Hi Lisanne, I'm sorry I wasn't able to respond to your question in a more timely manner, and hope that your starter has begun to rise again without any intervention. As far as my tips go, a lot depends on whether you're talking about a starter that is still in the creation process, or if you are trying to revive a mature starter that has been tucked away in the back of your refrigerator for an extended time. 

Assuming your starter is still being developed:

It's not uncommon for a fledgling starter to show a sudden burst of rising on day 1 or 2 of the creation process. This early rising activity is due to a type of bacteria that gives off carbon dioxide rather than the yeast. Unfortunately, the presence of this type of bacteria also seems to be related to a subsequent delay in the wild yeast joining the party. While not an insurmountable problem, the delay can go on for several days, or even weeks in some cases. So, if this is what seems to have happened to you have some options:

1. You can continue exactly as you're doing and eventually the starter will begin to rise predictably. Patience almost always wins out when it comes to sourdough starters, so this is certainly a viable option, although you might want to consider reducing the size of your starter to save on flour, at least until your stater begins to rise. 

2. Another option is to modify your feeding routine in a way that is meant to increase the acidity of the starter environment, which seems to help encourage the wild yeast to enter the picture. This modified feeding routine was suggested to us by microbiologist and sourdough baker, Debra Wink, and is inspired by her own sourdough starter recipe, which was created to discourage this unhelpful bacteria for the get-go. Here's her plan:

*Feed only once a day. 

*Feed with wholegrain flour (whole wheat or whole rye) rather than unbleached All-Purpose Flour. 

*Feed with a ratio of 2:1:1 (starter:water:flour, by weight). For example, if you're using our sourdough starter recipe, your once a day feeding would become: 113g starter + 57g water + 57g wholegrain flour. If you wanted to try our smaller starter recipe with this routine, a feeding would be: 30g starter + 15g water + 15g wholegrain flour. 

Once the starter is rising predictably (twice) with this alternative routine then it's important to resume twice a day feedings (which will further promote yeast activity). At this point you can gradually transition to feeding with Unbleached All-Purpose flour over the course of several feedings, and also return to the 1:1:1 ratio (starter:water:flour, by weight) we recommend in our original sourdough recipe. Once your starter is rising predictably with this feeding routine, then you can consider your starter mature and ready to bake bread! 

Assuming you're trying to revive a neglected mature starter:

Usually feeding your starter twice a day at room temperature according to our sourdough maintenance routine is all you need to do to restore your starter's normal rising behavior and improve its aroma. 

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

Barb

• Reply