Hi Rosetta, it's generally fine to stir in the hooch, but if it looks really dark and funky I usually pour it off. The hooch is basically composed of sourdough waste products, so isn't vital for starter health, but it may contribute some flavor and acidity to the starter. It is definitely important to feed your starter before adding it to a bread recipe, particularly if you're making an entirely naturally leavened sourdough bread (no added yeast) and your starter has been stored in the refrigerator for a week or more. Keep in mind that the starter is mostly dormant in the refrigerator, and while it can survive quite well in there, it isn't thriving. It's room temperature feedings and fermentation that build the populations of wild yeast and friendly bacteria that are available to do the work of rising and flavoring your bread.

When I want to bake an entirely naturally leavened bread recipe I take my starter out of the refrigerator a day or two before I plan to bake and start feeding it twice a day at room temperature. I look for the starter to double in size about 8 hours after I feed it, and to have a pleasant aroma, as signs that my starter is ready to add to my bread recipe. When a recipe calls for "ripe" starter, this means starter that has been recently fed at room temperature and allowed to rise to its highest point, or is just beginning to fall. You'll want to add the starter to the recipe when it's close to this peak of rising. 

If you're maintaining your rye starter with equal parts by weight of starter:water:flour this normally results in a fairly thick pasty consistency right after feeding, but as the starter rises and ferments it does tend to get thinner in consistency. If you maintain your starter with more water than flour (by weight) this will lead to a starter that has a thinner consistency. If you don't routinely discard a portion of your starter when doing a feeding, this can also result in a starter that is much thinner in consistency because it will end up being composed primarily of sourdough waste products, and the relatively small amount of water/flour you are feeding it won't be able to provide sufficient nourishment. 

When you want to return your starter to the refrigerator be sure to give it one more feeding and then let it sit out for 2-4 hours, or until it starts bubbling, before sticking it in the refrigerator. This will ensure that the starter still has some fermentation happening before it becomes dormant. 

I know this sounds like a lot of rules, and we do have some bread recipes that call for sourdough discard, but even with these recipes you don't want to use discard that has been in your refrigerator for longer than a week. 

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

Barb

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