Hi Mallory, I'm sorry to hear you're having so much trouble getting your sourdough starter up and running! Unfortunately, as you probably discovered in your research, it's not uncommon for the starter to go through a lull in rising that can go on for several days, or even weeks in some cases. This is especially likely to happen if you experienced an exuberant rise very early on in the process (on day 1 or 2). This early rising behavior is caused by a type of bacteria that gives off carbon dioxide, and seems to be linked to a subsequent delay in the wild yeast kicking in. I'm guessing this is what is going on with your starter. The good news is that given enough time your starter is likely to begin rising predictably, even if you don't change up your feeding routine. Patience almost always pays off when it comes to sourdough starters, so one option is to soldier on. If you're worried about using up too much flour, you could continue our regular feeding routine, but shrink the size of your starter so it isn't consuming so much flour. Once your starter begins to rise predictably, then it will be easy enough to bring it back to the standard size. 

If you've read through my previous responses, you'll see that another option is to try an alternative feeding routine suggested to us by microbiologist and sourdough baker, Debra Wink, who discovered that increasing the acidity of the starter environment seems to help pave the way for the wild yeast to kick in. Keep in mind that when you changes things up, the effects aren't likely to happen overnight, since the starter organisms need time to adjust to changes and regroup. Here's the alternative plan:

1. Feed only once a day. 

2. Feed with whole wheat or whole rye flour, if possible. 

3. Feed with a ratio of 2 parts starter : 1 part water : 1 part wholegrain flour (by weight). For example, your once a day feeding might look like: 1/2 cup (113g) starter + 1/4 cup (57g) water + 1/2 cup (57g) wholegrain flour. If you opt for a smaller starter with this routine, your feeding would be: 30g starter + 15g water + 15g wholegrain flour. 

Once your starter begins to rise predictably it's important to resume twice a day feedings, since this will further promote yeast activity. At that point I would also recommend gradually transitioning back to AP flour over the course of several feedings. You'll also want to increase the portion of water/flour back to something closer to the 1:1:1 ratio (starter:water:flour, by weight) we normally recommend. 

Ideally you want to replenish (feed) your starter when it's at its highest point of rising, or just beginning to fall, which will keep yeast activity vigorous. Allowing the starter to fall significantly between feedings tends to lead to sluggish yeast behavior. Sometimes in warmer months you may notice that your starter is peaking after only a few hours, and tends to fall before it's due for its next feeding. If this happens, rather then adding more feedings to your routine, you may want to adjust the ratio of ingredients so that you're offering your starter a relatively larger meal, which it will take longer to consume and ferment. Adjusting the ratio of ingredients in this way can help you line up your twice a day feedings closer to the peak. For example, you might want to try a 1:2:2 or even 1:4:4 ratio of starter:water:flour (by weight). And don't worry, a "relatively larger meal" doesn't have to mean using up more flour, since you can reduce the amount of starter relative to the water/flour. For example, a 1:4:4 feeding might look like: 28g starter + 113g water + 113g flour. For the smaller starter 1:4:4 could be: 7g starter + 28g water +28g flour. 

Once your starter is rising predictably with the twice a day feeding routine, then you can consider it mature and ready to bake bread. You also can begin refrigerating your starter when you're not planning to bake with it. Give it one more feeding, let it sit out at room temperature for a few hours, or until it begins bubbling, and then refrigerate it for up to a week. 

I know I've thrown a lot of information at you, so let me know if you have further questions along the way. 

Barb

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