Hi Scott, I'm sorry I wasn't able to answer your question in a more timely fashion! It's not uncommon for a starter to act sluggish when you change up its feeding routine, because each time you chance the type of flours you're feeding it, or adjust the hydration, the starter organisms have to adjust to the new environment and recalibrate. It's almost like starting over for them, in the sense that they won't be performing at their best until they've had time to reorganize to optimize the new variables present. It's very unlikely that the change you made caused any permanent issues with your starter, but it might well take a week or more of twice a day feedings for it to fully adjust to the new routine. Some things to keep in mind: starters fed with wholegrain flours do tend to ferment faster than starters fed with white flour. Also, Bread flour doesn't provide quite as nourishing of a meal for your starter as compared to our Unbleached All-Purpose flour because the higher the protein content of the flour, the lower the starch content. Since starch is what your starter consumes and ferments, it's getting a better meal with the lower protein flour. Again, feeding your starter with bread flour isn't going to kill it, but it might be worthwhile switching to AP flour (along with the rye flour) if you want to keep to your new routine. If you found your old feeding routine was giving you the rise and flavor you desire, then there's no need to change your feeding routine, but now that you're into the change you might want to see what kind of results the AP/Rye flour combination offers. 

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

Barb 

• Reply