Barb at King Arthur

April 25, 2020 at 9:25am

In reply to by Erin (not verified)

Hi Erin, I'm sorry I haven't been able to respond to your question in a more timely manner, and hope that your starter has since taken off and is rising like gangbusters. If this is not the case, then you may want to consider the alternative feeding routine recommended to us by microbiologist and sourdough baker, Debra Wink. She observed that increasing the pH of the starter environment seems to help pave the way for increased yeast activity. Here's the plan:

1. Feed only once a day. 

2. Feed with whole wheat or whole rye flour, if available. If you can't get wholegrain flour, AP will be okay.

3. Feed with a ratio by weight of 2 parts starter : 1 part water : 1 part flour. For example, you could save 1/2 cup (4 ounces, 113g) starter and feed this 1/4 cup (2 ounces, 57g) water and 1/2 cup (2 ounces, 57g) flour. 

Once your starter is rising predictably (twice) with this feeding routine, switch back to twice a day feedings, 1:1:1 ratio, and AP flour. Some bakers have reported another lull when they switch back to this routine, so you may want to gradually transistion to the AP flour from wholegrain. Once your starter is rising predictably with the regular feeding routine, then you should be good to go! I hope this helps. Let us know how it goes. 

Barb

 

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