Hi Catherine, it sounds to me like the early rise you saw was caused by a type of bacteria that gives off carbon dioxide. This is a fairly common occurrence. Unfortunately, the presence of this bacteria seems to be related to a subsequent delay in the wild yeast kicking in, which can go on for several days, or even weeks in some cases. While not an unsurmountable problem, this can get a little frustrating. The good news is that patience almost always wins out when it comes to sourdough starters, so you have some options. One way to go is to continue on as you're doing, but shrink your starter so you don't use up so much flour while you're waiting for it to start rising.  

If you'd like to take a more proactive approach, microbiologist and sourdough baker, Debra Wink, has offered us an alternative feeding routine that increases the acidity of the starter, which seems to help encourage the wild yeast to join the party. Here's this plan:

1. Feed once a day. 

2. Feed with whole wheat or whole rye flour rather than AP flour. 

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: 113g starter + 57g water + 57g wholegrain flour. Or if you wanted to try the smaller starter routine with this method, a feeding might look like: 30g starter + 15g water + 15g wholegrain flour. 

Once your starter begins to rise predictably (twice) it's important to resume twice a day feedings, which will further promote yeast development. At this point you can also gradually transition back to feeding with AP flour over the course of several feedings, and also increase the amount of starter to line up closer to the 1:1:1 ratio we recommend in our standard sourdough starter recipe. 

Keep in mind that ideally you want to replenish (feed) your starter when it's at its highest point of rising, or just beginning to fall, which keeps yeast activity vigorous. In warmer weather your starter is likely to ripen faster, so you may find it's peaking after only a few hours, and falling significantly between feedings. If this happens the yeast can become sluggish over time, so in warmer conditions it can be helpful to adjust the ratio of ingredients in your starter so that you're feeding your starter a relatively larger meal, which it will take longer to consume and ferment. So, for example, you might want to try a 1:4:4 ratio of starter:water:flour (by weight) which might look like 28g starter + 113g water + 113g flour. 

I hope this helps, and I apologize if I've thrown too many ratios at you! I know it sounds like a long road, but once you get your starter doubling predictably with a good feeding routine, then it's fine to start refrigerating it when you're not planning to bake. Generally a day or two of twice a day feedings after refrigeration will be all you need to do to revive your starter in preparation for baking. 

Barb

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