Hi Sarah, we're sorry to hear you're having trouble getting your starter up and running! The good news is that patience almost always pays off when it comes to sourdough starters, so I wouldn't give up hope! Even if you continue exactly as you're doing now, eventually the starter organisms will start performing as they should. Stirring the starter well during each feeding can also help prevent mold from developing. 

​To save on flour one option you might want to consider in the meantime is reducing the size of your starter. Our smaller starter recipe requires only 20g each of starter, water and flour for each feeding, and fits perfectly in an 8-ounce canning jar. Once your starter is rising predictably, its easy enough to build the volume of starter you want to maintain, or you can keep your starter small and build it when you're preparing to bake. This blog post explains how to do this. 

One other factor you might want to take into account is that we've noticed a pattern that sometimes occurs with starters that experience an early rise (on day 1 or 2). This early rise is actually caused by a common bacterium that gives off carbon dioxide rather than representing true yeast growth. Unfortunately, the presence of this bacterium seems to be linked to a subsequent delay in the wild yeast kicking in. Again, patience will still win out, but if you think that's what is going on with your starter, you might want to consider taking a more proactive approach by adopting this modified feeding routine that was suggested to us by microbiologist and sourdough baker, Debra Wink. She discovered that increasing the acidity of the starter seems to help pave the way for the wild yeast to become active. Here's this plan:
​
1. Feed only once a day. 
2. Feed with whole wheat flour rather than unbleached all-purpose flour. 
3. Feed 2:1:1 (starter:water:flour, by weight). For this method your once a day feeding would look like this: 1/2 cup (113g) starter + 1/4 cup ( 57g) water + 1/2 cup (57g) whole wheat flour.

If you wanted to a do a "smaller starter" version of this feeding routine, your once a day feeding would look like this: 30g starter + 15g water + 15g whole wheat flour.
​
Once your starter is rising predictably (twice) with this feeding routine, you'll want to resume twice daily feedings and return to something closer to the 1:1:1 feeding ratio (starter:water:flour, by weight) we generally recommend. It doesn’t have to be doubling at this point, but an increase in volume should be evident. You can also gradually transition back to feeding with unbleached all-purpose (AP) flour over the course of 3-4 feedings (adding just a little more AP flour with each feeding).

It's important to resume twice daily feedings once your starter begins rising because this will help keep yeast activity vigorous. Ideally you want to feed the starter when it's at its peak of rising, or just beginning to fall. Allowing the starter to fall significantly between feedings tends to cause the yeast to become sluggish over time.

​If you find your starter rises and falls too rapidly (which can happen in warmer environments) and feeding at the peak would require feeding three or more times a day, then you can slow things down by feeding with a smaller percentage of starter as compared to water and flour fed (1:3:3, or even 1:4:4, by weight). The goal here is to find a room temperature feeding routine that fits with your schedule and allows you to replenish your starter closer to the peak.
​
This may not be necessary in cooler months, but it could prove helpful in the summer, or if your kitchen tends to be warmer than 70-72°F. And don't worry, this adjusted feeding routine doesn't have to mean using up more flour, since you are reducing the percentage of starter relative to the water/flour. For example, a 1:3:3 feeding would look like this: 38g starter + 113g water +113g flour. For a smaller starter it would be: 10g starter + 30g water + 30g flour.
​
Once your starter is doubling predictably within about 6-8 hours after a feeding, and has a pleasant aroma, then you can consider your starter mature and ready for baking bread.

You also have the option to refrigerate your mature starter when you're not baking with it. Just give it a feeding, let it sit out for 2-4 hours or until it starts bubbling and fermenting, and then store it in the refrigerator for up to a week.

I hope this helps! I know I’ve thrown a lot of information at you, so please let us know if you have further questions or concerns. 

• Reply