Hi Eric, your starter sounds almost ready for prime time baking, but it could be behaving a little sluggishly because of the timing of your feedings. Ideally you want to replenish (feed) your starter when it's at its peak of rising, or just as it's beginning to fall. If you wait to feed your starter until it has fallen significantly then the yeast tends to become more sluggish. Sometimes the 1:1:1 feeding plan results in a starter that peaks before the 12 hour mark, and has already fallen considerably by the time you go to feed it again. In order to correct for this you can slow down fermentation a bit by giving your starter a somewhat larger meal (something like 1 part starter : 2 parts water : 2 parts flour, by weight, or even 1:3:3). The goal is to find a feeding routine that works with your schedule and allows you to replenish the starter at its peak, which will help the wild yeast become more active. Temperature also has a significant effect on the rate of fermentation, so the exact feeding plan that works for you, may not work for the next person. Whole grain flours do ferment more quickly than white flours, and they also have lots of wild yeast and minerals, which explains the robust activity you saw when you changed to whole wheat flour, but we find a white flour starter is a bit easier to maintain and will generally contribute more rising power, so you may want to gradually ease back into AP flour feedings as well. Rest assured, you're really very close to achieving a mature starter that will perform well in your baking! If you're concerned that increasing your feeding amounts will use up too much flour, you may want to consider maintaining a smaller starter. Good luck, and let us know how it goes! 

Barb

• Reply