Hi Aleida, I'm sorry for the delay in responding to your question! If you're in need of more immediate assistance, please don't hesitate to contact our Baker's Hotline at 855-371-2253. We're here M-F from 9am-9pm EST, and Saturday and Sunday from 9am-5pm EST, and we're always happy to troubleshoot your sourdough starter with you! Your starter is likely to become more "runny" in texture when neglected for a longer period of time because the gluten breaks down with time and increased acidity. This isn't a cause for alarm, but I expect that a few days of twice a day feedings at room temperature will do much to restore the normal consistency and rising behavior of your starter. While your starter can survive quite well in the refrigerator for an extended time, it won't thrive there, so allowing time for your starter to ferment at room temperature through a few feeding cycles is often the best remedy. In light of that, I would consider keeping your starter as one unit, rather than dividing and refrigerating half immediately. Try to work in a few feedings prior to baking bread, and then feed your starter one more time, let it sit out for a few hours to begin fermenting, and then return it to the refrigerator. This way your "mother" starter benefits from the room temperature time, along with the starter you are preparing for baking. Keep in mind that when you are maintaining your starter at room temperature ideally you want to replenish (feed) your starter when it's at its highest point of rising, or just beginning to fall. Allowing the starter to fall significantly between feedings tends to lead to sluggish yeast behavior. I hope this helps! Let us know how it goes.
August 29, 2020 at 8:47am
In reply to My starter has been in the… by Aleida (not verified)
Hi Aleida, I'm sorry for the delay in responding to your question! If you're in need of more immediate assistance, please don't hesitate to contact our Baker's Hotline at 855-371-2253. We're here M-F from 9am-9pm EST, and Saturday and Sunday from 9am-5pm EST, and we're always happy to troubleshoot your sourdough starter with you! Your starter is likely to become more "runny" in texture when neglected for a longer period of time because the gluten breaks down with time and increased acidity. This isn't a cause for alarm, but I expect that a few days of twice a day feedings at room temperature will do much to restore the normal consistency and rising behavior of your starter. While your starter can survive quite well in the refrigerator for an extended time, it won't thrive there, so allowing time for your starter to ferment at room temperature through a few feeding cycles is often the best remedy. In light of that, I would consider keeping your starter as one unit, rather than dividing and refrigerating half immediately. Try to work in a few feedings prior to baking bread, and then feed your starter one more time, let it sit out for a few hours to begin fermenting, and then return it to the refrigerator. This way your "mother" starter benefits from the room temperature time, along with the starter you are preparing for baking. Keep in mind that when you are maintaining your starter at room temperature ideally you want to replenish (feed) your starter when it's at its highest point of rising, or just beginning to fall. Allowing the starter to fall significantly between feedings tends to lead to sluggish yeast behavior. I hope this helps! Let us know how it goes.
Barb