be this complicated, especially if you end up refrigerating your starter when you're not planning to bake with it, and only feed it at room temperature a day or two before you plan to bake bread. There are plenty of easier routines for maintenance and baking that can be adopted, so don't despair if this particular route doesn't sound possible with your work schedule. Tweaking the ratio of ingredients to adjust for different environmental temperatures is just a tool that can be employed to make your feeding routine work better for you and your starter. 

However, creating a starter from scratch does generally take about two weeks of room temperature feedings and some attention to how your starter is behaving during this time. If you haven't had much success in the past with creating your own starter, you might consider purchasing a mature starter from us, which generally only requires a few feedings at room temperature before it's ready and raring to be used in your baking. And the Baker's Hotline we'll be happy to help you find a maintenance routine that can easily fit around your other responsibilities.  

One of the things I love about sourdough baking is that there are so many ways to do this successfully. We're here to help you find the way that works best for you. 

Barb

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