Barb at King Arthur

February 10, 2023 at 10:13am

In reply to by Jill (not verified)

Hi Jill, is this a starter you're creating from scratch? Adding a little extra water to each feeding may be helpful, since both the bread flour and the whole wheat flour are a little more absorbent flours as compared to our unbleached all-purpose flour. Aim for a thick, but easily stirrable paste consistency right after a feeding. The fact that your starter is bubbling is a good sign, so it may be that thinning it out a bit will allow for more of a rise. What size container do you have it stored in? If it happens to be stored in a wide bowl or Tupperware container, it may be helpful to switch it to a clear, wide mouth, straight-sided jar that is taller than it is wide. For your starter amount a pint-sized canning jar should work fine. While any food safe container will work for sourdough starters, the size jar I mentioned can make it easier to see the type of doubling behavior you're looking for. It's not necessary to keep your starter quite that warm, so you may want to leave it out at room temperature so you can observe it during the day. At 78 degrees it might begin to rise and fall when you're not looking, which can contribute to more sluggish rising behavior. For more help troubleshooting your starter, please don't hesitate to contact our Baker's Hotline. We're here M-F from 9am-9pm EST, and Saturday and Sunday from 9am-5pm EST. The number to call is 855-371-BAKE (2253), and you can also reach us via CHAT. 

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