Hi Erik, the first step in achieving sourdough bread that rises well is to be sure that your starter is very healthy and active. Try feeding your starter twice daily at room temperature for a day or two before you plan to bake in order to insure that your starter is performing well. Time your baking so that you add your starter to the recipe when it's at its highest point of rising after having been fed at room temperature. Once you've mixed your dough it's important that the dough is given adequate time to ferment, but over-fermentation can lead to a slacker dough and less coloring during baking. It may be helpful to try baking your bread a little earlier and see if this improves the rise and loaf color. Other possible factors that could be contributing to the results you describe are an excessively wet dough, inadequate dough development, loose shaping, or baking on a stone that hasn't been fully preheated. As in all things baking, there are multiple factors that contribute to either good or bad results, so it's sometimes hard to pinpoint one thing that should be changed in order to resolve an issue. For beginning and advanced sourdough bakers alike, I recommend finding a good recipe and following it as closely as you can. Our Naturally Leavened Sourdough Bread recipe is a great place to start. Barb

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