Hi Michelle, if you read through the comments below you'll see that the type of starter behavior you describe is not uncommon, and seems to be related to a type of bacteria that gives off carbon dioxide (causing the early rise you saw). Unfortunately, the presence of this type of 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 certainly not an ideal situation, the good news is that patience almost always wins out when it comes to sourdough starters, so even if you continue on exactly as you're doing, ultimately the starter organisms are going to come into balance and do what they are meant to do. However, if patience is not your strong suit, you might consider one of the following options. 

First, you could begin again with a starter recipe that was designed to discourage this type of bacteria from the get go, which should allow the wild yeast to join the party in a more timely fashion. This method was developed by microbiologist and sourdough baker, Debra Wink, and you can read about it here. I like Wink's method because it uses up very little flour in the early days of starter development, and once you get this starter rising predictably you can gradually transition to feeding your starter according to whatever starter recipe you prefer. 

A second option is to continue feeding the starter you have going, but modify your feeding routine to increase the acidity of your starter environment, which seems to help pave the way for the wild yeast to kick in. Debra Wink suggested this route as a way to deal with fledgling starters that are stuck and not rising. Here's this plan:

1. Feed only once a day. 

2. Feed with Whole Wheat or Whole Rye flour rather than Unbleached All-Purpose. 

3. Feed with a ratio of 2 parts starter : 1 part water : 1 part wholegrain flour (by weight). For example, you could modify your current feeding routine so you would do a once a day feeding that looked like: 50g starter + 25g water + 25g wholegrain flour. 

Once the starter begins rising predictably (twice) with this feeding routine, then it's important to begin twice a day feedings, which will further promote yeast activity. At this point you can also gradually transition to feeding with AP flour over the course of several feedings, and adapt your feeding routine to something closer to the 1:1:1 ratio (starter:water:flour, by weight) that we recommend in our sourdough starter recipe, if you desire. 

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. Allowing the starter to fall significantly between feedings tends to lead to sluggish yeast behavior. If you find your starter is peaking after only a few hours in warmer months, you could try offering your starter a relatively larger meal, which it will take longer to consume and ferment. And don't worry, a relatively larger meal doesn't have to mean using up more flour, since you can reduce the portion of starter as compared to water/flour you're feeding it. For example, a 1:3:3 ratio might look like: 15g starter + 45g water + 45g AP flour. The goal here is to find a twice a day feeding routine that allows you to feed your starter closer to the peak. 

I know this sounds like a lot, but once your starter is rising predictably with a good feeding routine, then you can begin refrigerating it when you aren't planning to bake. Ideally you'll want to allow time for a day or two of room temperature feedings after refrigeration in order to revive your starter in preparation for bread baking. 

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

Barb

• Reply